You have a Reaction Injection Molding project and you need help developing it and making it a reality.
We can help.
With your goals in mind, here is what that will look like in the 10 steps we follow to develop your project…
1. Understand Project Scope
We must first understand a couple critical things to ensure that our capabilities align with your needs.
Annual Volume
Simply put, how many parts do you need on an annual basis? We can typically process part quantities in the range of 1,000 – 15,000 annually, depending on the specifics of your project and our capacity at the time of inquiry.
Start of Production
Next, in order to ensure we can meet your needs in a timely way, we must understand and discuss when to start production of your part as it relates to expectations for delivery. Typical times from initial inquiry to Start of Production can be 6 – 12 months, depending a myriad of factors specific to your project.
2. Understand Operating Environment and Exposure to:
Once we realize the scope of your project is a fit for us, we must understand the conditions your part will be exposed to. Will it be exposed to the sun and, if so, for how long? Will it be exposed to extreme heat and, if so, how hot? Will it be exposed to chemicals and, if so, which ones? Once we understand the following exposure conditions:
Temperature
Chemicals
UV Rays
…we can begin the process of aligning the correct material for your project.
3. Understand Functional Requirements
The final part to maximizing the performance of your part, is to understand its functional requirements. We have many different polyurethane formulations, as well as other materials such as Dicyclopentadiene to achieve many different characteristics. By understanding the following functional requirements…
Stiffness
Load Bearing Requirements
Impact Resistance
…we can finalize the material/process selection and provide you with the very best solution for your project.
If everything is still a fit for both parties at this point, we move forward to Testing and Product Design.
4. Material & Mechanical Testing
In some cases, we will be happy to provide sample materials for testing to help you ensure the material performs to your specifications. We will work with you to select a proper material for your application.
5. Design for Manufacturability – Supporting Customer Design Efforts
Once you are satisfied with the process, the material and the fit and function, it’s time to take a deep dive into the part design. Our engineers will review the CAD model (insert acceptable formats) with an eye for:
Moldability
Moldability refers to how well the design of your part will conform to the reaction injection molding process. Because, a good reaction injection molding process needs to account for how well the material can fill that mold cavity.
Processability
Processability refers to ???
We provide design for manufacturability (DFM) support throughout the customer design process.
Below is a list of acceptable file formats in order of preference:
3d CAD formats
Solidworks (.prt; .sldprt ; .asm; .sldasm)
Parasolid (.x_t; .x_b)
Step (.step; .stp)
Iges (.igs; .iges)
Inventor (.ipt; .iam)
Unigraphics/NX (.prt)
2d CAD/image formats
AutoCad (.dwg; .dxf)
Adobe (.pdf)
Cals Raster Graphic (.cal)
Tag Image File Format (.tiff; .tif)
6. Prototyping Parts with Prototype Mold
Also if needed, we can build prototype parts using a prototype mold with production materials to ensure proper fit and function.
7. Build Production Tools
Everything is aligned and agreements have been made. We can now build the mold. Our processes do not require high temperatures nor high pressures. Therefore, we are able utilize less expensive Aluminum tooling for cost savings.
Mold
In building the mold, we work hands-on with the mold builder to ensure proper cooling, ventilation, etc.
Fixtures
Trim Fixtures
(insert definition here)
Prime
(insert definition here)
Paint
(insert definition here)
Assembly Fixture
(insert definition here)
8. First Shot / Trial Run
Once the tools are delivered, we load it up onto one of our large presses (some capable of producing parts of up to 11’ x 14’), start process development and we run the first shots.
Here we are looking to ensure proper moldability and to confirm part tolerances (PPAP). As we run the first handful, we make all the adjustments as needed to ensure part integrity and tolerance.
Once you are happy, we move to full scale production.
9. Production
Now that all the prep work is complete, we can produce parts!
