Our Guide to Selecting the Best Prototype Molds in China

Manufacturing calls for choosing the most effective and less costly means to produce the parts for a project in an assembly line. With this in mind, more rapid prototyping companies in China have emerged to cater to product designers, engineers, and manufacturers worldwide. They make it easier for their clients to access prototype molds for low- to mid-volume manufacturing and prototyping for research and testing purposes.

It can be challenging to find the best prototype mold and service provider who can provide what you need. You need to ensure you’re choosing a reputable company with extensive experience in prototyping using proven technologies and methods, like injection molding. Here’s a guide to help you make an informed choice.

Work with an established service provider.

Choose an experienced and reputable rapid prototyping company with a track record of producing custom prototype molds for a range of clients. Ensure that the company is ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and IATF 16949 certified, so you can be confident in their ability to deliver high-quality products and services for specific industries, including yours.

Get to know the injection molding process.

Injection-molded parts can help your rapid prototyping process. It brings bridge tooling to your project by delivering low-volume production-quality parts from production resins. This way, injection molding also qualifies as end-use prototype manufacturing as it produces production-grade parts with faster lead times and reduced costs, unlike full production tooling.

Ensure durability

When choosing molds, make sure they can meet the product demand while ensuring durability. The costs for the mold shouldn’t be high, but the life cycle may be short. Determine the materials used for the prototype molds. Steel and aluminum are among the best materials for molds, but you may want to consider steel for the low-volume production of custom parts. Per experience, injection molding specialists found that steel molds can deliver more than double the parts of aluminum molds.

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