Reaction Injection Molding for Plastic Prototypes

Tips to find professional manufacturers for prototype molding

Prototype molding is important for the rapid production of prototypes along with medium to small chains of plastic parts. To grab the best ever deal, get in touch with X Rapid Technologies, reliable professional manufacturing team.

A number of companies are presently using the prototype plastic molding service for many of their projects. Talking of prototype molding, the same is intended to specifically help with the production of prototypes and a medium to a small range of plastic parts within a short span of time.

It won't be wrong to mention that prototype plastic molding is one of the most effective and convenient techniques to produce prototypes, samples as well as small series easily, rapidly, and in an economical way. In order to grab the best deal for Prototype molding from the market, all you need to do is conduct research work and find out a trustworthy manufacturing team in order to get your required prototyping injection molding purposes served.

Prototype plastic molding is known as the best thing on earth for creating a mold on any sort of gaps existing between 2 tools. Also, the selection is based on their color functions and work performances. Continue reading this article to learn more about the uses of prototype molding services and tips for hiring the best prototype manufacturer.

What are the uses of Prototype Plastic molding services?

It is worth noting that at present, about 35-40% of the manufacturing teams adhere to the use of prototype injection molding services for many of their projects to enjoy rapid success. It highlights promising results for a good future for the company. In this context, it is equally important for you to understand that creation of molds is no less than an art, and hence, it requires consistent expertise to optimize better results. Fortunately, with the advancement of technology and the same undergoing changes, it has now become smoother and easier for the manufacturing teams. Also, the materials can be easily handled along with the development of various prototype injection molding or molds as well as their functions.

Tips to consider when hiring a prototype plastic molding manufacturer

It is an amazing experience to create new products for your customers and launch them in the market to surprise them. Hence, it is very important to first test all your products before the launch with the use of building prototypes. This is when it becomes vital to get the prototype plastic molding service as early as possible so that you can check them out for reviews and fix the issues before the final launch.

As mentioned above, this calls for only professional expertise for producing the requisite parts by the use of a prototype molding technique. And for the same, it is important to search for an expert and trustworthy manufacturing team. Here are the tips that will help you with your search:

Begin with only small orders- When you are looking for a prototype injection molding manufacturing service provider capable of catering to your project requirements, it is recommended to start with minimal orders only. This is exclusively essential if you are a small-scale business owner as that will help you stay within your budget. Also, do make sure that the manufacturing team you hire is capable of meeting your order requirements of prototype injection molding, specifications, and budget with on-time delivery.

Molding and Tooling- It is your responsibility to ensure that the prototype molding manufacturing company you wish to select is capable of making the prototype injection molding you need, along with being able to make molds and tools required for producing these prototypes. Only a professional prototype molding manufacturing team that produces their own molds and tools charges you low. They also cut down the cost of investment of prototype plastic molding that assists you in using this investment for the actual product development purpose as well as marketing.

Product quality- Only a responsible and good prototype injection molding service provider will be able to offer you product quality assurance along with proper finish and transportation of the same.

Adherence to the deadline- The expert and professional prototype plastic molding manufacturing team will assure you of project completion within a stipulated deadline. Irrespective of your prototype injection molding order load, they will try their best to live up to their commitment of prototype injection molding and on-time project delivery. If you come across a prototype molding manufacturing team that is not ready to go for deadline commitment, consider that as a red flag! They can end up putting you in trouble, and you will not be able to offer your customers the prototype molding to receive their feedback on time. This can even put your company at a loss. On-time prototype injection molding service ensures business success.

Bill of the materials- There should be a transparent bill of prototype plastic molding service when you are hiring a professional manufacturing team for a prototype molding service. This ensures the growth of a healthy bond between you and your chosen service provider for Prototype molding or prototype plastic molding. The cost of each and everything involved for Prototype molding should be broken down and mentioned properly in the bill.

Despite making plastic prototypes via CNC machining without using molds, there are molding techniques involved in prototype plastic molding. They are vacuum casting and reaction injection molding (RIM). They use different molds to manufacture prototype parts.

Applications of the molding in plastic rapid prototyping

1. Scenarios

In plastic rapid prototyping, molding is often used for small-batch runs of prototypes, typically ranging from dozens to hundreds of quantities. These prototypes are used for testing or trial production of newly designed products, allowing businesses to refine their designs and quickly launch them into the market, even ahead of their competitors.

2. Industries

The automotive and medical device industries are two representative industries that often use molding in rapid prototyping. For example, the automotive industry commonly uses small batch prototypes for testing dozens or even hundreds of the same part, while the medical device industry often uses rapid prototyping to produce low-volume medical devices at an affordable cost.

Molding techniques involved in plastic rapid prototyping

Molding techniques involved in plastic rapid prototyping vary between Western and Eastern countries. Western countries have more developed molding techniques and rapid prototyping capabilities, which include bridge molding, over molding, insert molding, and more. Chinese counterparts often utilize vacuum casting and reaction injection molding (RIM) in prototype plastic molding, although they also produce plastic prototypes via CNC machining without using molds. In the following sections, we will delve into these molding techniques in detail.

1. Vacuum casting

It is a process in which a model is used to create a silicone mold in a vacuum environment. Then polyurethane resin is poured into it to clone a replica that is the same as the original. The silicone materials of the molds for vacuum casting are domestic silicone, imported silicone, transparent silicone, and special silicone.

The materials for prototypes by plastic molding via vacuum casting are slightly different from that of plastic injection molding. Though the product performance is inferior to that of mass production, it can meet production requirements in most cases. Also, parts made by vacuum casting are majorly for prototyping purposes but not for end-use.

Its molding process is less complicated than that of plastic injection molding too. Generally speaking, it can be summarized as three steps.

Step 1: make the prototype for the silicone mold

Before making the silicone mold, we need a prototype. It is usually produced via CNC machining in ABS material or SLA 3D printing in resin material.

Step 2: make the silicone mold

The silicone mold is manufactured based on the prototype. After eight hours of drying down, we take the prototype out and the silicone mold is ready.

Step 3: have the parts injected

Injecting the liquid PU material into the silicone mold. After it dries, the part is done.

One silicone mold normally lasts for 15-25 shots. The properties of the materials can be similar to ABS, PP, PC, PMMA, POM, Nylon, etc.

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2. Reaction injection molding

RIM produces plastic prototypes via injection molding under low pressure efficiently. Prototypes made by reaction injection molding enjoy better strength, tenacity, and heat resistance than vacuum casting.

Molds for reaction injection molding are different from vacuum casting. The most commonly applied ones are resin molds (20~50 shots), ABS molds (50~500 shots), and aluminum molds (500~5,000 shots). The parts’ materials can be foamed PU, micro-foaming PU, and non-foaming PU. Components produced by RIM are not only applied for rapid prototyping but also for end-use products.

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Its plastic prototype injection molding process is more complicated than vacuum casting. Because it requires two materials to be mixed. The whole manufacturing can be summed up as storage of raw materials → metering → mixing → mold filling → curing → demolding.

Prototypes produced by reaction injection molding can be with uneven wall thicknesses. As there are fewer limitations of mold sizes, RIM is widely applied in the automotive and medical industries.

Advantages of using molding in plastic rapid prototyping

1. Lower unit cost

The cost of molds for rapid injection molding is much lower than those for mass production, as they have shorter mold life cycles. Also, businesses do not need to meet the high MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) requirements of conventional plastic injection molding. They can stick to their production volume plan. Therefore, there is a significant reduction in the cost of each product.

2. Speed up the time to the market

The turnaround time (TAT) of rapid injection molding is much shorter than that of conventional plastic injection molding. Through rapid injection molding, we can create a mold in weeks. But it would be months for plastic injection molding. Therefore, the former is ideal for prototyping and low-volume production. In this way, enterprises can verify and produce their new products within a short time. It enables them to bring new products to the market quickly, resulting in remaining one step ahead of the market.

3. High flexibility for new product development

Rapid injection molding offers high flexibility for new product development. As the production process is small-scale, changing the design of a product has little impact on the entire order. It allows for the refinement of the part before it goes to the consumer, and companies can improve the product based on consumer feedback. Additionally, small-batch manufacturing via rapid injection molding saves manufacturers money on immovable inventory.

However, prototypes made via plastic molding are in low volumes. If the quantity of plastic prototypes needed is less than 5 pieces, CNC machining, and 3D printing would be more economical without the costs of making molds. By making short-run prototypes by plastic molding, vacuum casting, and RIM, product development costs are minimized, time is saved, and risks are reduced.

With over 10 years of experience in the industry of prototype plastic molding or prototype injection molding, X Rapid Technologies offers high-quality rapid prototyping and low-volume production services. Contact us now to get your 1-on-1 project manager!

5.Injection Molding:

If you want a small batch of plastic components, then Injection molding is the best way to acquire them. It can easily make a bunch of customized plastic or metal parts. The molten plastics are poured into metal dyes under high pressure to make high-quality plastic parts.

How much does it cost to develop a prototype?

Many things decide the cost of a plastic prototype. Factors such as materials used, the complexity of the design, product size, measurements, and lastly, the fabrication method are used in developing a feasibility prototype. If you are creating a plastic prototype from a 3D printing machine, it\\ s less expensive than CNC machining. At the same time, injection molding is much more costly compared to rapid tooling technology. A good prototype manufacturer company would give you the perfect quote based on your designs and methods.

Reaction Injection Molding Cases - X Rapid Technologies (Shenzhen) Limited

Reaction injection molding is an economical way to produce short-run large-sized plastic products, particularly in the automotive and medical device industries. With our excellent surface treatment work, the products are of high quality in the market.

Where to go for low volume injection molding?

If you are thinking about using the low volume injection molding technology for your products, X Rapid Technologies is at your service to provide you with the most advanced tools and equipment for this process. We have a highly knowledgeable and skilled team that can manufacture the products by using low volume reaction injection molding process precisely without any flaws. They know how to turn a design into a real product without bothering a single part of the design. We use this amazing technology for manufacturing car bumper parts. We use aluminum to make these bumper parts as aluminum is the best material that can be used for this purpose. With heat resistance and flexibility, aluminum offers an appreciable outcome that can satisfy anyone. These bumper parts are made in ABS-like PU material with just one layer of paint.

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Main Points

How Are Molding Techniques Applied in Plastic Rapid Prototyping?

Reaction Injection Molding for Plastic Prototypes

Tips to find professional manufacturers for prototype molding

What are the uses of Prototype Plastic molding services?

Tips to consider when hiring a prototype plastic molding manufacturer

Applications of the molding in plastic rapid prototyping

Molding techniques involved in plastic rapid prototyping

Advantages of using molding in plastic rapid prototyping

Recommended reading

5.Injection Molding:

How much does it cost to develop a prototype?

Reaction Injection Molding Cases - X Rapid Technologies (Shenzhen) Limited

Where to go for low volume injection molding?

Tips to consider when hiring a prototype plastic molding manufacturer

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