Cast Urethane Parts: A Cost-Effective Alternative for Pre-Production Testing

 


If injection molding is too time-consuming and costly for your project, explore the alternative: vacuum casting. This process can produce high-quality cast urethane parts with a good surface finish at a reasonable cost. At HLH Prototypes, we recommend this service to clients looking to save time and money when making functional and aesthetically pleasing self-colored parts with a repeatable process. Although similar to injection molding, its tooling costs are significantly lower, making it a go-to option for bridge production, prototyping, and end-use production of less than 100,000 parts.

 

Here at HLH Prototypes, we can produce cast urethane parts of any size, from small items like headphones to large objects like car bumpers. Our wide range of materials and capabilities allow us to deliver high-quality and reliable parts for pre-production testing.

 

What’s involved in vacuum casting?

 

We follow the standard vacuum casting process in three stages:

·     Creating the master model – We do this via SLS SLA 3D printing or CNC machining.

·     Silicone tool – When the master model is ready, we pour liquid silicon around it and leave it to cure. Once dry, we cut the master from the mold, leaving the cavity.

·     Casting – Finally, we pour the resin into the cavity and leave it to cool and solidify to create your design’s production-grade prototype.

 

Should you use vacuum casting?

 

Cast urethane parts offer the following benefits to your project:

·     Produce low-volume identical parts at lower parts

·     Self-colored parts that reduce the need for post-process coating or painting

·     Production-like identical parts

·     Low upfront investment

·     Rubber-like parts or over-molds

·     Access to a massive selection of materials

 

Given these benefits, you can trust our vacuum casting service when you need low-volume prototypes, rubber parts, or rapid iterations for market testing and design verification.

 

Explore more with a free project review.

 

Are you interested in using cast urethane parts for your project? Contact us for a free review and a quote. We can also offer tips to ensure your design suits our vacuum casting process.


Source: https://www.hlhprototypes.com/cast-urethane-parts-a-cost-effective-alternative-for-pre-production-testing/

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