When making round parts—gears, pistons, plugs, and anything else that needs to fit, seal, or spin—start by asking just how round does it need to be? If the answer is “as round as possible,” you probably need a center gate. In injection molding, resin … [Read more...] about Round like a Wheel, Not Like an Egg
Proto Labs
First Proto Labs Cool Idea winner: Don Ladanyi of Ohio
Proto Labs, a leading online and technology-enabled quick-turn manufacturer of prototype and short-run production CNC machined and injection molded custom parts, announced the first recipient of its Cool Idea! award program. Don Ladanyi, of … [Read more...] about First Proto Labs Cool Idea winner: Don Ladanyi of Ohio
The pros and cons of rapid injection molding optical parts
The ability of optical parts made of clear resins like polycarbonate to perform optically as light covers, lenses, and lightpipes depends on a combination of material, shape, and internal clarity. Not all rapid prototyping processes are suitable for … [Read more...] about The pros and cons of rapid injection molding optical parts
How to make injection molded parts look good
First, the bad news: injection molded parts are subject to a host of cosmetic flaws including sink, gate vestiges, ejector pin blemishes, drag marks, texture flaws, knit lines, burns, flash, and inconsistent coloring. The good news is that adherence … [Read more...] about How to make injection molded parts look good
Proto Labs launches Cool Idea! Award to support innovators
Proto Labs has announced the launch of its Cool Idea! award, a new program designed to give product designers the opportunity to bring innovative products to life. Proto Labs will provide $100,000 worth of prototyping and short-run production … [Read more...] about Proto Labs launches Cool Idea! Award to support innovators
What color is your prototype?
Injection molded parts, for all their many shapes and sizes, all start out pretty much the same—as small plastic pellets. The base colors of those pellets vary somewhat depending on the resin, but they all fall somewhere on a monochromatic scale from … [Read more...] about What color is your prototype?
