The advantage of Rapid Tooling

• Faster Time to Market

  In conventional tooling method, multiple manufacturing processes and techniques might be involved in product development cycle. This may increase the time spending on each step and extend the time from design turning into a real

• Lower Cost

  The longer time spending on product development cycle, the greater the cost will be. The Rapid Tooling advantage of speed could save your business money over time.

• Variety of Material Grades

  Rapid Tooling allows you to use the actual production grades of material. You can use Rapid Tooling to fabricate custom mold quickly. You can then produce as many prototypes from this mold as you can, creating parts with different material.

• Designs and Functionality Testing

  Rapid Tooling allows the mold to be fabricated in a short timeframe. Hence, this provides more freedom to test out the new ideas and make design adjustments. The parts can be mechanical tested such as impact and stress testing to explore the design flaws before production This will massively prevent a lot of issues arisen during the future high volume production stage.

• Process Parameter Testing

  Rapid Tooling can also be used to test the process parameter during production stage. For example, different injection speed and mold temperature for injection molding process will affect the part quality. In this way, the engineers and designers could have more measure control on the final part.

Rapid Tooling Mold Material: Aluminum or Steel?

• Aluminum Mold Tooling

  An ideal choice for prototyping, aluminum mold tooling provides a cost-effective way to produce molded parts. Since they are easy to cut, aluminum molds can reduce tooling costs by 15–25% compared to other mold materials and reduce cycle times by up to 40%. This translates to a faster turnaround for our customers.But it is important to note that aluminum is not as strong as steel, so it has a shorter life cycle and is less useful in high-volume processes.

• Steel Mold Tooling

  We usual uses P20 steel for rapid production tooling. We do this because P20 steel is as easy and fast to the machine as aluminum, using standard cutting tools and requiring no post-machining heat treatment. Such tools are called ‘semi-hardened’. It produces an excellent surface finish, and the raw material isn’t as prone to supply disruptions. Most importantly, it’s much more durable, making a better tool that can produce more finished parts. We believe there are no practical advantages to using aluminum over steel.

FAQ

• Why should I use rapid tooling?

  Rapid tooling is a fast and cost-efficient way to create a few prototypes in a selected material for function and aspect testing, as well as for low-volume manufacturing to test out the market.

• How fast can I get the moldings?

  This depends on the size and geometry of the parts. For a common open and shut mold with regular size part such as 300 x 300 x 50 mm, fabrication of tools and moldings can be done within 10 days.

• What materials can I choose from with rapid tooling?

  There is no limit to material choice. Any plastics available for mass production, including common silicone and rubber materials, can also be used with the rapid tooling process.

• What is the quality level of rapid tooling?

  Moldings from rapid tooling are end-use-parts quality. They are very close to mass production parts.

• How many moldings can I get from rapid tooling?

  Normally, aluminum molds are good enough for +/- 1,000 shots, while Steel P20 molds can last for +/- 10,000 shots.