What We Learned Making a Plastic Injection Mold with a Chinese Mold Maker

Re:What We Learned Making a Plastic Injection Mold with a Ch... by bambax on Monday October 09, 2023 @01:20AM (#37817121)

Another approach, for low volume and if the target user can do a little assembly, is to make something out of laser cut plaques of plywood or plexi. It's simple to make and easier to ship (because it's flat until it's assembled). The Ikea way, if you will.

I do this for my personal projects (volume < 5) and the results are nice and functional. You can also cut holes for buttons and whatnot and you get something well tailored for your needs.

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Re:What We Learned Making a Plastic Injection Mold with a Ch... by devsda on Monday October 09, 2023 @01:53AM (#37817282)

If it can be 3D printed, is (commercial?) 3D printing more affordable/efficient for such low volumes ?

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Re:What We Learned Making a Plastic Injection Mold with a Ch... by bambax on Monday October 09, 2023 @05:36AM (#37818628)

In my experience it mostly depends on the size of the piece. Commercial 3D printing can produce beautiful and strong objects, but they are size limited and the price goes up fast with the size.

Laser cutting can be quite big and make a large volume box, if that's what you need. And transparent plexi is nice (if it fits your needs).

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