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twoface262

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Jul 7, 2021
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Hey Guys, I've been working on a fitness wearable for the last few years and am at the stage where I'm ready to start polishing the final product.

I have my PCB, Code, Phone App, and marketing materials ready -- however the final shell for the device is 3D printed and very "prototype-esc"

While my 3D printed model appears to work fine, there are a few details I have to leave out due to the way additive printing works (support structures and needing very precise measurements for the heart rate sensor).

Is there a low cost (>$200 USD) prototyping service for injection molds? I'm going to have a few revisions before I chose the final casing for it.

Thanks!
 
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SeanM

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Jun 2, 2022
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Hey Guys, I've been working on a fitness wearable for the last few years and am at the stage where I'm ready to start polishing the final product.

I have my PCB, Code, Phone App, and marketing materials ready -- however the final shell for the device is 3D printed and very "prototype-esc"

While my 3D printed model appears to work fine, there are a few details I have to leave out due to the way additive printing works (support structures and needing very precise measurements for the heart rate sensor).

Is there a low cost (>$200 USD) prototyping service for injection molds? I'm going to have a few revisions before I chose the final casing for it.

Thanks!
I know it's an older post, but to answer your question, no nor really. Your best bet is to probably have it 3d printed by a professional service, that has different styles on printing available, especially ones that don't require supports. For a vast majority of injection molding machines, the mold pre machined costs hundreds to thousands of dollars. Machining can cost another thousand easily, the MOQ and material are also in the thousands. For parts I've designed that are rather small, it is still 5k+ and made in China. Better make sure the design you send is the final one, and hopefully any tweaks that need to be made can be machined after the fact
 

twoface262

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Jul 7, 2021
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I know it's an older post, but to answer your question, no nor really. Your best bet is to probably have it 3d printed by a professional service, that has different styles on printing available, especially ones that don't require supports. For a vast majority of injection molding machines, the mold pre machined costs hundreds to thousands of dollars. Machining can cost another thousand easily, the MOQ and material are also in the thousands. For parts I've designed that are rather small, it is still 5k+ and made in China. Better make sure the design you send is the final one, and hopefully any tweaks that need to be made can be machined after the fact
This is actually perfect. Thank you for sharing your experience! How different are tolerances between a professional 3D print and injection molding? Im guessing that resin prints would be the closest to injection molding.

Can you share some of the services you used for injection molding?

Thanks again!
 

SeanM

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Jun 2, 2022
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This is actually perfect. Thank you for sharing your experience! How different are tolerances between a professional 3D print and injection molding? Im guessing that resin prints would be the closest to injection molding.

Can you share some of the services you used for injection molding?

Thanks again!
Honestly a place like shapeways is a good source of getting 3d printed stuff in different methods. The material and style is fully dependent on what you're trying to do. Laser sintered metal is going to have different tolerances than a resin jet style, and will be different than whatever other styles. As far as injection molding, usually within .01" depending on the quality of company. I don't remember the name of the company used, as it was a few years ago at a previous job, but you can find companies on sites like Alibaba, or if you can, find a local injection molding company. Definitely research into what's the design requirements are for injection molding. While it is a simple process, it can be very technical. Luckily too, most injection molding companies will help out and let you know if something needs to be changed

Alternatively, if you had about 15k, you could buy a micro injection molding machine like the one from APSX. Those molds are significantly cheaper and can save you money on prototypes. But you do need to buy and learn the machine.
 
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