Custom Metal Mold Makers Design and Manufacturing Near You

There are a number of factors to consider when it’s time for you to scale the manufacturing of your product, and it all starts with manufacturing a plastic mold of your product.For plastics molding, you generally have two choices:

1. Injection Molding

This process is one of the oldest manufacturing processes which is renowned for producing a lot of product in a short amount of time.

For this method, mold material (like thermoplastic) is injected into a metal mold. The thermoplastic then takes the shape of the mold cavity, is cooled, and is released as a solid part.

As quick as this method can be, it does have one major drawback: the cost. Injection molding requires a substantial upfront investment, costing inventors anywhere from a couple thousand dollars to well over $100,000. If your product requires multiple or modified parts, it can be incredibly if not impossibly expensive for an inventor to utilize.

2. 3D Printing

3D printing (or additive manufacturing) is the newer kid on the block when it comes to molding. This process adds materials together to create the final product as opposed to cutting away material (milling) or reshaping it (injection molding).

There are a number of benefits that come with 3D printing:

• Customized parts can be produced with no upfront cost
• Parts can be built from a single digital file
• 3D printing can be used to produce shapes which would otherwise be costly or impossible through other manufacturing methods

With that said, 3D printing isn’t the answer for every product. In some instances, the process may be slow, costly, and the parts produced may not meet industry material or quality standards.

There’s No Perfect Molding Method for Every Part and Product

Both methods are ideal for on-demand productions, pilot and test runs, functional prototyping and bridge tooling. But one method is not necessarily better than the other.

When weighing between your plastic molding options, the two major factors that need to be considered are:

• Unit cost
• Order volume

The unit cost for a product designed through injection molding has a higher upfront expensive because of the costs associated with making the mold. But with each and every product you manufacture, the unit cost decreases as the initial mold cost is being spread across to another unit.

The “no upfront costs” associated with 3D printing make it an attractive option to inventors because there is little to no financial barrier. Because the costs do not decrease over time, however, this option makes more financial sense for smaller product runs or “test” molding.

• How much time does the product take to produce?

Production time is another important consideration. J-CAD Inc. is renowned for our quick turn-around times, with many products being in our clients’ hands within one week of them making their very first phone call to us!

• How easy is it to modify your product?

Being able to iterate and change your product idea is critical at the beginning of your product development journey. Spending a few thousand dollars on an injection mold that will likely need changes is not only costly, but it can bring your innovation cycle to a grinding halt. If your product is ready to scale, then that same process may be more appropriate than 3D printing.

Pre-Hardened 4140 Mold Steel

Easy to machine and generally not needing to be hardened, pre-hardened 4140 mold steel maintains good tolerances without the heat changes necessary in tool steel hardening.

Aluminum Copper

Aluminum copper is a leading choice for products involving motion because of its superior durability. It is often used for slides and core pulls.

Electric Molding Machines

Also known as electric machine technology, these machines are faster, quieter and they are more accurate than other machine types.  Because they can operate using less energy, they can also help inventors reduce their operation costs.

Pneumatic Molding Machines

These machines use air pressure to build up tonnage on the clamp situated along the side of the machine.

Both electric and pneumatic molding machines often use a robotic arm to remove molded components by side or top entry, though parts are usually dropped out of the mold, travel down a chute and are deposited into a container.

These machines may also include CNC routers which can be used to make cuts in a variety of different materials using water, plasma and lasers.CNC machines come with a number of benefits:

• Machines can operate independently and be combined into an entire cell of tooling machines
• Machines are driven completely by digital designs and can operate continuously for days without any human intervention
• They are incredibly precise, offering a level of detail which is impossible if using older tools

Despite the benefits, it is important that CNC machining can be a costly process.  This is because of the technology involved and the skilled workforce required to operate them.

What You Need For Your 3D Mold Design

Ready to manufacture your product? Here’s how you can get started:

1. Have your idea ready

The more details you can provide your J-CAD Inc. design expert, the better we will be able to manufacture it. We will work with you to draw out your ideas, though we welcome drawings from inventors as well.

2. Know what’s in store

What you pay for your mold will change based on the different elements you choose to incorporate into your product. We offer free quotes to anyone who is interested in developing their idea and will work with you to create affordable and manufacturable products.

3. Sit back and let us do the work!

J-CAD Inc. is your one-stop production shop.  From the earliest computer aided design (CAD) drafting stages to mass production, we will take those product ideas from your first initial sketches and transform them into high-quality products in as little as one week!