Rapid Prototype Tooling & Molding

What is Rapid Prototype Tooling?

Rapid Tooling or Rapid Prototype Tooling has different meanings to different people.  Most 3D printing service bureaus associate the the term with a technology that can be printed, cast or laser sintered.  To a prototype tooling company it is likely an aluminum mold where CNC machining is the dominant manufacturing method used to manufacture the mold.  At Rapid Molding a prototype injection mold, or rapid tooling, is a low-cost, injection mold manufactured very quickly!

Rapid Molding’s Approach to Prototype Tooling

We’ve been making rapid molds for three decades.  Unlike most prototype mold makers who use aluminum to manufacture prototype molds, we typical use medium hardness (28 to 34 HRc) steels, like P20 or 420 stainless steel, to manufacture our prototype molds and inserts.  For this reason, our prototype molds are:

• More durable and will cycle longer.
• Can withstand abrasive materials.
• Will function fully automatic without fear of damaging the mold.
• Can be polished to higher gloss finishes and will hold this finish longer.
• Are very easy to modify with additional cutting or welding when a part change is not “steel safe”.

Prototype Tooling Reduces Cost

We provide real injection molded parts starting at $899.  This is virtually unheard of in the injection molding world and to a small startup or a large company our approach opens up a lot opportunities.

Prototype Tooling Capacity

Our prototype molds are often used to manufacture more than 10K parts.  The molds are usually capable of more cycles than this, but most customer that reach product sales into the thousands get better ROI from our bridge molds.

Prototype Tooling Capability

Rapid prototype injection molding can be useful in many scenarios, like R&D or market evaluation, but that value is diminished if you have to modify your part design to fit a prototype molder’s limitations.  We remove these limitations, if you can mold the part in a production molding environment, we can prototype mold the exact same part.  Essentially our prototype molds are fully capable of the same functions as a production mold with an emphasis on low-cost, and lower volumes.