You may never have heard of us, but you've seen our products at work. If you've ever been to the movies, admired a piece of sculpture, marveled at detailed architectural ornamentation or used a telephone; then you've encountered the handiwork of people who use Smooth-On rubbers, plastics, foams and other products to turn their ideas into 3-dimensional reality.Learn more about us ›

Sometimes certain features can cause challenges when machining the mold. Fabricating a mold for a part design that includes a small hole going through the part is a common issue as they require tall, thin features that can be risky to machine. Instances like these can be solved with core pins, which maintain a steeper draft angle and are affixed to the mold, similar to a pickout insert.

Tough Black (Loctite Henkel 3843) and Ceramic-Filled (BASF 3280) are two new advanced photopolymer materials now available for 3D printing.

When Karl Denton was chosen to create a plaque for the 1928 Scarab Club costume ball, he had a very unique design in mind.

Multi-cavity tooling does limit the potential for side-actions, so sometimes design concessions need to be made in favor of a simpler geometry. Pickout inserts are still an option for multi-cavity molds and can be used in much the same way as they are for single-cavity molds.

Our helpful design aid demonstrates part features that are too thin or too thick, bad bosses, right and wrong ribs, and other considerations to be mindful of while designing parts for injection molding.

Smooth-On rubbers, plastics and foams are ideal for a variety of home hobbies and arts & crafts projects.  Easy to use OOMOO silicone mold rubber is perfect for the hobbyist and can be used to reproduce detail of any small or simple model. Smooth-Cast 300 liquid plastic can then be poured into your OOMOO mold to make an exact copy of your original. Great for school projects (note; these materials require adult supervision at all times).

Get machined parts anodized and chromate plated with our quick-turn finishing option. Eligible materials include aluminum 6061/6082 and 7075.

When you think of injection molding, the image of a straight-pull mold is probably what first comes to mind. It’s the classic A-side and B-side mold that closes together to form the final part. It’s the simplest, fastest way to mold a plastic part. But more complex designs will often require more advanced molding techniques.

In some cases, the fastest and most cost-effective solution for undercut features is to machine a custom mold insert called a pickout. Pickouts can provide more design freedom than side-action cams since they don’t need to align to the mold in any particular way. A common use case for pickouts is a boss feature on an angled surface.

Our digital factories create prototypes and low-volume parts fast, while our manufacturing network, offers advanced capabilities and volume pricing.

Before we get into side-actions, let’s discuss why they’re necessary in injection molding design. More complex part geometries will frequently include undercuts—features that restrict the mold from cleanly pulling apart. Sometimes, more flexible materials, like a silicone rubber, can flex around these features, but you wouldn’t want to try it with an ABS or glass-filled nylon. That’s where side-actions come into play.

Long-time Smooth-On user Jon Scott wrote us an email about his success using Brush-On® 50 as a leak stopper during Hurricane Irene.

Proto Labs, Inc. 5540 Pioneer Creek Dr. Maple Plain, MN 55359 United States P: 877-479-3680 F: 763-479-2679 E: [email protected]

• Give your student an edge by using Smooth-On rubbers, plastics and foams to create interesting models, science projects, ocean / seascapes, topographical representations and more.

For more detailed information on all of the above, plus other considerations for injection molding design, order a free copy of Injection Molding Design for Dummies.

When Jonathan Hunt was searching out materials to create 'Captain America' style helmets for his clients, he was looking for very particular properties.

For production runs, more complex tooling, while being more expensive to fabricate, can lead to cost savings through faster cycle time and lower piece-part price. Smaller, simpler parts are good candidates for multi-cavity molding, which can produce two, four, and eight parts in a single shot. Self-mating parts can also be molded in the same tool—two sides of a hinged enclosure, for example.