Bulletproof Cash Trays and Deal Drawers

Total Security Solutions is one of the few manufacturers fabricating bulletproof cash trays that have been tested to UL standard levels –and they’re often available in a quick turnaround time. These include standard drop-in deal trays, operable interior/exterior cash trays, custom trays, and prefabricated deal trays with integrated bullet traps or other anti-ricochet features.

  Eight Levels bullet resistance

True Bullet Resistant Drop-in Cash and Deal Trays

Some manufacturers choose to only offer deal trays not tested to UL standards. They line these with bullet-resistant fiberglass, and then presume a certain UL-rating based on how much fiberglass they’ve packed into the tray.

Total Security Solution never assumes a rating. They rely on all 18-gauge (or higher) steel-reinforced construction to make their rating. Once designed, a nationally recognized testing laboratory independently verifies the performance of every TSS component to UL standards. TSS components are recognized for being substantial; consider their standard Level 3 door: tested and verified to stop three shots from a .44 Magnum pistol, but will easily take over 100 shots from a variety of pistols and rifles without a dimple on the protected side.

For enhanced security, customers might opt for a bullet trap- or anti-ricochet-style trays. In a bullet trap tray, the 18 gauge steel tray is backed with an additional welded armor plate frame. Instead of deflecting a shot, this high-security tray is designed to allow the bullet to pass through the finished outside surface. It then catches and retains the bullet safely inside the armor-plate frame.

Alternately, a customer might prefer a slimmer “anti-ricochet” tray.  These have a special flat-bottomed scoop profile. This shape makes it much less likely that an armed assailant might score a lucky “bank shot” and injure someone behind the bullet proof glass.

High-Quality, Bulletproof Cash Trays Tested to UL Standards

Anyone with an arc welder and a little training could slap together a steel deal tray. But that’s not how you get smoothly functioning—let alone good looking—results. “There’s a lot that goes into making a tray that looks good,” TSS CEO Jim Richards points out, “blending the steel’s grain at the joints, avoiding overheating and discoloration—there’s a big gap between ‘good enough’ and really good.”

Even if that tray looks good, it might not function well. “In the best case, every welded joint is a possible point of failure. Sloppy technique makes that worse, and runs the risk of unpredictably weakening the metal elsewhere in the tray. Either way, a homemade tray isn’t going to have been rigorously UL-tested. It really is a gamble.”

TSS always minimizes joints. Instead of welding, they fabricate deal trays from one single sheet of stainless or armor plate steel whenever possible. Over the course of decades they’ve developed a specialized hydraulic press break and a set of production processes that allow them to use this superior fabrication method and offer competitively priced high-security trays without resorting to offshore manufacturers.

Jim Kirby of Custom Metal Products has worked extensively with high-quality steel doors and framing for security-conscious customers. After working with TSS to outfit a law-enforcement training facility, he noted: “Our client was extremely happy with the finished product. I heard at least three times from one of our in-house engineers how beautiful [these deal trays] were. I’ve been working with this engineer for six years, we’ve seen a lot of metal; it’s the first time he’s ever described a product this way.”

Fast Delivery, No-Nonsense Customization

TSS can accommodate cost-conscious customers with standard needs (e.g., ticket offices, gas stations, check cashers) or do custom projects. They regularly produce trays with custom dimensions or shapes in order to accommodate unique conditions. (E.g., broad and deep trays that allow late-shift motel receptionist to pass guests towels, scooped lock-cover trays for independent and compounding pharmacists, etc.) Most importantly, they do it all without busting the budget or adding weeks to a project’s lead time.

“We’ll supply whatever you need,” Jim explains. “We don’t limit ourselves to trays, or what we can personally build on site. For many applications, we find that the best solution might be one of the styles of pre-fabricated Shure deal drawers we keep on hand. But you aren’t limited to what’s mass produced. We’ve designed, engineered, and fabricated a lot of very application-specific trays, drawers, and custom package passers over the years.  When I was first starting out, I used to build long, narrow interlock passers for passing pizza boxes and cabinet-sized passers for pawn shops—and then there was the “Texas Blood Box“.  These are the sorts of jobs where we distinguished ourselves early on, the kind that most interest us: The challenges. Give us what you’re trying to achieve, and what the limitations are, and we can work within those confines.”

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