The Art of the Mold: Mastering Rapid Vacuum Casting

Does your project require production-grade plastic parts? Do you want to make them quickly and cost-effectively? Engaging a rapid prototyping company is a good start. Here at HLH Prototypes, we offer vacuum casting to produce high-quality plastic components without the lead time and cost of production tooling. Whatever you need, we are confident in our technologies and expertise in producing anything — from car bumpers to headphones. Moreover, we offer the widest range of materials and services to complement our cast urethanes solutions.

If you’re new to rapid vacuum casting but familiar with injection molding, you might wonder what makes it a better option. In this blog, we will share how it works and what its benefits are for your project.

The vacuum casting process

Our rapid prototyping company follows the standard stages for cast urethanes:

• Stage 1: Master model – We make this using 3D printing technologies like selective laser sintering (SLS) or stereolithography (SLA). Depending on your design, we can also use CNC machining.
• Stage 2: Silicone tool – At this stage, we pour the liquid silicone around your master model and leave it to cure. Once it’s dry, we cut the master from the mold, leaving the cavity.
• Stage 3: Castings – We introduce the resin in the cavity, where it creates the production-grade replica.

How can vacuum casting benefit your project?

Our vacuum casting service is great for low-volume production, especially when you need production-like, self-colored parts. We can make your products from a massive range of materials and require only a low upfront investment. Additionally, this process delivers rubber-like parts and over-molds.

At HLH Prototypes, our rapid prototyping company has extensive experience providing vacuum casting for different needs, such as:

• Low-volume prototype production
• Low-volume end-use production
• Rubber parts
• Rapid iteration
• Market testing

Need tips?

By engaging our rapid prototyping company, you can also get the much-needed support to design your part for any specific purpose. Our team can provide custom design tips, such as ensuring consistent wall thickness and avoiding overly thick sections that can sink.

Learn more about vacuum casting and how it can bring value to your project here at HLH Prototypes. Start with your free project review and get a quote, or call +86 755 8256 9129.