Rapid injection molding is only ‘rapid’ if it is done right the first
time. If you don’t qualify your rapid injection molding partner properly you
will likely end up with a Frankenstein mold that may be longer to fix than it
did to create.
Ideally, you want a
vendor that can assist you in creating high quality prototypes as well as creating
the actual injection mold tool for you. This will show you that they have
experience in tight deadlines. The big benefits surrounding rapid injection molding is dramatically reduced mold costs and mold fabrication time, as well
as the ability to produce and deliver parts that are identical to high volume
production parts. Your choice of a rapid prototyping supplier can make or break
production and your ability to truly be rapid, to deliver your design to the
market or testing phase as desired in a quick timeframe.
Look for a rapid
injection molding partner that offers transparency when it comes to material
selection. This way, you can make sure that the final product you will receive
meets the needs of your application. Check to make sure that they only get
resin from verified sources and not secondary black market sources.
Finding the right rapid injection molding partner is
also crucial because when you miss your deadline the entire exercise of a rapid
injection mold can be for nothing and you may have compromised your ability to make
needed changes. Yes, rapid tools are cheaper. Yes, rapid
tools are faster. But only if they are done right the first time. You cannot
swing and miss with rapid tooling.