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Pure gold at 7:39, "...when you're designing a plastic part, you have to really keep in mind what you're really designing is the mold for that part". Brilliant

@PredictableDesigns

7 ай бұрын

Wow, thanks! Glad it was insightful!

I dont understand how you only have 5k subscribers. This video was so usefull for me. Thanks! Subbed.

@PredictableDesigns

8 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for saying that! Cheers!

Best tech Chanel period for tech startups.

@PredictableDesigns

Жыл бұрын

Wow! Thank you Mike!

That was AWSOME top mold and bottom mold The top mold is the A plate and or Cavity of the Mold and the bottom mold is the B plate and or Core but great try

I've done various molding projects, mostly composite work, and more than a fair share of MSLA printing, but you're spot on with regards to transferring a design from printable to moldable. As I've learned from experimenting on my current project, adapting composite molds with inserts and cores to injection has been, in a word, interesting. What I ended up doing was designing and building a screw-based injection machine for injection molding via ceramic molds with inserts to facilitate a low-volume run of GF-nylon parts. It's a bit of a round-about way of getting what I need done, but being a self-funded project for the time being, it's the most direct way I can operate a relatively modest budget.

@PredictableDesigns

2 ай бұрын

Interesting you mentioned ceramic molds which is something I discovered recently.

@savannahroos2314

Ай бұрын

Hello CME. Is there any chance you could create a custom mould that I could send to manufacturers over seas? I have a picture of the design. Would you be willing to do that for a cost?

@C-M-E

Ай бұрын

@@savannahroos2314 Normally I don't conduct business via youtube, but I can certainly help evaluate a better course of action to see if/what you need done needs that route. What are you trying to achieve? Me personally, I do short run molds for composite work that typically result in a dozen or so copies with very specific use cases. Again, depending on what you're trying to do, there's a decent chance you can get something made domestically if not in your own home for pennies compared to what a manufacturer is going to charge. Sending something overseas typically goes with just a design, and your chosen manufacturer will charge for the mold, do the production run, then charge you a separate fee if you want the mold shipped with your parts.

Great video. We're working on a small hardware project and started with FDM material but recently changed to a nice Resin printer to get more detail and a little stronger. I wanted to get your opinion if using resin for a small enclosure is good for a prototype or for our first 5 to 10 customers to test and get usage?

@PredictableDesigns

Жыл бұрын

SLA prototypes can be a better choice for getting customer feedback. But it still has a different feel and performance than injected plastic. But I always encourage getting prototypes in the hands of customers sooner than you think. My first prototypes for my product I presented to customers were SLA printed.

I suspect it might be cheaper to have an additional cosmetic cover piece for some holes if it avoids having side action/multiparty molds.

@PredictableDesigns

Жыл бұрын

The problem is then you need a separate mold for the cover which adds a lot more cost. Most designs can be done without need for side actions, you just have to sometimes get creative. Thanks for commenting!

@jacquelinesears1770

4 ай бұрын

lifters or slides are very costly@@PredictableDesigns

Thank you for the video. Are there any exceptions to the wall thickness rule? I'm designing a silicone product that has thinker walls on the corners for structural support and I'm wondering if I need to change the design.

@PredictableDesigns

11 ай бұрын

You're welcome! Most of my experience is with molding rigid plastics versus flexible silicone. But the uniform wall thickness rules prevents warping during cooling which should be critical to silicone too. Inside my Hardware Academy we have a great mechanical engineer who could answer this better than I can since I'm an electrical engineer.

@graceryan6807

11 ай бұрын

@@PredictableDesigns Good to know! Thanks for your reply.

Thicker and thinner section more impotently it has to do with what we call shrink it will distort the part

Thanks John. If a product were sold online and its enclosure needed injection molding, however, the product has little sales in the beginning, which means small orders cannot meet MOQ of the injection molding manufacturers, so I wonder what you would think about rapid tooling to produce the products with low quantity? I'm not sure if this is a recommended way to reduce financial risk for product's production?

@PredictableDesigns

Жыл бұрын

Well it depends on the number of units and the acceptable quality. If you are looking for a moderate number of units (let's say a thousand or more), then using aluminum molds is your best option. These are much cheaper than steel molds and typically cost around $2k for each mold. The total cost though depends on how many custom pieces of plastic you need since each will likely require it's own separate mold. However, you do have the option of what is called a "family mold" which is a single mold with multiple cavities each for a different part. They do have limitations such as the fact that all of the pieces have to use similar amounts of plastic. If you can get all of your parts into a single family mold you will save a lot of money. Protolabs.com and ICOmold.com are two companies that do aluminum molds. If you are looking more at a couple hundred units, and the final production quality isn't quite as critical, then you could use what is called urethane casting which uses soft silicone molds instead of metal. These cost only a few hundred dollars, but they have to use urethane which won't match the final production plastic quality. Finally, if you can do so, using an off-the-shelf enclosure is the way to lower your risk the most and simplify your life. You can either buy standard box-like enclosures, or you could find a manufacturer making an existing product with a similar enclosure, and then approach them to see if you can buy just the enclosure. Hope this helps.

@printlife9016

Жыл бұрын

@@PredictableDesigns Thanks John. That's very informative!

great video, maybe tone down the sound effects in the future

@PredictableDesigns

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Nicholas, always appreciate the feedback!

I cant make a sharp corner I assure everyone mold makers can make sharp corners we minimize sharp corners because they create breaking points just so you know

This was a great introduction. Thanks! Any thoughts about HP‘s high volume, low cost per part 3-D printing? kzread.info/dash/bejne/ppyij5trj8-YnaQ.html

@PredictableDesigns

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Although I think additive processes like 3D printing are the future of plastics manufacturing we're not quite there yet for most products. It is very challenging to compete with injection molding on per unit pricing especially as the production volumes get really high. You may enjoy this podcast interview I did with an expert where we discuss 3D printing for mass manufacturing: predictabledesigns.com/episode-14-additive-manufacturing-with-steve-szymeczek-of-penumbra-engineering/

Over all it was ok its very difficult to try to explain Injection molds in 5 hours let alone 14 minutes