Design of the moulded TV front

The general assembly of the cabinet, moulded front, and working parts of the TV followed conventional procedures. That is, the cabinet itself consisted of PVC-faced chipboard with a 3 mm recessed strip around the inner front edges to accommodate tabs in the front moulding the tabs were secured to the cabinet using a pneumatic stapling gun. 

The design of the moulded front differed from most other TV front designs in three respects  

A further requirement of the moulding was that it should be amenable to paint sprays. 

Surprisingly, fire retardancy was not a requirement of the material since the moulded front is located away from a possible fire source with the CRT acting as a barrier. 

special requirements of the moulded front are (a) to be load bearing, (b) to be receptive to finishing sprays, (c) to have good impact resistance, (d) to be economical. High-impact polystyrene (HIPS) is an easily moulded, cheap material which has the necessary impact strength, takes paint finishes well, and if moulded by SF or SM will have thick sections giving the required stiffness to support loads. ABS also satisfies these requirements and was a serious contender but HIPS was favoured on cost grounds (HIPS = 0.586 per kg, ABS = 1.310 per kg). 

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