While there has been a recent focus on 3D printing for prototyping, good custom injection molding can actually be a much better method for fostering innovation during product development. Custom injection molding provides several advantages that foster innovation during product development and significantly improve the prototype to production process as well.
Preventing Hazardous Design Errors
One of the main goals of prototyping is to determine the best and most efficient design of a part or larger assembly of products. Custom injection molding allows for the creation of a prototype that will mimic actual manufacturing errors that could occur, such as surface imperfections, problems with critical dimensions, part design release (identifying any design undercuts) which can lead to difficulties with ejection after molding is complete. It’ll be a lot faster to determine what needs to be changed in the pre production part during the prototyping phase, than during a multi cavity tool build. Once all the shrinkage values, design considerations and challenges have been established, we can perfect the final product..
Determining Manufacturing Challenges Early
Product development can be difficult, especially when it comes to translating the design on paper (or more often in our modern world, a computer file) into an actual, physical object. There are always going to be unexpected problems that come up, difficulties with the material or the actual injection and ejection of the part into and out of the mold. Custom injection molding is an excellent method for prototyping because it provides a glimpse into those challenges early on, which then allows engineers to find ways around those challenges.
Improving the Prototype to Production Process
Minor difficulties that occur during the molding process of a small batch of prototypes can often expand into costly challenges as production ramps up. Finding ways to combat and eliminate these problems early on makes the prototype to production part a lot easier. Plus, once you have the design you’re satisfied with, you’ll already have the tooling design in place to ramp up production! Tooling and mold design takes up a great deal of the effort that goes into injection molding, but once production begins, those molds can last for a significantly long time.
Fostering Collaboration
One of the most important things that custom injection molding offers as a prototyping method is its ability to foster collaboration between all invested parties–designers, engineers, injection molders, material specialists, product developers. As mentioned earlier, actually designing and building the custom mold for the new prototype tends to be the biggest investment when it comes to injection molding, and it requires the insight of all of these experts. More collaboration between them means that the prototype will be much more likely to succeed without needing to go through too many iterations.
Innovation happens when great minds come together with the shared goal to push the boundaries of what can be achieved. Custom injection molding is one of the best methods for prototyping, fostering innovation and collaboration during product development.
About World Class Plastics, Inc.
World Class Plastics, Inc. is more than just an injection molding company. We are your partner for everything from engineering and design assistance to tool and mold building, and injection molding to product assembly, with responsive customer service to support you every step of the way. Head over to our website to learn more about what we can do for you and request a quote today.
If you’re working on a new product development project for a plastic component, but aren’t sure what the best method is to make the prototype, consider custom injection molding! A good custom injection molder can help you determine production challenges early on and streamline the prototype to production process overall. Learn more in our latest blog post!
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Working on a prototype? Check out our latest blog post to learn more about the benefits of using custom injection molding to produce your prototypes!