Q.
What is molding?
What is molding? Molding is a manufacturing process where a pliable or molten material is forced into a hollow mold to create a desired shape.
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Tooling for molding consists of two halves that are joined together under pressure. Molten material then enters and fills the tool. In other cases, material is placed in the mold cavity and then expands under heat and pressure. Most types of molding require engineers to keep certain factors in mind when designing parts. Specifically, avoid overhangs, sharp corners and changes in wall thickness and incorporate draft for efficient ejection of parts from the mold.
During the molding process, heat and pressure force the material to completely fill the mold cavity. The part then cools and solidifies. In the case of injection molding, cooling channels may be incorporated into the tool to speed this process. A draft angle on the part and tool helps ensure the part can easily be removed or ejected from the tool. For certain processes, curing may be required to complete the solidification process.
Molded parts may go through multiple steps after the molding process is complete. Flashing (excess material that escaped through the parting line between the two halves of the mold) may need to be trimmed. Witness marks caused by gating and parting lines may need to be sanded. Inserts may be molded into the part or heat staked during post-processing. Painting, coating, labeling and assembly are other common finishing steps for molded parts.
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What is molding? Molding is a manufacturing process where a pliable or molten material is forced into a hollow mold to create a desired shape.
The best process depends on the project’s needs, including part size and complexity, required production volume, budget and material specifications.
The initial cost of creating the mold is a significant expense, especially for high-precision or complex parts. The cost is often driven by factors like the mold’s required precision, its expected lifespan (number of shots) and the materials and methods used to create it.
Fathom’s rapid tooling service produces steel tooling quickly, with delivery of sample parts in as little as 15 days. Not aluminum tooling, which has a limited life, but hardened steel tooling that is perfect for bridge and low-volume production of parts.
For injection molding, a mold flow analysis simulates how molten plastic will flow into the mold, based on your planned gate locations. It gives you the opportunity to optimise your tool design prior to building the tool. That, in turn, helps assure that it will produce high-quality parts, consistently.
Injection molding is most cost-effective for producing large volumes, typically 1,000 or more parts, because of the high initial tooling costs.
That depends upon the application in which they will be used. Will they exposed to abrasion, corrosive materials or environmental extremes. Do you need to hit a specific per-part target cost? Your Fathom engineer can help you select the right material for your needs.
From early concepts and prototypes to bridge and low-volume production, we’ve got you covered.
We’ll perform a Design for Manufacturability (DFM) analysis to help you optimize your part design for production. Our expert engineers will also identify opportunities for cost reduction in part design, tooling and the proposed production process. Our ultimate goal? To eliminate potential production problems early in your design process.
Quickly iterate and finalize part designs using our on-demand manufacturing services. Rapid prototyping services employ digital manufacturing methods. They enable designs to move directly from a CAD drawing to a finished plastic or metal part in a matter of hours or days – without the need for tooling. Rapid prototyping can help you bring products to market faster.
Bridge production can help you solve a number of common problems, including side-stepping tooling delays, meeting regulatory requirements and conducting market research if you’re unsure of demand for your new product. Producing a small quantity of parts enables you to preview a new product to a select audience and make tweaks before you ramp up to full production.
Many third-party manufacturers prefer to avoid low-volume production in favor of long production runs of relatively simple geometries. We specialize in low-volume/high-mix projects. We’re very good at it! Bridge production also makes sense when you’re moving tooling from overseas to domestic production, so you can keep your production line running smoothly.
Every quote is reviewed by an experienced engineer to ensure optimal design, materials and manufacturability, so your part gets made right, the first time.