Rapid Tooling Services
Get custom molded prototypes and production parts in one stop shop.
What Is Rapid Tooling?
Rapid tooling, also known as prototype or bridge tooling, plays a vital role in the journey towards production. It encompasses the creation of tools essential for product manufacturing, including rapid injection molds, rapid die cast molds, sheet metal prototype molds, and customized jigs and fixtures.
By employing rapid tooling, businesses can efficiently conduct trial production of hundreds or even thousands of parts before mass production. This valuable process enables design optimization, functional testing, and pre-production verification, ensuring a seamless transition to full-scale manufacturing.
How Does Plastic Injection Molding Work?
- Step 1: Prior to molding your parts, we provide comprehensive feedback on manufacturability and offer consultative design services to help you avoid pitfalls in mold design. This ensures that issues are addressed before the resin is introduced into the mold. Subsequently, our production process is meticulously documented and optimized using scientific molding techniques, guaranteeing consistent and reliable production of high-quality parts with every run.
- Step2: By highlighting critical-to-quality (CTQ) dimensions on your models, we are able to identify the most crucial areas for the success of your parts. Once the molding process begins, automated inline CMM technology is employed to qualify the process and samples, generating a detailed First Article Inspection (FAI) report and process capability study without any additional lead time.
- Step3: Our thermoplastic injection molding follows a standard procedure utilizing an aluminum mold that does not contain heating or cooling lines. Consequently, cycle times may be slightly longer. As part of the scientific molding process, our molders independently optimize and monitor factors such as fill speed, hold pressure, and hold time. Additionally, they periodically inspect the quality and aesthetics of the parts. Throughout the molding process, an automated inline CMM is utilized to ensure dimensional accuracy and generate a comprehensive process capability study and FAI report.
- Step4: The process begins with loading resin pellets into a barrel, where they are eventually melted, compressed, and injected into the mold’s runner system. The hot resin is then injected into the mold cavity through the gates, resulting in the molding of the part. Ejector pins facilitate the removal of the part from the mold, after which it falls into a loading bin. Once the run is completed, the parts (or the initial sample run) are promptly boxed and shipped.
Aluminum And Steel Mold Of Rapid Tooling
Aluminum Mold Tooling
Prototype injection molding with aluminum is a cost-effective and efficient choice. It ensures tooling dimensional stability, reduces waste and deformation, cuts tooling costs by 25%, and lessens cycle times by 30-40%, promoting quicker turnarounds.
This is the optimal choice for prototype metal casting due to its cost-effectiveness. Utilizing aluminum guarantees dimensional stability in the casting tools, greatly minimizing waste and deformation during production. Aluminum molds are simpler to cut, slashing tooling costs by up to 25%. The use of aluminum molds also decreases cycle times by 30-40%, contributing to quicker turnarounds.
Steel Mold Tooling
Steel is a superior, robust, and durable material with an extended lifespan. It is more appropriate for large-scale construction projects and for creating forms from engineering-grade materials. Despite its extended lifespan, it is pricier than aluminum and may necessitate additional time to create formwork and models.
Materials For Prototype Injection Molding
- ABS
- ABS/PC
- Acetal/Delrin
- Homopolymer/De
- lrin
- ETPU
- HDPE
- LCP
- LDPE
- PET
- PPA
- PSU
- PETG
- PMMA (Acrylic)
- Polycarbonate
- Polypropylene
- TPU
- PPE
- PS
- Nylon
Advantages Of Rapid Tooling
Create Custom Molds
With rapid prototype tooling, you have the ability to fabricate customized molds according to your desired dimensions and specifications. Additionally, you have the flexibility to select various materials for quality control testing purposes. This allows you to assess and determine the most suitable material for your project.
Accelerated Time to Market
Enhanced mold production speed likewise leads to expedited development of prototypes and final products. This swiftness minimizes the duration spent in the prototyping phase, enabling prompt delivery of your products to the market.
Design and Functionality
Rapid tooling empowers you to generate multiple molds swiftly, enabling the production of numerous prototypes within a condensed timeframe, often in a matter of days. you can enhance the functionality of your design and bolster the market appeal of your products.
Promote The Process
Reduced product development duration and accelerated time to market enable you to swiftly begin recouping your investments. Additionally, decreased prototyping and production expenses guarantee faster returns, as you will incur fewer costs throughout the manufacturing process.
Star Your Injection Molding Services
Fast tooling is perfect for efficiently producing smaller quantities of components that are well-suited for engineering tests, the development of new products, proof-of-concept, and as an intermediary step towards mass production. Discover further information about our expedited tool creation and injection molding services.
Molding is a tailored solution for manufacturing limitless quantities of components on a miniature level. In the realm of cutting-edge micro mechanical devices, nano molding has the potential to optimize both time and finances. Explore further details about our nano injection molding services at Kevo Rapid.
Mass production tooling caters to customers seeking large quantities of identical plastic components and enclosures. The creation of such tools demands meticulous engineering, the use of high-performance tool steels. Discover additional information about Kevo Rapid’s injection molding services for mass production.