The urethane casting build process involves first creating a master pattern — essentially a replica (often 3D printed) of the final part. The pattern is then fully encased in liquid silicone and allowed to cure. The mold is cut into halves and the pattern removed. From there, the process can be repeated using the proper urethane casting resin.

Polyurethane casting materials are capable of providing performance characteristics comparable — if not superior — to the thermoplastics used in injection molding. However, as with other production methods, the process of casting high-quality parts that meet all performance requirements also requires that product teams follow design for manufacturability (DFM) best practices. Here are some of the most important guidelines for product teams to keep in mind:

Tolerances

Some degree of variation is inevitable in manufacturing (though teams should endeavor to account for as many of the variables as possible), and tolerances are the acceptable amount of dimensional variation between individual units. Cast urethane tolerances are typically around  ± 0.015” or ± 0.003 per inch, whichever is greater. Tighter tolerances may be offered on a case-by-case basis.

In general, a shrinkage rate of +0.15% is typical. This is caused by the thermal expansion of the urethane casting material and how the flexible silicone mold warms in response.

Additionally, it’s important to note that while urethane cast parts take well to post-processing (though additional processes, such as polishing or custom finishing, can quickly drive up production costs), some design features like sharp corners or lettering may experience slight rounding in the cooling process, impacting the definition of finer details. That said, it is possible to add a finish to the master pattern that mimics an SPI finish or texture. You can also paint urethane cast parts to match Pantone colors, and certain color and pigments can be added directly to the casting materials, as well.

Wall Thickness

Parts produced with urethane casting should have a minimum wall thickness of 0.040” (1mm), though walls as thin as 0.020” (0.5mm) can be achieved for some small components. Larger parts generally require thicker walls in order to ensure the piece’s structural integrity.

Urethane casting does allow for parts with varying wall thicknesses or irregular geometries, but designing parts as such should be done only when strictly necessary. Maintaining a consistent thickness helps to minimize the potential for improper shrinkage and deformation during the curing process.

Undercuts and Draft

While undercuts can quickly complicate injection molding design, the flexible nature of the silicone molds used in urethane casting typically allows for parts to be removed easily and without damage.

The same is true for draft angles: they are a necessity for ejecting pieces from metal molds, but less essential for urethane-cast parts. That said, incorporating 3-5 degrees of draft into part design can significantly reduce strain on your mold and extend its life cycle.

Ribs

Ribs add stability and strength, but it’s important to ensure that they are oriented so as to maximize the bending stiffness of the walls they support. As a general rule of thumb, the rib’s height should be no more than three times its width, and the width of the rib where it meets the part wall should be between 40-60% of the wall thickness. Lastly, to maximize the strength of the rib, all interior corners should have a fillet radius of at least 25% of the part’s wall thickness.

Bosses

Bosses allow secure mating parts to be attached through the use of screws, pins, and other fasteners. As with ribs, the base radius should be about 25% of the part’s wall thickness, which has the added benefit in this case of helping to prevent the fastener from burning when it’s set into the boss.

Interior boss corners should use a 0.060” (1.5mm) fillet radius to minimize thickness and reduce the likelihood of sinks developing. Ensuring that bosses are no more than 60% of the nominal wall thickness also helps to minimize shrinkage.

Leverage the Benefits of Urethane Casting Today

The advantages of urethane casting — short lead times, low cost, and design and material flexibility, to name a few — only truly pay off if you adhere to design and manufacturing best practices. This means paying attention to variables like urethane casting material properties, general tolerances for rubber parts, and everything in between — which quickly becomes complicated without the assistance of an experienced manufacturing partner.

With our agile approach, we’re able to significantly shorten lead times and increase operational efficiency for product teams of all shapes and sizes. And at SyBridge, our business isn’t just based on manufacturing superior parts — we also work tirelessly to make sure that our production processes are as efficient as possible, even if that means using a combination of techniques to get the job done. Contact us today to learn more.

The post Critical Design Guidelines for Urethane Casting appeared first on SyBridge Technologies.

Design for manufacturability (DFM) involves optimizing part design so manufacturers can fabricate high-quality parts with the lowest possible cost-per-unit. By taking the manufacturing method and its restrictions into account, designers can reduce production time, cut costs, and prevent extensive redesigns.

DFM best practices vary depending on the product you’re making and your chosen manufacturing method. While injection molding and urethane casting are both molding technologies that can create molded plastic parts, they have different DFM guidelines. Here’s everything you need to know.

Urethane Casting vs. Injection Molding

Before starting to injection mold parts, the appropriate tooling needs to be designed and manufactured via CNC machining. Your part’s geometry will directly impact your tooling, so if you have a complex component, you’ll need complex tooling. Complex parts may need to incorporate slide actions, lifters, or removable cores into the mold’s design. During the injection molding process, the core and cavity will come together. Molten plastic will then be injected into the tooling, cooled, hardened, and ejected to create a usable part.

Urethane casting begins with a master pattern that is created via CNC machining or 3D printing. The operator places the master pattern in a mold box, fills the box with liquid silicone, and then cures it. After the curing process is complete, the mold is cut in half to remove the master pattern. What’s left behind is a cavity in the shape of the part that will be molded. Then, the cavity is filled with urethane casting resin and placed in a heated vacuum chamber for curing.

While both processes involve filling a mold’s cavity with a plastic material, there are some key differences between urethane casting and injection molding.

• Molds for injection molding are often made of steel or aluminum, making them far more durable than the silicone molds used in urethane casting.
• Creating a urethane casting mold is less expensive than creating one for injection molding. Complex injection molds can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars, but fabricating a urethane casting mold typically costs hundreds or thousands of dollars.
• While it may take several months for an injection mold to enter the production stage, urethane casting molds can be tooled in under two weeks.
• Urethane casting is more forgiving with regard to wall thickness and undercuts than injection molding.

If you’re planning a high-volume production run or have tight tolerances, consider injection molding. Metal molds are more durable and rigid than silicone molds, and metal will continually deliver consistent part quality. Plus, you’ll have far more control when injection molding compared to urethane casting. Not only can the manufacturer control material flow and cooling rates, but also injection temperature and location when injection molding. While the cost of creating a mold for injection molding may seem high initially, it becomes cost-effective when divided among thousands of parts.

On the other hand, urethane casting is ideal when developing prototypes or executing low-volume production runs, as soft tooling offers speed, flexibility, and affordability. If you have a high demand for your product but your permanent tooling isn’t ready yet, you can start production with urethane casting.

Top DFM Concerns for Urethane Casting and Injection Molding

When it comes to DFM for urethane casting or injection molding, you’ll want to keep tolerances, wall thickness, and undercuts in mind.

Tolerances

No manufacturing process is perfect, so designers and engineers allow for these variations by establishing acceptable tolerances. Parts are compared to these acceptable measurement variations from base measurements, so those whose dimensions adhere to these constraints will be considered acceptable. Those with dimensional variations over the amount defined in the tolerance won’t work as intended. These tolerances are established during the design process, and they dictate which manufacturing processes can be used.

Achieving tight tolerances with cast urethane is very difficult — if not impossible — because the molds are made of flexible silicone that can be moved by the vacuum load. You shouldn’t use cast urethane to manufacture your parts if you need incredibly accurate components.

On the other hand, metal injection molds offer less variation in final measured dimensions, as they can’t move around as much. However, molten plastic contracts as it cools, which causes minor variations in the part’s final measured dimensions. You’ll need to establish injection mold tolerances that reflect this.

Under-tolerancing can be more affordable, but it can affect usability, and over-tolerancing is more expensive and time-consuming. By taking the time to find the perfect balance between the two, you can make sure your parts are reliable, functional, and fit with other parts as intended. Consider your part’s function, tolerance stacking, and the manufacturing and assembly processes. If your chosen manufacturing method can’t meet your tolerance requirements, you may need to use a different manufacturing technology. You can also redesign your part so it functions with loose tolerances.

Wall Thickness

Maintaining a uniform wall thickness is important because it increases part-to-part consistency, improves stress distribution, and reduces costs. Inconsistent or non-uniform wall thickness can result in warpage, sink marks, shrinkage, short shots, or voids in injection molded parts.

A part’s ideal wall thickness depends on its size, geometry, and structural and aesthetic requirements. For best results, we recommended that wall thicknesses for injection molded parts be between 1-4 mm. It’s possible to have walls of varying thicknesses when creating parts with urethane casting, though you may experience some shrinkage or deformation during curing. For both processes, it’s best to keep wall thickness below 5mm.

Undercuts

Any protrusions or indentations that prevent you from ejecting your part from a one-piece mold without damage are considered undercuts. In some cases, recessed surfaces, grooves, and overhang features can make the demolding process difficult and damage your part. Other times, these features won’t cause any harm. It depends on how you designed and oriented these features and your component.

The impact of undercuts also depends on your manufacturing method. Thanks to the flexibility urethane casting silicone offers, you can simply bend and stretch the tooling out of the way to release your part if you happen to have an undercut. The same cannot be said for the metal tooling used in injection molding, which is far less flexible. Your manufacturer may need to add actions, create a hole or slot in your mold, or redesign your mold with features parallel to the axis where the mold separates in order to ensure your part can be ejected. This results in more complex and more expensive tooling.

Design for Manufacturing With SyBridge

Whether you choose urethane casting or injection molding, integrating DFM into the design process will lower your cost-per-part and save time. By taking your manufacturing method, tolerances, wall thicknesses, and undercuts into account while designing, you can minimize part misalignments and optimize the production process.

No matter which manufacturing process you choose, SyBridge can help you design for manufacturability to ensure you’re satisfied with the final product’s quality and cost. Our team of experts can advise you on appropriate tolerances and wall thicknesses or help you determine which undercut workaround is best suited for your design. Contact us today to get started.

The post Urethane Casting vs. Injection Molding — A DFM Guide appeared first on SyBridge Technologies.

If you look closely at the innovations coming out of the top industries today — automotive, medical, aerospace — odds are you’ll find some form of robotics technology. Recent advancements in computing and sensory technology have inspired explosive growth in advanced robotics manufacturing, and the applications are wide-ranging. Within the last few years, we’ve seen surgical robots perform intricate procedures, robot dogs assist military and law enforcement officials, and much more.

Even though the robotics industry changes rapidly and capitalizes on the most cutting-edge technologies available, the processes used for manufacturing robotics parts also include tried-and-true traditional processes like CNC machining and urethane casting.

Urethane casting is typically associated with prototyping and low-volume production runs of consumer goods like ergonomic grips and skateboard wheels, but this process plays a surprisingly important role in advanced robotics manufacturing. Here’s what you need to know:

An overview of urethane casting

Urethane casting is a versatile manufacturing process that allows you to create high-quality flexible and rigid plastic parts without the expenses associated with injection molding or the costs of laborious hard tooling.

During the urethane casting process, a master pattern — created using 3D printing or CNC machining — is placed in a mold box and then filled with liquid silicone. Once the silicone has cured overnight, the silicone block is cut into two pieces, revealing the mold that will be used to create additional copies of the part. Each piece of silicone is reassembled, filled with urethane casting resin, and placed in a heated vacuum chamber to cure. Once cured, you’ll have a 1:1 scale replica of your master pattern that requires little if any post-processing.

Ideal for low- to medium-volume production runs, urethane casting is easy to use and boasts faster turnaround times than injection molding. However, the cost per part can be high, and strict thickness requirements can limit design flexibility. These pain points notwithstanding, product teams can still manufacture many different kinds of high-quality parts with urethane casting. Common applications include logos, molded bearings, mechanical joints with overlapping features, as well as robot parts.

Common urethane casting applications in the robotics industry

In general, the mechanical and chemical properties of urethane casting resins render them excellent materials for advanced robotics manufacturing. Urethane casting materials are known for their wear, abrasion, corrosion, and chemical resistance. Plus, urethane casting parts are excellent for minimizing unnecessary vibration.

These characteristics are advantageous to industrial robot manufacturers, designers, and engineers who need parts for robots that will be operating in extreme weather conditions or on rough terrain and uneven surfaces. Common applications include wheel systems for robotic forklifts, bomb disposal robots, and other robotic applications in the military and law enforcement sectors.

Urethane casting is also showing a lot of promise in soft robotics, a specific subgenre of robotics engineering that deals with constructing robots from highly compliant materials to mimic the way living organisms move and adapt to their environments.

In the early days of advanced robotics manufacturing, robots were primarily relegated to test laboratory settings. Today’s robots see a high degree of field use and are more frequently used for applications that come into close contact with humans. For example, industrial robot manufacturers in Tokyo have developed a wearable robot exosuit that contours to the wearer’s body to improve their strength, balance, and endurance. Industrial robot manufacturers are also developing robots that can safely and comfortably support the elderly or injured and help healthcare practitioners mobilize them.

Soft robotics use-cases like these wouldn’t be possible without soft gripping elements, for which urethane casting is ideal. The polyurethanes used in urethane casting are tough enough to grip hard-to-handle objects without slipping, but gentle enough to handle delicate objects like an arm in a cast. Urethane casting plays a major role in robotics used in a wide variety of real-world applications.

The future of advanced robotics manufacturing with urethane casting

It’s challenging to predict exactly how the robotics sector will evolve because the possibilities are so vast and technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate. However, if industrial robot manufacturers continue to pursue soft robotics innovations designed to work alongside humans, we can expect to see more urethane casting in the robotics sector very soon. Product teams can break into this dynamic industry as soon as possible with the help of an experienced manufacturing partner.

When you partner with SyBridge to manufacture urethane casting parts, you can expect quick turnaround times, low-upfront costs, and unmatched material flexibility. All of the polyurethane materials we offer come in a variety of colors, durometers, and textures that are sure to fit your unique project requirements. If you’re looking to push the envelope and venture into advanced robotics manufacturing, we can also help you reach those goals. Contact us today to learn more about how we can turn your robotics designs into reality.

The post Urethane Casting in the Robotics Industry appeared first on SyBridge Technologies.

Urethane casting is a rapid and cost-effective method for producing end-use plastic parts in low to medium volumes. The process involves creating silicone casting molds from a part’s master pattern, then cutting the molds in half so that they can be brought to production. Able to support a wide range of viable part designs, urethane casting is commonly used for parts prototyping, bridge tooling, and fabricating parts with fine details, varying wall thicknesses, and complex geometries.

Among the process’ notable advantages, urethane casting can accelerate time-to-market, as most parts can be cast in less than two weeks. Further, casted parts tend to experience lower shrinkage rates than those produced through processes like injection molding.

Considering that urethane casting is a highly versatile manufacturing process, material selection can involve a variety of factors. It’s important that product teams do their due diligence to ensure they select the best-fit material for their given project.

Urethane Casting Material Selection Factors

Urethane casting is compatible with a wide range of both rigid and flexible materials — so cast urethane parts can be produced in a variety of colors, textures, and finishes. However, with so many options available, it’s important that you adhere to design for manufacturability (DFM) best practices when selecting a material. You’ll be weighing a complex set of factors, including:

• Application requirements: Does the part need to store or dissipate energy? Does it require tear resistance, load-bearing, or sound-dampening? Each of these factors necessitates different physical and chemical properties, which should help refine the pool of viable material options.
• Environmental considerations: If the application requirements will expose the part to extreme temperatures, humidity, UV radiation, or chemicals, these environmental considerations should also inform your material selection.
• Expectations: Other factors like cosmetic considerations and managing the customer’s expectations when it comes to part life, durability, and cost may play a significant role in determining the final choice.

Ultimately, determining the best-fit material for a given application is vital to ensuring the entire production cycle is positioned for success. Urethane casting materials including silicones, foams, and urethane casting resins can be categorized by their hardness according to durometer scale. Here’s a quick look at durometer, the Shore scale, and some of the most common urethane casting materials.

A Note on Durometer and the Shore Scale

Rubbers, plastics, and metals can vary widely in terms of their physical properties and characteristics, which has a direct impact on the applications for which each material is suited — a soft, bendable plastic obviously won’t do when hardened steel is required, and vice versa.

Durometer is the standardized metric for measuring the hardness of a given material, which is to say how resistant it is to local deformation. The durometer of most of these materials will fall into one of three categories: Shore 00, Shore A, or Shore D, each of which represent a range of hardness, with Shore 00 being the softest and Shore D being the hardest. Urethanes typically range in hardness from 25 shore 00 (something like a gel bicycle seat) to 75 shore D (something like a bowling ball).

Rigid Urethane (Shore D Resins)

The Shore D spectrum spans from rigid polyurethane resins to highly rigid ones. Most materials harder than 65 Shore D will feel completely rigid to the human hand and will not have the surface flex or bendability provided by softer Shore A materials. At the upper end of the Shore D spectrum comes the Rockwell scale, which is used to measure metals and extremely hard resins like acetals and nylons.

Common shore D materials include:

AFP3100 (85 shore D)

Extremely durable and resistant to both heat and impact, this rigid resin is often used to create covers and housings for consumer electronics and medical equipment. It is comparable to ABS and PC/ABS plastics.

AFP3200 (80 Shore D)

Similar to HDPE, this urethane offers high tensile and impact strength, rigidity, and stiffness, and is used extensively in consumer packaged goods, industrial piping and tanks, and auto body components like fenders, hoods, and wheel wells.

AFP3320 (80 Shore D)

This urethane is often used for high-heat applications due to its excellent heat and impact resistance. It is an excellent option for HVAC and underhood applications.

AFP3400 (70 Shore D)

Comparable in many ways to polypropylene, this material offers flexibility while still maintaining a low flexural modulus and good impact resistance. This resin is well-suited for applications like living hinges where superior elongation is essential.

AFP3600 (~82 Shore D)

This clear material can be easily pigmented, provides good heat resistance, and provides enough flexibility for small parts like clips and snap fits. Lenses, housings, backlight applications, and both clear and frosted components are often made with this urethane.

PT8958 (85 Shore D)

This material is most often used to create medium or large medical components that must be both MRI-transparent and flame-retardant.

RC 79D (85 Shore D ±5)

Also MRI-transparent and flame-retardant, this tough, impact-resistant material is often a good fit for smaller medical devices and assemblies.

Urethane Elastomers (Shore A Resins)

Shore A materials are softer than the rigid shore D materials, providing greater flex and, often, good tear strength. At one end of the material spectrum, 0 Shore A refers to soft, gel-like materials, while semi-rigid plastics measure 90 or 95 Shore A.

Common shore A materials include:

E1005AL (5 Shore A)

This extra soft elastomer is an excellent all-around soft rubber that’s easy to dye and offers good tensile and tear strength. For this reason, it’s commonly used to create medical training models, special effects, and props.

E1015AL (15 Shore A)

Similar to E1005AL, but with slightly increased rigidity, this elastomer is excellent for creating soft rubber grips and stretchable linings.

E1040AL (40 Shore A)

This medium-soft resin is similar in hardness to a standard pencil eraser, making it well suited for overmolding and keypads.

E1060AL (60 Shore A)

This medium-hard material is a good general purpose elastomer often used to create bellows, boots, and overmolded components.

E1070 AB (70 Shore A)

Comparable to the hardness of automotive tires, this material’s blend of durability and wear resistance is also ideal for cable connectors.

E1095AB (95 Shore A)

This material offers good abrasion and tear resistance, and is often used to manufacture shopping cart wheels, rollers, and bumpers.

Each of these thermoplastic elastomer resins are compliant with the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) standards.

Silicones

Silicones are softer than shore A materials and are used to create a select few kinds of parts; however, they are commonly used to create the molds by which end-use parts are cast. This is especially true when using the cast urethane molding process for bridge tooling, an interim step that allows production to begin while the injection molds and other hard tooling is machined and finalized. Castings for bridge tooling can also be done in urethane, foam, or metal.

Common silicones include:

AFS15 (15 Shore A)

A soft rubber, this silicone is often used in applications like ink stamp pads and pressure pads that require good flexibility.

AFS30 (30 Shore A)

A little firmer than AFS15, this casting silicone can be used in mold-making and to encapsulate other components.

AFS40 (40 Shore A)

This medium-soft silicone makes excellent buttons and keypads, while also providing good water resistance.

AFS60 (60 Shore A)

This medium-hard rubber works well for mold-making and applications that require encapsulating.

Each of these silicones can also be used to create viable components like gaskets and seals in varying hardnesses.

Leverage the Benefits of These Common Urethane Casting Materials Today

Urethane casting is a useful method of manufacturing for a number of reasons. One, it’s fast and generally quite cost-effective. Two, it produces high-quality, end-use parts. Three, you have a huge variety of polyurethane elastomer resins at your fingertips with which to work. However, having so many options available can sometimes be overwhelming — how can you determine how subtle differences between materials will affect the longevity and performance of your part down the line?

The good news is that partnering with a skilled, on-demand manufacturer SyBridge takes the hassle out of material selection, design, and production. In fact, our approach has been shown to cut urethane casting costs by up to 60%. If you’re interested in learning more about how our flexible production methods can bring your plans to life — on time and on budget — contact us today.

The post A Breakdown of Common Urethane Casting Materials: Silicones, Elastomers, and Rigid Urethanes appeared first on SyBridge Technologies.

Urethane casting is a versatile traditional manufacturing process that uses a 3D-printed master pattern and a silicone mold to create end-use plastic parts. During the urethane casting process, the master pattern is placed inside a sealed box, covered with liquid silicone, and then cured. After the silicone has set, a manufacturer cuts it in half to release the master pattern — at this point, the cast urethane mold is ready for use.

To create custom cast urethane parts, engineers pour urethane casting resin — typically a polyurethane material that can mimic the physical properties of the plastic used in injection molding — into the mold and cure it in an oven. The final part generally requires little, if any, post-processing.

Less expensive and less time-consuming than hard tooling, urethane casting is ideal for rapid prototyping and low- to medium-volume production runs of complex builds. To get the most out of this manufacturing process, product teams must design for manufacturability and optimize mold design early on to streamline the production process and keep costs low. Here are five essential design tips for creating clean and functional custom cast urethane parts:

5 Top Design Tips for Urethane Casting

1. Give even wall thickness

Many engineers prefer urethane casting over injection molding because the former process affords greater variation in wall thicknesses, but it’s still important to ensure that a given urethane mold design features uniform walls. Uniform walls reduce the risk of deformation during curing, ensure the mold will be filled completely and accurately, and mitigate other design issues.

A minimum wall thickness of .040” (1mm) is recommended, but there are cases in which walls may be as thin as .020”(.5mm) in small parts. For larger parts, wall thickness should always increase in proportion to the size of the part to guarantee that the walls can provide adequate support.

2. Account for shrinkage

When two walls with different thicknesses intersect in a urethane mold design, shrinkage can occur. Since thicker walls solidify slower than thinner walls, the area to which they are attached at the nominal wall will shrink as the projection — a rib or a boss —  shrinks. This causes a sunken area in the nominal wall. To minimize shrinkage and prevent sunken areas, engineers should ensure rib thickness falls between 50% and 60% of the walls to which they’re attached.

Still, sometimes urethane casted parts shrink for reasons other than a urethane mold design flaw. The final dimensions of a urethane casted part depends on the accuracy of the master pattern and mold, part geometry, as well as urethane casting materials. A shrinkage rate of 0.15% is considered acceptable, but engineers should revisit their urethane mold design if the shrink rate surpasses this threshold.

3. Employ ribs

Adding ribs to a urethane mold design can increase the end part’s strength and rigidity without adding thickness. To use ribs properly, engineers should adhere to the following guidelines:

Height

Longer ribs provide greater reinforcement, but casting a long rib can make the part difficult to mold. For this reason, a rib shouldn’t exceed a height that’s three times its thickness. To avoid the height issue altogether, engineers can use multiple short ribs instead of one long rib to increase the stiffness of the part.

Width

The width of the rib at the intersection of the part should be 40% to 60% of the thickness of the part. If a fillet radius is included in the design, it should be at least 25% of the thickness of the part. These parameters help make the rib as strong as possible.

Draft Angle

Engineers must draft a rib designed to reduce the possibility of sinking. Draft angles for each side should be between 0.25 and 0.5 degrees and the draft angle of each side should be equal. For textured surfaces, add an additional 1.0 degree draft for every 0.025 (0.001 inch) depth of texture.

Spacing

Engineers should set consecutive ribs at least two times the thickness away from each other to evenly distribute the part’s weight across all ribs.

Orientation

Rib orientation determines how and where the part experiences stress, so engineers should be careful to arrange ribs in a way that maximizes the bending stiffness of the part. If the ribs are placed in the wrong position, they won’t have any positive impact on the part’s strength.

Product teams should also be mindful of intersections and sinking when working with ribs. At the point where a rib intersects with the part, a heavy rib can cause the part to dip. To avoid sinking at the rib intersection, engineers can use fillets to ease the stress on the part’s surface and reduce sink on the opposite side of the part. The radii of the fillets should be at least a quarter of the thickness of the part. Further, coring or lightweighting the part reduces the amount of material used and helps maintain a uniform wall thickness throughout the part.

Ribs can dramatically improve an end-part’s performance, but engineers and product teams shouldn’t get carried away. Ribs are only useful when the part requires extra reinforcement. In situations where this isn’t the case, ribs are often placed improperly and do little to improve the strength or rigidity of the part. Also, unnecessary ribs increase the weight and price of the part, cause molding problems, and contribute to material waste. Engineers and product teams should keep these considerations in mind when deciding whether or not their urethane mold design requires a rib.

4. Consider drafts and undercuts

Drafts and undercuts are not a concern with urethane casting because liquid silicone can take the shape of any mold. However, if an engineer is using urethane casting to build a prototype that will eventually be manufactured using a different process, like injection molding, they should create the design as intended for end-use production. This might include incorporating drafts and undercuts. Long zero-draft features come with a slight risk of part breakage when extracting the part from the mold, so a slight angle may be useful, especially for larger production runs.

5. Include enough spacing between letters and logos

With urethane casting, it’s easy for designers to mold high-quality raised or recessed letters and logos into custom cast urethane parts. To make sure letters are as beautiful and readable as possible, designers should keep height or feature depth, feature width, radii on the feature, and the space between features in mind.

Product teams should leave at least 0.050” between features, though this can vary depending on the particulars of the design. All radii should be at least equal to half the feature height, but larger radii are even better. Finally, the width of all logos or letters should be twice their height.

Optimize Your Urethane Casted Parts

With urethane casting and designing for manufacturability, a few small design alterations go a long way. Engineers and designers should seek to maintain uniform wall thicknesses, account for shrinkage, and ensure they’re using ribs effectively. Product teams can further optimize manufacturability by creating designs as they are intended for end-use production and making sure they leave enough space in between letters and logos to boost aesthetics.

An experienced manufacturing partner like SyBridge can help product teams simplify designing for manufacturability. We’re passionate about developing products that were once thought impossible to make, and we make it a point to keep up with the latest digital design technologies.

Product teams looking to develop a breakthrough application or optimize an existing urethane mold design can benefit from our design team’s years of experience across manufacturing processes. Contact us today to get started on your custom cast urethane parts.

The post Five Design Tips for Urethane Casting appeared first on SyBridge Technologies.

Urethane casting is a useful manufacturing method that involves creating a silicone mold from a master pattern, which is essentially a replica of the final part. The mold is then filled with a shot of urethane casting resin and allowed to cure. Once the part has cooled, it can be ejected and the mold refilled. This allows for high-quality parts to be created quickly and cost-effectively, especially when used to produce parts in relatively low volumes.

It’s unfortunate that many product teams are not familiar with the process or aware that it can be a viable manufacturing method — in fact, many who are familiar with urethane casting only see the process as a bridge tooling method on the path to producing end-use parts via injection molding. In any case, teams often overlook the breadth of advantages and value propositions that urethane casting offers as an end-use manufacturing method. Here are five benefits of urethane casting:

1. Reduced Tooling and Part Costs

Urethane-cast parts are typically more cost-effective to produce on a per-unit basis than those made through additive manufacturing methods, as order volume increases.

During prototyping, additive processes may require multiple build cycles to create a higher number of parts, which adds to the overall cost of production. Urethane casting, on the other hand, can be used to rapidly fabricate prototypes, avoiding the need for additional — and costly — build cycles.

The cast urethane molding process also uses silicone, which makes it far more affordable than the hard tooling needed to create the durable metal molds used in injection molding. Silicone molds can be fabricated in as little as 24 hours for hundreds or thousands of dollars (depending on the size and design of the given  mold), whereas aluminum and steel mold tooling may require weeks and tens of thousands of dollars to finish.

2. Increased Design Flexibility

Urethane casting is highly flexible with regard to part material; product development teams have hundreds of different materials in all sorts of colors and durometers to choose from. And in contrast to the many rigid thermoplastics and thermosets used in manufacturing, silicone urethane casting resins are softer and more flexible, which makes the molds more forgiving.

For instance, draft angles (which must be incorporated into mold design to allow parts to be ejected without damage) are no longer necessary with molds made from elastomeric materials like silicone. This allows designers to incorporate features into parts that would otherwise be impossible to achieve without expensive slides and actions, including undercuts and overmolds.

Furthermore, design changes can be easily incorporated into mold designs based on the results of prototype testing or consumer feedback without the expense of hard tooling. Because silicone molds have a lifetime of 25-30 shots, modifications can be easily integrated between molds at a minimal expense. This does create the need for additional molds as production volume increases, but, as mentioned, silicone molds can be produced at a fraction of the cost of hard molds.

3. Impressive Speed of Production

Silicone molds are much faster to produce than hard tools, with some molds being ready to use within 24 hours of being poured. Thanks to this speed, urethane casting is ideal for producing parts in lower volumes that would not justify the significant investment of a metal injection mold.

The process can also be used as a bridge to production if parts are needed immediately, enabling product teams to begin fabricating first-run parts while the hard tools are finalized. The majority of cast urethane parts can be shipped to market within two to four weeks, giving savvy manufacturers a valuable competitive edge.

4. High Precision and Quality

Urethane casting enables manufacturers to create high quality parts in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials — all with good tolerances. Typical tolerances are +/- .020″ per inch for cast urethane parts, though tolerances are still dependent on part geometry and other factors.

Deviances to normal tolerances may be caused by the thermal interaction between the liquid shot and the silicone mold. In general, teams should anticipate a material shrinkage rate of +0.15%, meaning the volume of the part will increase.

Further, it’s worth noting that many polyurethane casting resins are capable of providing chemical and physical properties comparable or superior to production-grade plastics. In contrast to additive technologies, which are limited in some material and structural ways, urethane casting allows for the rapid production of strong, high-quality end-use parts made of a wide variety of materials.

5. Excellent Surface Finish

Much like injection-molded parts, cast urethane parts offer excellent surface finish, and can be customized to include colors, surface textures, or post-production processes like painting. These options guarantee that parts will remain aesthetically pleasing even if they should be damaged or scratched during use. Urethane can be used to create parts featuring mechanical properties comparable to materials ranging from rigid plastic to rubber-like elastomer. Many materials are available in a breadth of translucencies, as well.

Discover Efficient, Affordable Part Production

When it comes down to urethane casting vs. injection molding, additive manufacturing, or any other process, there are a few key factors to consider. If a large number of prototypes is needed quickly, urethane casting’s speed and design flexibility make it a very compelling option. At the same time, if order volumes are huge, then urethane casting is an excellent way to beat competitors to the market until production tooling is ready.

The speed and affordability of urethane casting make it an exceptionally useful means of production that offers a range of benefits to product teams of all kinds. Partnering with an experienced manufacturing team is the best way to ensure you’re taking advantage of all the value-adds of urethane casting and optimizing your product development process.

SyBridge is a cutting-edge on-demand digital manufacturing platform reimagining what’s possible in modern manufacturing. Our design and production capabilities are backed by decades of experience, and we specialize in doing the previously undoable — usually faster and more efficiently than our customers expect. Contact us today to get started.

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Cast urethane is a manufacturing method that allows designers and engineers to consistently create production-quality plastic parts with a range of material properties. The process begins by placing a master pattern — which is essentially a replica of the desired final part — in a mold box and covering it with liquid silicone. Once the silicone has cured, the block is cut in half to extract the master from the silicone mold. As a final series of steps, the master pattern is replicated by filling the mold with casting resin and curing the part in a heated vacuum chamber.

The process combines the strength of injection-molded parts with high-quality surface finishes and chemical and abrasion resistance. The short lead times and low cost of soft tooling make the process especially useful for prototyping and for low- to medium-volume production that doesn’t warrant the expense or time required for hard tooling.

Cast urethane is compatible with a wide range of materials, and its versatility is a benefit for designers and engineers. However, it’s critical that product teams select an appropriate material based on their specific project requirements — which can include cost, functionality, aesthetics, and other factors — in order to maximize the quality and performance of the final part. Here’s what teams need to know.

Key Considerations for Cast Urethane Material Selection

As with most manufacturing projects, the desired qualities and characteristics of the final part application should inform the material selection process. For example, gaskets, overmolds, and skateboard wheels — while all commonly manufactured via cast urethane  — have widely differing performance requirements. In order to provide better sealant and fit, gaskets and overmolds should be made from softer, rubber-like materials, while skateboard wheels need to offer a combination of durability and noise- and shock-absorption.

The urethane resin family is highly versatile and can provide material and performance characteristics comparable to many engineering-grade plastics. Resins can often be augmented with additives, such milled glass fibers and other particulates, to improve the part’s strength, anti-static qualities, flame resistance, or other desirable properties. The material and additive offerings of individual suppliers will vary, but urethane resins are often broadly categorized according to the Shore durometer hardness scale (in which an “A” rating indicates softer, elastomeric materials, and a “D” rating refers to highly rigid materials).

Rigid Polyurethanes

ABS-like polyurethanes are low-cost, general purpose resins that provide comparable — if not better — strength and impact resistance to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a thermoplastic polymer commonly used in vehicle exteriors.

With typical durometers of 80-85 Shore D, these resins make excellent product enclosures and components that will stand up to frequent handling (such as game console controllers). Urethanes are susceptible to UV radiation and will therefore require stabilizers or coatings if used in exterior applications.

Acrylic-like polyurethanes are another common casting material. These resins are stiff and transparent, offering similar properties to polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), a lightweight acrylic commonly used as a glass substitute. Offering durometers around 87 Shore D, these materials are excellent for creating durable, transparent parts such as light tubing.

Softer rigid resins (such as those that fall between 60 and 75 Shore D on the durometer scale) can also be used to create firm parts with a degree of flexibility, such as car tires or hard hats. These resins have low viscosity and are therefore excellent for filling complex mold designs.

Elastomeric Polyurethanes

Elastomeric polyurethanes offer similar properties to flexible materials like TPE, TPU, and silicone rubber, making them ideal for manufacturing products such as wearable components and bumper pads.

Much like rigid resins, elastomeric polyurethanes come with a number of mechanical advantages. Those with durometers of 50 Shore A and below provide high tensile strength, toughness, and flexibility, while those between 60 and 80 Shore A are well-suited for producing abrasion-resistant parts and fixtures with a degree of flex. Shore A resins can also be used to create urethane casting molds that are more durable than their silicone counterparts.

Hard elastomeric urethane materials include durometers ranging from 90 Shore A to 60 Shore D, and are ideal for demanding industrial applications like forming dies and gears. In some cases, these resins are able to outlast metal patterns.

Getting Started With Cast Urethane

Urethane casting is an efficient and effective process for many manufacturers, as it enables short production timelines, flexible material choice, and inexpensive tooling costs. In addition, polyurethane materials can endow a part with a range of desirable properties — from malleability and heat resistance to high tensile strength and rigidity.

However, a trusted manufacturing partner like SyBridge can ease some of that burden. Our talented team of designers and engineers work closely with every customer, providing expert advice and assistance from ideation through to post-processing and fulfillment. Contact us today to discover how we can optimize the product life cycle for maximum efficiency.

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Historically, manufacturing in low volumes was a prohibitively expensive undertaking. Tooling the durable molds that are used in mass-production processes like injection molding is expensive and can add weeks or months to production timelines. Manufacturers offset steep upfront capital expenses with high-volume orders, which reduces the cost-per-part and yields higher profit margins. While this makes it easy to produce identical parts in large quantities, it greatly restricts the ability to manufacture specialized or highly customized pieces economically.

However, a number of manufacturing methods, including urethane casting and CNC machining, have increased the feasibility of affordable, small-scale production. What’s more, recent advancements in additive manufacturing have enabled engineers to create parts with complex geometries and unique design features without creating molds, in many ways economizing low-volume production.

The cutoff for what constitutes low-volume production varies across industries, but is generally understood to mean runs that yield between 50 and tens of thousands of pieces. Highly customized parts and prototypes, parts with complex geometries, and bridge tooling are a few categories of part applications that are typically produced in lower volumes.

Low-volume production methods are typically faster, which allows companies to get their product to market quickly. For manufacturers, efficiency is paramount, and it’s important to know which process makes the most sense for each part. Here are a few manufacturing methods that are commonly used for small-volume production.

Cast urethane

The cast urethane process works by encasing a master pattern in a silicone mold, which is then used to create extremely accurate replicas of the part. This makes it a viable choice for parts when surface finish is a concern. These silicone molds can be put into production as soon as they have set.

Cast urethane parts require minimal post-processing and have characteristics and properties similar to those of parts created through processes like injection molding, which are known for their durability. Generally, silicone molds are only good for about 25 to 50 shots before they should be retired, which makes the process cost-effective for low-volume production.

CNC machining

CNC machining is a subtractive process that uses computer-controlled tools to shape three-dimensional parts by removing material from a solid workpiece. This allows manufacturers to program repeatable, highly precise, and complex operations that can’t be performed manually or efficiently. However, as part complexity increases, so too do the number of mechanical operations, which drives up the cost of production.

A significant advantage of CNC machining is that it has few restrictions when it comes to manufacturing material. On the other hand, certain internal features are impossible to make through CNC machining. In instances when these features are necessary, 3D printing may present a more efficient solution.

Therefore, it’s up to engineers and product managers to do their due diligence in order to select the proper method by which to achieve their desired results. While CNC machining typically can’t offer turnarounds on par with 3D printing and urethane casting, it offers shorter lead times than injection molding.

Additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing is frequently a great choice for low-volume production. 3D printing allows you to create parts without the upfront expenses associated with tooling. Parts can also be produced without minimum order quantities, which saves both production and carrying costs. Here are some additive technologies to consider for small-volume production runs.

Carbon’s Digital Light Synthesis (DLS)

Carbon’s Digital Light Synthesis™ (DLS) technology creates parts by projecting UV images into a reservoir of UV-curable resin as the build platform rises. This allows manufacturers to create highly isotropic parts with superior surface finish, resolution, and mechanical properties. It’s an excellent choice for creating small volumes of parts with complex shapes.

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

SLS technology uses lasers to melt powdered material a layer at a time, building the part vertically. The process is ideal for parts that require good surface finish, resolution, and strength, and can be used with a range of base materials.

Multi-Jet Fusion (MJF)

MJF is similar to SLS, except it uses moving inkheads to deposit and fuse layers of nylon powder material. MJF results in parts with consistent isotropic mechanical properties and fine feature resolution, many of which are fully functional and suitable for end use. The process allows for rapid production, and is an excellent option for creating tooling that requires strength and heat resistance, such as jigs and fixtures.

Choosing the right production process for your job

Ultimately, determining the right method for a given small-volume order will come down to a few key considerations: part application, material, and timeline. To determine the best course of action, consider partnering with a full-service manufacturing shop like SyBridge. Our team of highly experienced designers and engineers provide comprehensive support with the entire production process. Get in touch today if you’re ready to get started on your next project.

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Superior designs aren’t made overnight — they are the product of rounds of iteration, testing, and adaptation. In fact, every successful part that we encounter in our daily lives has undergone a thorough product development process to optimize the part’s design and manufacturability.

Without prototyping and validating components, there’s no guarantee that parts will fit together or function as planned. Errors require redesigns, which can be extremely costly due to scrapped product, production delays, and new tooling.

A rigorous product development process will include several rounds of prototyping. Each prototype has a purpose — some are simple proof of concept models, while others demonstrate functionality or desired material characteristics. Prototypes can be created using a variety of manufacturing methods, so it’s important for manufacturers to know the ins and outs of different processes to maximize the efficiency of the product development stage. This article will touch on some key considerations for rapid prototyping.

The Stages of Rapid Prototyping

Prototyping can be broken down into a number of phases, each of which aims to test or demonstrate an aspect of a part’s design. Choosing the prototype’s manufacturing process will depend on which factors are being evaluated. Typically, the closer the process gets to production, the more complex and expensive prototyping becomes.

1. Proof of Concept Models

Initial prototypes are simple models that provide a general idea of the part’s application. The things to prioritize at this stage are speed and appearance — the goal is to get the prototype in front of people quickly so that the general design can be approved or rejected before the next round of prototyping begins.

Depending on the application, rudimentary prototypes can be made from clay, cardboard, or modeling foam, but if a sophisticated model is needed, manufacturers can easily create cast urethane or 3D-printed prototypes from a quick CAD model.  The fidelity of prototypes will improve as the product design advances.

2. Assembly Testing Models

Once the product architecture has been determined, it is important to prototype the various pieces of an assembly to ensure that they fit as intended. This helps identify potential physical problems with the part, from design errors to issues with dimensions, tolerances, or fit. This stage should prioritize part accuracy and precision.

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) enables rapid size and shape testing, and processes like CNC machining consistently yield favorable part tolerances (though complex part geometries can impact the efficiency of machining prototypes). It’s important to keep in mind that any test of a prototype’s tolerances will require using an identical or comparable manufacturing process to what will be used in production.

3. Functional Models

The next phase of testing evaluates how prototypes perform when subjected to the stresses and conditions of the part’s intended application. This can involve testing the part’s resistance to chemicals, temperature fluctuations, or electricity, as well as the part’s mechanical, optical, and thermal properties in order to achieve optimal results.

Sometimes, another round of prototyping may be necessary to determine how the part’s material properties change over time. What is known as “life testing” subjects prototypes to extreme conditions (including humidity, extreme temperatures, or UV exposure) to measure fatigue strength and help ensure that products stay functional for the course of their projected lifetimes.

In both testing situations, manufacturers should prioritize material choice, using the exact or a comparable material to the final part for the most accurate results.

4. Regulatory Testing Models

At this stage, product design should be finalized, and one of the final steps of prototyping is creating models for regulatory testing. These models can be used to demonstrate that the part is compliant with standards established by agencies like the FDA, the FCC, or the International Standard Organization (ISO), and can include testing the part’s flammability, food safety, or, in the case of many medical applications, biocompatibility.

If the prototype meets all regulatory requirements, manufacturers can begin preparations to start production.

Prototyping: The Stepping Stone to Functional, Manufacturable Parts

The end goal of prototyping is two-fold: to prove that a part is functional and to demonstrate that it can be manufactured economically. Using information gathered during rounds of prototyping, designers, engineers, and product managers can ensure that a part is optimized for design, manufacturability, and function — while mitigating risks of discovering functional issues down the line. A thorough approach to prototyping ultimately maximizes part quality, helps ensure regulatory compliance, saves on costs, and cuts production times.

With an experienced manufacturing partner like SyBridge, every customer sees their part designs optimized for functionality, cost, durability, and compliance from the get-go. Our team of experienced designers, engineers, and project managers ensure that the prototyping process is effective, fast, and cost-efficient. We’re dedicated to making your biggest ideas a reality, and we back that up with robust customer support during every step of the production lifecycle, from concept to delivery. If you’d like to learn more about the manufacturing solutions we offer, contact us today.

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Plastics are a family of highly versatile manufacturing materials — some are soft and flexible; others are stiff and impact resistant. This wide range of physical properties guarantees that, regardless of application, the manufacturing of plastic parts is generally time- and cost-efficient.

Regardless of the end-use — whether parts are being used to create innovative armchair designs, power tool components, or prosthetic limbs —  it’s important that designers and engineers know how to select the right manufacturing process for their needs.

Types of Plastic Product Manufacturing

Given that plastics come in different shapes, sizes, durabilities, and colors, it should come as no surprise that there are a range of manufacturing processes that enable the production of plastic parts. Here’s a quick rundown on a few of the most common.

3D Printing

This process uses CAD designs and models to create three-dimensional parts by adding a layer of the production material at a time until the part is completely formed. The primary advantage of 3D printing is that, compared to other manufacturing processes, it has far fewer design limitations, which makes it an especially economical method for creating pieces with complex geometries.

Unlike CNC machining, for instance, where engineers may need to consider how the mill head will reach tight spots, as well as the size of the tools needed to create fine details in the part’s geometry, 3D printing allows for complicated design features — such as curved internal channels — to be created without tooling.

Additive is capable of intricate designs that are difficult or impossible to make efficiently with other manufacturing processes. It also allows for a part to be created as one solid piece, rather than as multiple components that are subsequently assembled.

CNC Machining

This process involves using computer-controlled cutting tools such as mills, lathes, and drills in tandem with rotation to create plastic parts.

Unlike additive manufacturing processes, CNC machining is a subtractive process, meaning that material is gradually removed from the block that will eventually become the finished part, called the workpiece. There are two broad categories of CNC machining: milling, which uses spinning tools and a fixed workpiece; and lathing, which uses fixed tools and a spinning part.

CNC machining can be an effective alternative for creating parts that are hard to mold or that require tight tolerances, rendering the method ideal both for prototyping and creating certain end-use products, including bushings and gears. However, part complexity can quickly increase the cost per part when using machining processes, and certain geometric shapes — such as curved interior channels — can be difficult if not impossible to create using subtractive manufacturing.

Injection Molding

As the name suggests, this process involves injecting pressurized molten thermoplastic material into hardened steel or aluminum molds. These molds, which can be geometrically complex, result in parts with tight tolerances, iterative accuracy, and high-quality surface finish — all of which makes injection molding an effective process for high-volume production runs.

While injection molding is expensive to tool up and start running — creating the molds can be costly and take up several months — no other plastic product manufacturing process is able to match their ability to swiftly produce high-volume production runs, which drastically reduces the cost per part.

Extrusion Molding

The extrusion molding process is similar to injection molding in that it requires melted plastics to create parts. However, rather than injecting the molten material into a mold, extrusion systems force the plastic through a die that gives the plastic a fixed shape.

Plastic pipes, straws, gutters, door jambs, hoses, and other symmetrical parts can be made efficiently with extrusion systems. Due to their simpler shapes, extrusion-made parts often have low production and tooling costs.

Urethane Casting

The urethane casting process involves creating a silicone mold from a master pattern of the finalized part design. Once the mold has set and the master pattern is removed, the mold can then be used to produce individual copies of the part with high levels of accuracy and precision, as well as good surface finish.

Cast urethane silicone molds are less durable than the hard-tooled ones used for injection molding, but they can be created far more quickly and cost-effectively. This makes it urethane casting a good choice for low- to medium-volume production with tight turnarounds.

Vacuum Forming

Vacuum forming uses a vacuum to push sheets of heated, malleable plastic across single-surface molds. Commonly used with thermoplastics like high-impact polystyrene sheeting, this process is used to create durable products in a variety of shapes, including protective coverings, street signs, and packaging for taste- or odor-sensitive products.

Roto-Molding

The rotational molding process involves rotating a hollow mold filled with a powdered resin as the mold is heated and cooled, thereby ensuring that the walls are evenly coated and free of sags or deformations. It’s an effective method for creating highly stable parts with uniform wall thicknesses, such as plastic tanks and containers, that do not typically require additional surface finishing.

Factors to Consider When Manufacturing Plastic Parts

Because there is a wide range of manufacturing processes available, it’s important to choose the one best-suited for the part. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind.

Material

Part application is a primary consideration when selecting a viable material, and determining the most beneficial physical characteristics for the part in question can help narrow down the material choices.

However, it’s important to note that some materials are best-suited to specific manufacturing processes. Elastic, low durometer polyurethane parts, for instance, are easy to produce with urethane casting, but extremely difficult to work with when it comes to 3D printing. In some cases, the desired material characteristics can even be improved by strategically selecting a manufacturing method.

Form

Factors such as tight tolerance requirements, unique internal features, or a high level of geometric complexity will help determine which manufacturing processes are most economical and efficient. If the part demands a specific process, making design for manufacturing (DFM) revisions may be necessary in order to optimize the cost-effectiveness of production.

Lead Time

Final product deadlines will help in determining the best manufacturing method, as production times may vary significantly across processes. Depending on the part and the machine, some 3D printers can produce completed, viable parts within a few hours. On the other end of the spectrum, while the actual injection molding process is very fast — in many cases capable of achieving cycle times of less than a minute — tooling the molds can take months to finalize, which extends the production schedule.

Volume and Cost

One last major factor to keep in mind is the production volume required. Injection molding systems demand steep up-front costs, which tends to make them economical for high-volume runs but cost-inefficient for prototyping. Other processes, such as CNC machining, have lower initial costs but can easily cost more per part depending on the amount of manual labor involved. Finding the right balance between production volume and cost-effectiveness is key.

Getting Your Plastic Parts Order Started

The variety of plastic manufacturing processes available speak to plastic’s versatility. The right process for any given part will be dependent on a number of factors, including the part’s application, design, production volume, and lead time.

At SyBridge, we work closely with our customers to make sure their parts are made with the most effective and efficient manufacturing process. If you have questions about how we work, or if you’re ready to start production, contact us today.

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