How do you cap 200 exposed barrier ends in your own brand yellow, for under half the quoted price?
Whale Tankers had been quoted around £36 a cap to make the barrier ends around their Solihull works safe. We did it for £14.79. In their own brand yellow, with the Whale logo printed into every cap, not a generic lump that fits neither their posts nor their brand. We colour-matched a UV-stable yellow ASA, proved the fit on samples before committing the run, and delivered over 200 caps across two post sizes.
Who is Whale Tankers?
Whale Tankers has been building liquid-waste vacuum tankers and jetting equipment since 1969. They are one of Europe's biggest names in the sector, with everything designed and built in-house at their Ravenshaw works in Solihull. A company whose whole reputation runs on durability doesn't buy parts that fall apart. So when they wanted the safety barriers around their site capped, branded and built to last, their Senior Manufacturing Engineer sent the brief to our Poole workshop.
Visit Whale TankersA yard full of tankers, forklifts and exposed steel barrier ends.
Walk around a working tanker factory and the Armco barriers are everywhere, protecting walkways, doorways and drop-off points from vehicles that weigh as much as a house. The problem is the ends: raw, cut steel at shin-to-hip height, exactly where people walk. Whale wanted them capped as part of a safety push around the site. Off-the-shelf caps exist, but they didn't fit Whale's posts properly, and every one of them is a generic yellow lump that carries nobody's brand.
There was a harder question underneath it, and their engineering team asked it straight out: what will these look like after a few years outside in direct sun? A cap that fades or goes brittle is a cap you're buying twice. And the quotes they'd gathered for a custom part were sitting around £36 each, steep for 200 of them.
A colour-matched yellow ASA cap with the Whale brand printed in.
We matched a UV-stable yellow ASA to their colour reference, a shade our supplier didn't stock, so we sourced it. ASA is the material you pick when a part has to sit in direct sun for years without fading or cracking, which is why we steered the brief away from softer options. Our design team amended their CAD in-house, switching the Whale logo and wordmark from raised to indented so it prints cleanly on every single cap, and left the back open so the barrier still sits flush against the post. Sample first, always: we printed one, adjusted the cutout and the internal void, then sent a second sample that fitted the barrier. Only once that was signed off did we commit the full batch. When they came back wanting a second, larger post size covered, we amended the CAD and printed those too. No tooling. No minimum order. Two sizes, one look.
From brief to delivery. Here's how we ran it.
Every project at our Poole workshop follows the same structured process. No surprises, no miscommunications, just clean execution from the moment a brief lands.
Brief in
A website form, a photo of the barriers, and a link to the yellow they wanted. Material options and straight answers on UV life back the same day.
Week 1Colour + CAD sorted
Yellow swatch matched and approved. Their STEP file amended in-house, branding indented so it prints clean, at no design charge.
Week 2Sample until it fits
First sample close; we refined the cutout and enlarged the internal void. The second sample fitted the first barrier they tried.
Weeks 3 to 4Produce + fit
150 caps printed, QC'd, packed and shipped. A second, larger post size followed, same yellow, same branding, no tooling.
Weeks 5 to 6
Fitted around the site, and a second size ordered on the spot.
The caps went onto the barriers the week they arrived. Their engineer liked them enough to extend the job to a second post size before the first batch was even fully fitted. And we hold the CAD files safely, so the next reorder is one email, not a new project.
| 3D printing (what we did) | Traditional supplier route | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per branded cap | £14.79 | Quotes around £36 |
| Your branding on the part | Logo + wordmark printed into every cap | Generic caps, nobody's brand |
| Adding a second post size mid-project | Amend the CAD, print on the next run | New tooling or a fresh minimum order |
They look very professional and give the site a nice lift. As well as reducing the risk of injury.
Gallery From the project
4 photos · 3D Printing Express, PooleQuestions about custom 3D-printed safety caps
Common questions we get about projects like this one. Our workshop is in Poole, Dorset, and we serve clients across Bournemouth, the South Coast, and the whole of the UK.
How much do custom 3D-printed caps cost?
This run worked out at £14.79 per cap for 150 units, branded, colour-matched and delivered, against quotes of around £36 elsewhere. With 3D printing there is no tooling to pay off, so you pay per part from the first cap, and quantity moves the price more than complexity does. Send us your dimensions and quantity and you'll get a firm figure, not a range.
Are 3D-printed parts UV-stable enough for outdoor use?
Yes, when the material is chosen for it. These caps are printed in ASA, a polymer made for exterior parts: it holds its colour and toughness through years of UV exposure where lesser plastics fade and go brittle. For anything that lives outdoors in direct sun, ASA is the sensible choice, and it's why we steered this brief away from softer materials.
Can you 3D print parts in a custom or brand colour?
Usually, yes. Whale wanted a specific safety yellow our supplier didn't stock, so we sourced a matching ASA and sent a printed swatch for sign-off before production. You approve the colour on a real printed part, not a screen mock-up.
Can you make custom part sizes without new tooling?
Yes, and this project is a good example. Whale had standard barrier posts and a larger 150mm I-beam section. Because the caps are 3D printed rather than moulded, covering a second size just meant amending the CAD and printing, with no new tooling and no minimum order. We keep your files on record, so reorders and new sizes are one email away.
Got a site safety project in mind? Send us the brief.
We produce site safety parts and custom 3D-printed work from our workshop in Poole, Dorset, shipping to clients across Bournemouth, the South Coast, and throughout the UK. You'll hear from our team, the two founders, not a form reply.