Medium to high production tooling, suitable for abrasive materials or parts requiring close tolerance. This is a high-quality, reasonably high-priced mold. Class 102 Molds are also known as Class II tools.Example: Steel tooling with an SPI A-2 finish, automated slides, scheduled production cycles.

Range of finishes including matte, swirls, lines, and patterns. Our most common texture finishes include: MoldTech MT11010, MoldTech MT11020, and MoldTech MT11030. Other textured finishes can be added by request.

At Xometry, our customers own their injection mold tools! After a run is complete, the tool will remain at our facilities. Tools can be shipped to you upon request; however, you will be responsible for any associated shipping and packaging costs. Our engineers will work with you regarding tool compatibility with your equipment if you're unsure.

Before deciding which plastic resin is best for your part, you can consider many factors. Plastic resins are available in various forms, and additives may be available to assist you in meeting particular requirements. There are two types of resins: commodity resins and engineering resins.

At Xometry, we first review your plastic injection molding online quote, then consult with you to ensure your specifications, lead time, and price fit your project needs. We then use your 3D part data to CNC machine a high-quality injection mold. Once the molded parts are created, Xometry sends ten part samples (T1) for approval. Once the mold is refined and approved, Xometry begins production. Xometry molds a variety of products and parts from the smallest medical insert up to large automotive, aerospace, and defense parts.

The critical point here is to use the right material for the right job. You want disposable items that are simple to recycle. You just don't want them to cost more to produce than they are worth in terms of volume. On the other hand, you need your long-lasting products to be able to survive the environment in which they were designed to work.

Several injection molding, liquid silicone molding, and compression molding options are available for an online quote. If you do not see the material stock you are looking for, please choose “Other" under the material drop-down on your quote page and submit for an expert engineering review once you have specified features, tolerances, inspection needs, and quantities required.

Under 100,000 cycles. Low production mold. Use only for limited production, preferably with non-abrasive materials. Low to moderate price range. Class 104 molds are also known as Class IV tools.Example: Aluminum or MUD tooling, SPI B-3 finish, hand-loaded cores, and limited re-runs.

How do your needs for strength and endurance compare to your budget? How do you reconcile your need for those aesthetic values with your success requirements? And so on. Answering these questions will assist you in deciding on the suitable plastic for your needs of injection molding service

Injection molding is the most cost-effective way to make a plastic part at scale. The injection molding process involves injecting molten plastic into a mold tool, then ejecting the solidified part. This process quickly repeats hundreds or thousands of times, amortizing the cost of the mold tool and driving down the cost of each unit to a few dollars or less. Since the injection molding process uses the same mold tool for each part, it offers consistent quality across every part. Injection molding also has the highest variety of materials, colors, cosmetics, polishes, and surface textures when compared to CNC machining or even 3D printing.

Xometry's custom plastic mold service is a service providing on-demand prototype and production molding. We take a customer-first approach which means we find the right injection molding supplier within our manufacturing supplier network to mold the parts the way you need them—without design compromises—at the right price point. We offer expert consultation on each injection mold quote and project managers on every order to move your parts from design to production. Our team has experience in every industry, especially medical injection molding and liquid silicone rubber molding. First-time buyers receive $500 off their first mold with Xometry. We offer both domestic and China injection molding options, as well as ITAR injection molding.

Hemp plastic is widely used in the automotive industry for panels and the construction industry for a range of materials requiring fire-retardant properties. Hemp plastic water bottles are fully biodegradable and remove the problems associated with BPA plastics.

Xometry's platform has built-in features that make managing tooled projects a breeze, giving customers greater transparency into production. Find all your tooling quotes and orders in one space with your Tool Library. From there, you can explore their Tool Details page, which covers the current status, milestones, tool specifics, and activity related to that tool. You can also easily find and contact the Xometry team member assigned to your project, no matter the project's current phase.

VDI 3400 Surface Finish (commonly known as VDI surface finish) refers to the mold texture standard set by Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI), the Society of German Engineers. This is mainly processed by EDM machining, producing fine to coarse matte finishes.

Injection molding is used across a wide range of industries including aerospace, medical devices, consumer goods, energy, electronics, automotive, robotics, toys, and more.

Flexibility and rigidity criteria are both critical considerations when selecting a plastic for your project of injection molding service. This criterion is often considered alongside the product's strength—does it need to substitute a machined or die-cast metal part? Will it be able to carry weight? Is rigidity harmful or beneficial to its lifespan?

However, such longevity will not be needed for a piece used in packaging, such as plastic water bottles or casings for consumer products that will be discarded once the product is done.

This quality makes biodegradable plastic especially well-suited for items and products which will be discarded after one use. The most common types of biodegradable plastic resins used in plastic injection molding service include:

Almost every industry for which you might design a component or product has its own set of regulatory standards that you must adhere to. These specifications are critical to the development of your products.

Yes, multiple colors can be run even on the same order! When running multiple colors on the same order, a purge charge will be added.

Regulatory requirements can differ, but it is critical to study individual regulatory concerns before selecting the resin. Based on the end-use of the component or part, longevity and strength criteria may be especially important.

For certain plastic parts whose primary goal is functional rather than decorative, it is critical to consider resin properties such as impact and strength.

Under 500,000 cycles. Medium production mold. This is a very popular mold for low to medium-production needs. Most common price range. Also known as a Class III tool.Example: Aluminum or steel tooling, automated lifts or slides, multiple re-runs with batches between 1,000-5,000 units.

Tighter tolerances can be requested and may increase the cost of tooling because of additional sampling and grooming. Xometry will mill to a steel-safe condition on critical features.

This table depicts the general tolerances for Xometry’s injection molding services and accounts for adequate draft, radii, and coring for manufacturability. Learn more about our injection molding manufacturing standards.

Steel and aluminum; Production grades range from Class 105, a prototype mold, to Class 101, an extremely high production mold. Xometry typically produces Class 104, 103, and 102 tools.

Color matching may seem to be a minor aspect of the procedure, but many goods are produced for mass use, ensuring that consumer appeal is significant. Finally, color and aesthetics may become a significant concern, particularly in environments where customers can use these goods for an extended time.

When selecting the best resin for your plastic injection molding companies, there are a few things to keep in mind. After all, various plastic resins and materials have different properties that can (and often do) affect a part's consistency.

Manufacturing elastomeric parts can be accomplished through injection molding, transfer molding, or compression molding. When getting a quote through Xometry, our team can help you decide the best method depending on the part geometry, estimated annual volume, and the type of material required.

Few important factors to remember when selecting the best plastic resin for your injection molding companies are as follows:

Ultimately, selecting the best plastic resin for your plastic injection molding companies' project would require weighing several factors against one another.

If your consumers and clients are demanding a turn to biodegradable plastics or your choice is motivated by a personal desire to be environmentally conscious, it is essential to understand your options for biodegradable resins used in plastic injection molding companies.

Such components are purely functional and are not visible to the user, such as the vehicle's interior. In contrast, others, such as a faceplate for a wall switch, are mostly aesthetic. This is an important consideration when choosing which kind of resin to use in the injection molding service.

The use of biodegradable plastics in the injection molding service increases across sectors as consumers continue to seek more environmentally friendly goods in the aftermath of the green revolution.

Parts within your printer, under-the-hood vehicle applications, or engine brackets are examples of these components. Some plastics withstand mechanical or physical load better than others, and in some situations, additives may help satisfy load or strength specifications.

Bosses should be designed at a depth of 30% the wall thickness and with a 30% edge groove. Attach them to side walls or ribs for structural integrity.

What is the purpose of the product? This is a crucial factor when deciding on color and plastic for the injection molding service. Parts that go through broader mechanisms may not require a full range of colors in some situations.

Over 1,000,000 cycles. They are engineered for extremely high production. This is the highest-priced mold and is made with only the highest-quality materials. Class 101 molds are also known as Class I tools.Example: Multiple-cavity steel tooling with full automation and overnight production work centers for dedicated part manufacturing.

After receiving the order, the statement of work is reviewed by one of our manufacturing engineers. A case manager is assigned, and an appropriate manufacturing supplier is identified. A comprehensive DFM/PEG report is created and provided for approval. Upon approval, tooling and mold production is commenced. T1 samples are produced and shipped for approval. Upon approval, the remaining parts are made.

Standard injection mold tooling is defined by classes from Class 105 (prototype) to Class 101 (high volume production). These mold classes help manage expectations for both customers and suppliers on the overall tool requirements and scope.

Reduce undercuts, which will increase the complexity and cost of the tool ejection mechanisms, by adding in pass-thru coring.

Injection molding can be the ideal process for low-volume production molding of 250 units to mass production molding of over 1,000,000 units. Plastic injection parts will generally perform better than the same part CNC machined or 3D printed using the same material. Careful selection of the resins allow for a wide range of properties and solvent compatibility. Molds are CNC machined to high precision, high tolerances and are able to produce thousands of identical parts with very small and intricate details.

For example, if the product is intended to be used indoors, it will need to handle both hot and cold conditions without losing its integrity. There are devices designed to be used for added heat or cooling.

We are ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485, and AS9100D certified. Only the top shops that apply to become Suppliers make it through our qualification process.

The plastic injection molding process requires an injection molding machine, raw plastic material, and a machined mold. The raw plastic material is first melted in the injection unit and is then injected into the mold—most often machined from steel or aluminum—where it cools and solidifies into the final plastic part.Â

With molding, plastic or metal parts are created inside a mold. They are then removed from the mold as fully-formed parts. 3D printing, on the other hand, is an additive manufacturing process, meaning that the part is built layer-by-layer using processes like deposition or sintering.

The options are almost limitless, ranging from the very popular ABS plastic to TPE, a plastic composite that looks and behaves more like silicone than plastic. We will go through the most critical factors to bear in mind when determining which plastic resin is suitable for your injection molding companies.

Another factor to remember when selecting a material is the product's lifetime. If you're designing a component that can be used in a mechanical environment, such as medical-grade equipment, you must ensure that the material's toughness suits the device's function.

Range of Society of Plastics Industry (SPI) finishes from Grade 3 diamond / high polish to 320 stone low polish. Finishes include: SPI A-1, SPI A-2, SPI A-3, SPI B-1, SPI B-2, SPI B-3, SPI C-1, SPI C-2, SPI C-3, SPI D-1, SPI D-2, and SPI D-3

Choose from millions of possible combinations of materials, finishes, tolerances, markings, and certifications for your order.

Though the five varieties of biodegradable plastic resins discussed above have a stronghold on the biodegradable plastics industry, hemp is an emerging source of biodegradable plastic for injection molding companies.

In these situations, you should probably let other considerations, such as resilience, longevity, and cost, affect your decision rather than a plastic's color capability.

Hemp plastics can be made entirely of hemp and infused with hemp fibers for strength and toughness, or they can be blended with other types of plastics. Hemp plastics can be up to five times stiffer and 2.5 times heavier than polypropylene, and they can be used in conventional plastic injection molding equipment with no process changes.

Temperature variation will affect your resin selection for various factors, the majority of which are related to the environment in which your part will be used and the role that it will serve.

Get custom plastic molded prototypes and production parts in as few as five business days. We provide expert engineering reviews and $500 off your first mold. Dozens of materials and finishes are available.

In a fundamental component evaluation, the first and most relevant question is: What is the application of the component to be injection molded? What will it do, and how does it work in the end? This primary concern is addressed by the aspects mentioned below.

For example, suppose you created a glittering plastic component. When we ask what this section is about, you simply say it's a plastic case for a dental appliance. The following considerations go into all of the scenarios, expectations, and potential future needs and choices for your plastic component if the injection molding companies.

Below, we look at the top five biodegradable plastics that you would be able to use for the projects of your plastic injection molding companies, as well as one new material that might see rapid development.

In other instances, however, color and other aesthetic elements might be more critical. Resins used for vehicle interiors, toys, and other items purchased for their aesthetically pleasing qualities, such as gloss or high finish, will require particular attention aesthetically.

Texture and high finish will also apply to mold cavity specifications, not just raw material. In these cases, the plastic you choose for the injection molding service must strike a balance between durability and aesthetic considerations, such as a plastic's color-lasting or matching capability.

Under 500 cycles. Prototype only. This mold will be constructed in the least expensive manner possible to produce a minimal quantity of prototype parts. Class 105 molds are also known as Class V tools.Example: a one-and-done market test of 100 molded units.

Biodegradable plastic is any plastic that can decompose naturally in the environment instead of conventional plastics, which do not decompose as easily. The majority of biodegradable plastics are produced by the fermentation of canola oil or sugar, and they decompose when exposed to the appropriate temperature and humidity levels.

Moldmaker's choice of finish. Typically SPI B-2, depending on geometry and drafts. Interior, non-cosmetic faces, are typically as-machined.