At APT-Mold, we offer a variety of CNC prototyping services, no matter the shape of the design of your product. Our qualified and skilled workforce will ensure you get a complete replica of the machined parts before mass production is rolled put.
Some of the prototyping services we offer include:
Plastic injection molding
For manufacturers looking for large quantities of injected molded parts, CNC prototyping has got you covered. The service ensured the final end product is of higher precision created and maintained a skilled workforce.
When it comes to plastic injection molding, the service boasts of the best lead times, which is much faster than the traditional lead times, which can take approximately anywhere from 8-12 weeks.
For injection molding, we used the best tooling material that will be wholly based on your anticipated product needs and preference. Before full roll-out, there is complete provision of DFM recommendations that is crucial in fine-tuning the design of the prototypes making plastic injection molding cost-effective.
What is DFM
DFM also refers to ‘Design for Manufacturability.’ In other words, what the acronym means the 3D CAD files are thoroughly studied, which ensured your final product would have all the designs and features that you intended.
Before production commences, a report is produced on all vital information regarding the machined parts/products such as color, material, weight, to mention a few. At this phase, all the complaints or concerns partaking with the design or tooling.
DFM will also provide recommendations and guidelines on how to resolve any issues which may arise about the prototype design. At APT-Mold, all this is done totally free.
Materials used during the tooling process
When it comes to types of material used, this is solely dependent on the number of parts that you want. The larger the quantity, the tougher the tool material to withstand the wear and tear from molding cycles.
Here is the required amount for different quantities:
Low-volume
- Tool lead time- General tooling takes 1-3 weeks
- Material- Aluminum or S50C steel
- Tool life- 1,000-10,000 parts
Medium-volume
- Lead time- General tooling takes 2-4 weeks
- Material- P20 steel or 738H steel
- Tool life- 10,000-100,000 parts
High-volume
- Lead time- General tooling takes 4-6 weeks
- Material- NAK80 or S136 steel
- Tool life- 100,000-1,000,000 parts
Is there a limit on types of plastic to be molded?
Well, no, this means you can mold virtually anything ranging from resins like styrene, HDPE, PP high performing materials such as PPS, polysulfone, polyimide, PEEK to engineering resins like TPE, nylon, POM, PC.
What about the color and finishing?
Well, when it comes to a wide range of colors and finishes, the options are limitless. The injections molds are also regularly polished, ensuring they are transparent, providing optical clarity; the tools are also chemically-etched, which replicated a wide range of textured finishes. When it comes to colors, depending on your color chip, we can match any resins.
