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Molding

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Trusted by Industry Leaders
Edwards Lifescience
Multilink, Inc.
Paragonix Technologies
Kimball Electronics
Lucid Motors
“Fathom has been a strong partner on our EV programs. They helped us optimize a few key components for weight and manufacturability, and they consistently hit the tolerances we need. Their fast turnaround times have kept our development cycles moving, which is critical in EV work.”
Senior Manufacturing Engineer
EV Systems Supplier
“I’m impressed with your quality, expertise, speed, and customer service.”
Professor James F. Antaki, PhD
Carnegie Mellon University
“The team at ICOMold continue to provide us with great service. Starting with initial DFM reviews, fast tooling development and quick turn-around times, ICOMold is a partner keeping us on track to deliver quality products to our customers. Thank-you to all the ICOMold team.”
Tim Latham / Project Manager
Litepanels, Inc.
“We have been very satisfied with ICO’s performance in every aspect: pricing, delivery, quality, and customer support. It is a pleasure doing business with ICO, and honestly, I wish there were more companies like them.”
Mark Merg / Procurement Manager
Alpha High Theft Solutions
“I want to thank you and the rest of the team for the great support. Over the 15 years that I have been working with mold vendors I have never seen such personal attention and such great communication efforts in addressing my concerns on samples. The fact that ICO went the extra step to provide me with a second set of samples at no cost and in two days to improve my texture concerns goes a long way. I know that I have made the right choice going with ICO. I’m looking forward to a long relationship with you and the rest of the ICO team.”
John Doe
Level, LLC
“This is a huge milestone for our team. This product is no longer a vision… I received the parts today from ICOMold. They look and function great! I don’t see any reason why we cannot move forward now and order parts for the upcoming proto build.”
Dave Boretti
Schneider Electric
“As a small, growing company, we cannot say enough good things about ICOMold. They have been willing and able to adapt to our rapidly changing needs and have helped us get out of a pinch on occasion. Special thanks to Brian and Carla – they have been great to work with!”
Scott
SLight LLC
“It has been a genuine pleasure dealing with the ICOMold team. You have been very patient and have been a wealth of helpful information. Your response times to my questions and comments are superb and your answers are specific and to the point. Thanks for your patience and all the time it has taken to get the details worked out.”
Scott Bixler
Polyvance
“We are very pleased with ICOMold. Response time is fantastic, customer support is great, and the online group project management tool is very helpful.”
Connie Blevins / Quality Coordinator
Leprecon
“I have to say that so far I’ve enjoyed this process – having the customer portal (and your well-detailed DFM reports) makes it very easy to comply with the design requirements.”
Cory Starr
Blaster One
“I just wanted to let you know, we have all been very impressed with the quality and turnaround time of our parts. We have used several shops in the past, but so far the quality of ICOMold has been the best we have ever received.”
Gregg Garrett
VEGA
“I just want to compliment you and your team how you are managing this project with all of the changes on the fly. Kudos.”
Mark Ezzo / Plastics and Composites Engineer
Materials & Chemistry Network of Excellence
“Our SteriPen product must meet the quality standards of a medical device — if it ever malfunctions, people will get sick. Yet it must be economical enough to permit many people to own one. And we need the design flexibility to keep pace with rapidly changing technology. Our production at ICO meets all three challenges.”
Don Snoke / VP of Operations
Hydro-Photon, Inc.
“I was very impressed with your company’s ability and willingness to work with a novice in plastics as I am, and work through some design changes. I have learned a lot from you and hope this is a huge success for both of us. Frankly, I did contact two other companies and they acted like they had no time for me!”
Kevin Jensen
Quik-Load
“After reaching out to over 20 manufacturers, ICOMold was the only one that was able to take on my project, create the molds and manufacture the parts I needed. What impressed me the most is that they were able to work overtime to meet my demanding deadline and get the parts to me on time.”
Aziz Razakov
Berry Good Bottle
“I found it refreshing to work with a company with such a phenomenal online quoting tool. It allowed us to experiment with different materials, quantities, and mold configurations to see the cost impact in real time.”
Mike Yin / Founder
Nunchuck Grips LLC
“The parts came in a few days ago and I wanted to thank you and your team on the very impressive quality of the parts. We were thoroughly impressed by the finish and clearness of the parts. Thank you for the great customer service and we are looking forward to using your expertise in future projects.”
Akash Shankar
PMC Smart Solutions
“We appreciate the effort you put into making our order smooth. The molded parts are used in our device that makes water safe to drink in areas of the world that do not have access to safe water. Thanks again for everything!”
Sarah Yoder
WaterStep
“Fathom brings an open mind to each project with a positive attitude to tailor their processes to meet my needs, from part design to mold build and molding. They work hard to make sure my needs are met with a professional attitude, expertise, on-time delivery and competitive pricing.”
Bob Rohr
RDR Design and Development LLC
“With their response time, quotes and communications, Fathom is highly regarded because they are always upfront. They say what they do and do what they say.”
John Doe
Consumer Technology Company
“It is a pleasure to work with a company whose personnel are willing and able to think out of their box. With your commitment to staying on the cutting edge of technology, you supply tooling to us that is right on time and works first shot.”
Norman R. Akens
Medical Murray
“Quick response time for RFQ, excellent lead time for rushed order and quality parts were manufactured and delivered on-time.”
Manufacturer of Compressed Gas Storage Systems
“The workmanship was outstanding – we are over-the-top happy with the unit! The product that arrived at my door far exceeded our expectations, and all on short notice…amazing. Please pass our very best wishes on to everyone on your team who was involved in fast-tracking our prototype. It all started with you and your can-do attitude, Nate. I cannot thank you enough!”
Larry Cole
TerraCube
“Fit and finish is great and the parts passed all our regulatory tests. Thank you for all your help and for the role you played helping the factory work through some of the stickier parts of the design.”
Drew Macrae
Linkitz
“As a small, growing company, we cannot say enough good things about ICOMold. They have been willing and able to adapt to our rapidly changing needs and have helped us get out of a pinch on occasion.”
M. Nasilevich
Morpho Detection
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How Does Molding Work?

01 Part & Mold Design

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.

Part_Mold Design_injection_mold
02 Molding the Part

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.

How it works_Molding_Molding the part
03 Post Processing

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.

finishing-Hartland

Frequently Asked Questions About Molding

Learn more about this popular family of manufacturing methods

Q.
What is molding?

A.

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.

Q.
How do I choose the right molding process?

A.

The best process depends on the project’s needs, including part size and complexity, required production volume, budget and material specifications.

Q.
How much does a mold cost?

A.

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.

Q.
What is rapid tooling

A.

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.

Q.
Why is mold flow analysis important for certain types of molding?

A.

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.

Q.
Is injection molding right for my project?

A.

Injection molding is most cost-effective for producing large volumes, typically 1,000 or more parts, because of the high initial tooling costs.

Q.
What type of material should I select for my parts?

A.

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.

Why Our Customers Trust Fathom

Human-First Engineering
Our expert engineers will help you optimize your part designs for production.
Decades of Expertise
Our engineering and production teams bring decades of expertise and problem-solving to every project.
Integrated Manufacturing & Finishing
We offer manufacturing and full post-processing capabilities under one roof for one point of accountability.
Full Product Life-Cycle Support
We’re your partner from design and prototyping to bridge and full production.

Fathom is Your Product Lifecycle Partner

From early concepts and prototypes to bridge and low-volume production, we’ve got you covered.

Early Concept

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.

Rapid Prototyping

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

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.

Small-Medium Volume 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.

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Every quote is reviewed by an experienced engineer to ensure optimal design, materials and manufacturability, so your part gets made right, the first time.

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