The workflow for low-volume injection molding includes the following seven steps: 1) Mold Design Design the mold for your part in the CAD software of your choice. Adhere to common design rules for additive manufacturing and injection mold design. Learn some Design recommendations specific to polymer 3D printed molds. Upload your design into 3D print [...]
While injection molding is traditionally considered a manufacturing process only for mass production due to its high tooling costs, leveraging 3D printing to fabricate injection molds can empower you to use this process to produce high-quality and repeatable parts for prototyping and low-volume production. In this comprehensive guide, learn how you can use 3D printed [...]
1. Control Your Molds Far too many companies that have their products made overseas wrongly assume they will own the molds and the accompanying IP used to make their products. If you do not pay for your molds upfront and have a contract that both works for the country in which your molds are being [...]
Nowhere is the connection between production and creativity more evident than in reverse engineering, which challenges manufacturers to find new ways to recreate or improve upon existing products instead of starting from square one. Data Collection and System Interoperability Increasingly sophisticated engineering and production tools have propelled the development of equally complex products that are [...]
Manufacturing in China, almost anything is possible in this country! China is known for manufacturing almost any product for a competitive price. These competitive prices attract buyers from all over the world, but there are also disadvantages to manufacturing in China. In this blog, we are going to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of [...]
Mold flow analysis refers to the process of using software to simulate an injection molding production cycle. Using the physical characteristics of a specific manufacturing material, the software is able to predict how the mold will be filled during the injection process. Mold flow analysis proves useful during the design phase as it allows engineers [...]
If you have been considering sourcing to injection mold makers China, you probably know that it isn’t nearly as easy or straightforward an endeavor as it sounds. There are several ways to establish a provider, a number of different aspects to consider before making your final selection, and a variety of negotiations that need to [...]
Every injection mold build comes with some challenges that need solutions. The size of those challenges depends on the project and might be tied to the part design itself, the mold makers capabilities, the kind of press the mold will run on, the expectations that production fulfillment is putting on a mold, or a 1000 [...]
The use of copper-impregnated graphite electrodes is often thought only to be effective when EDMing more challenging metals such as titanium, carbide, copper alloys or exotic materials (exotic refers to an EDM workpiece material that has a high thermal conductivity value, a unique elemental makeup or possesses a very high melting point). While a copper-graphite [...]
Metrology is an enabling technology and today’s options provide invaluable insight concerning the demands of micro-size tooling and parts. Metrology equipment and skills are used to measure steel details in the mold, part features/dimensions to ensure the parts meet print tolerance and to guarantee a capable process. Typically, shops use high-end optical white light interferometer-based [...]