Need help on Plastic Part Manufacturing 1

[DesEngineer4]

Hello,
Greetings..!

I’m looking to manufacture few Plastic ID parts; one of it was attached herewith. The volume we require is very few (less than 10 qty). I have been tried vacuum casting (with silicon mold) to produce these parts, but not happy with the quality there were fitment issues while assembly. As of now, procuring these parts from China via CNC manufacturing but the cost was high. Also, we can’t go through Injection molding as we can’t bare the tooling cost. I’m exploring alternate ways or procedures, need your help or suggestions on this matter. I have attached the step file of it; please have a look at it and suggest a way to produce these parts economically with better quality.


Thanks & Regards,
Sam

 

[tygerdawg]

suggestions:
[ul]
[li]define your acceptable dimensional tolerance, surface finish, & materials before continuing[/li]
[li]large format 3D printer for near net shape[/li]
[li]large format 3D printer & subsequent 3D machining to near net shape (see THERMWOOD LSAM for the concept)[/li]
[li]re-design your part for 3-piece manufacturing, then fabricate the 3 pieces & assemble[/li]
[/ul]

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Manufacturing Engineering Consulting

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[DesEngineer4]

Thank You for your suggestions...

I will get back to you again.




Thanks & Regards,
Sam

 

[hendersdc]

It looks like you have designed a part to be injection molded but your part quantities can't justify the cost. I suggest you redesign the part for another process more suitable for low volume large parts like thermoforming that can still give you a cosmetic exterior surface.

Talk to your local supplier to get details on what they can and can't do. For example, the internal ribs/features would need to be made separately and glued in place.

Reaction injection molding is also an option but there is tooling cost involved in that process as well. The process is low pressure though so tooling will be significantly cheaper than regular injection molding.

 

[DesEngineer4]

Thank You for your suggestion.

For thermoforming will there be any additional tooling cost?

Thanks & Regards,
Sam

 

[hendersdc]

There is some tooling involved in thermoforming but it is not nearly as much as injection molding. It will also depend on complexity and size, the depth of draw, whether vacuum is applied or not, and how many parts you form at the same time.