Vacuum Casting - iMAC Design & Engineering Services

VC is ideal for creating a small series of parts, especially if aesthetics are important.

Vacuum casting, sometimes referred to as Urethane casting or Polyurethane casting, is a perfect solution for production quality parts without the cost or lead time required for production tooling.

Process & Capabilities/How it works:
The vacuum casting process involves three main stages.
1. Building a master model using 3D printing (via SLA or SLS) or CNC machining.
2. Building the silicone tool by pouring liquid silicone around the master model then curing it.
3. The resin is poured into the cavity to create a production-like replica.

Vacuum Casting Materials

The process of punching, cutting, stamping, and bending metal sheets into parts is known as sheet metal fabrication. 3D CAD files are converted into machine code, which directs a machine to precisely cut and form the sheets into the final part. Parts made of sheet metal are renowned for their durability, making them ideal for end-use applications like chassis. Due to the high initial setup and material costs, parts used for low volume prototypes and high volume production runs are most cost-effective. Parts are made from a single sheet of metal, so designs need to keep the thickness consistent. To ensure that components are closer to the intended design and that metal sheets are cut, adhere to the design requirements and tolerances.

Why?

Vacuum Casting vs Plastic Injection Moulding

Vacuum casting produces parts with similar properties to plastic injection molded parts. Injection molding demands a higher front-end cost and a lower unit price, whereas vacuum casting offers a lower front-end cost with a higher unit price. This makes urethane casting a more cost-effective choice for developing early prototypes before creating end-use injection molded parts.

• Vacuum Casting is Used For
• Low volume prototypes,
• low volume production,
• clear transparent parts,
• rubber parts, market testing,
• rapid iterations

• Advantages of Vacuum Casting
• Great for low volumes
• Self-coloured parts
• Low upfront investment
• Production like parts
• Massive range of materials

What is Injection molding?

Injection molding is a mature manufacturing process that allows for plastic parts to be produced in large volumes. The process involves melting plastic pellets that once malleable enough, are injected at pressure into a mold cavity, which fills and solidifies to produce the final product.

What is rapid tooling for IM?

Rapid injection molding is the process of making injection molds for prototyping, bridging, and short production run parts in less time and at a reduced cost than full production molds.

How much does injection molding cost?

Typically, the tooling costs between 10,000INR– 8,00,000INR. However, depending on the complexity of the project, type of tool, and other factors. The unit cost is what makes the initial investment in injection mold tools worthwhile. You can expect the cost per unit is very less.

How long does an injection mold last?

Injection mold tools can last between 100 to over 100,000 and even 1M+ cycles. The lifespan of an injection mold depends on the mold material, mold structure design, maintenance, time between production runs and operating conditions.

Which industries use plastic injection molding?

Injection molding is one of the most popular and versatile manufacturing technologies for producing mid-to-high volumes of plastic parts. It is widely used in many industries, including:

automotive
agriculture
consumer goods
consumer technology
medical & pharmaceutical
robotics
toys