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Low cost, all electric, benchtop injection molding machine
- ZiiS 7y agoBetter link https://www.apsx.com/desktop-injection-molding-machine-p/apsx_pim.htm https://www.apsx.com/desktop-injection-molding-machine-p/aps... Price: $12,500
- proee 7y agoAlso found a basic info video on the machine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_l6PvF2Ju8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_l6PvF2Ju8
- deerpig 7y agoGreat music. I want one.
- ThePadawan 7y agoThere is a deep rabbit hole to go down once you start watching shiny videos of industrial machines. Once you watched one, your recommendations will be full of them, including gems such as automatic boiled sausage unwrappers and slicers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNRfVfm8eFw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNRfVfm8eFw
- alvern 7y agoOr automatic pipe benders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXWzIgfTuuQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXWzIgfTuuQ
- debatem1 7y agoInteresting, but it seems quite expensive for the hobby market-- particularly since you also need the tooling to make the molds (or the cash to buy them). If you're like me and that's too rich for your blood, you might look at the Gingery-style injection molding machines: https://makezine.com/projects/make-41-tinkering-toys/diy-injection-molding/ https://makezine.com/projects/make-41-tinkering-toys/diy-inj.... They can be made quickly, work well, and are about 2% of the price, but of course are much more limited.
- chopin 7y agoBut would you want one as a hobbyist? Injection molding shines when it comes to mass production. For hobbyist purposes 3D printing seems a much better alternative. There are numerous companies out there offering this in a higher quality than FDM.
- debatem1 7y agoSure, for the same reason that I have a vertical mill in my basement. It'll never break even, but it'll always be fun to hold up a part and know that I, and I alone, made it.
- chopin 7y agoI have a mill and a lathe. These are wonderful for one-offs. With an injection mold I first need to create a mold and then the object. I just don't see the point (apart form maki9ng hundreds of the same object). Why not create the object directly? Afaik injection molding has even more restrictions compared to subtractive shaping (I've seen amazing things done with the latter).
- debatem1 7y agoMaking dozens or hundreds of the same object is the point. The example army men from my linked article is a good one-- I could probably make hundreds of them on my creality, but it would take less time and the end product would be smoother injection molding them.
- culturestate 7y agoIt really depends how you define “hobbyist.” I’m a designer by training and I (mostly) always designed purely digital products, but after moving to PM and consulting for a couple IoT companies I’ve become very interested in industrial design and design for manufacturing. I’m especially intrigued by next-gen manufacturing (automated/lights out, 3D metal, etc.), and would absolutely love to have a small 5-axis CNC mill and some kind of injection molding facility alongside the 3D printing capability I already have for prototyping. Each tool enables a different range of options for design and material. This isn’t now and likely won’t be my profession any time soon, so I would very much consider myself a hobbyist in this space.
- ricardobeat 7y agoI’m often appalled at the lack of decent information on a company’s product page. This is a serious one. In case you’re wondering, the price is $12,500. I still can’t find any info on how it works using 3D-printed molds, aren’t they going to melt? How are they shaped under pressure?
- King-Aaron 7y agoI couldn't imagine forking over $12k to a website that looks like a poorly constructed phishing attempt
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- bryanrasmussen 7y agoI'm pretty sure I would never pay $12k to a site, I would call the company. on edit: but perhaps I am not the target demographic for things that are 'Low Cost'
- madengr 7y agoWeb site looks fine, probably done by an engineer. Rather that than some slicked up bullshit from some “startup”.
- cr0sh 7y agoThis is an interesting comment; first, we have something akin to > Web site looks fine, probably done by an engineer..."that looks like a poorly constructed phishing attempt" ...an amalgam of your's and parent's (to your's) posts, and then your's: > Rather that than some slicked up bullshit from some “startup” So the question on my mind is, "What does a ecommerce website look like that would satisfy both of your outlooks?" That is, how does a designer/web developer create a website that won't look too "slick startup BS", but yet won't look like "non-designer engineering garbage"? I'm not asking you for an answer, but posing this question for others to possibly think about what that answer might be, because too often we encounter one or the other option, and both turn potential customers away...
- tomcam 7y agoIf I understand the horribly-organized website and YouTube video correctly, you spend $12,500 for the machine, which can be plugged into a standard outlet, and which creates plastic parts up to 6 inches in diameter. In order to make the molds, you must also buy a CNC machine; theirs is $7000 (any CNC would work). The plastics cost about $25 a pound.
- alvern 7y agoThe work envelope is 4.8" x 6.0" so realistically you'd only get a ~4.375" diameter part geometry in there. You can't have hot plastic right up to the edge, the pressure would blow out the mold wall. This is assuming steel or aluminium molds. 3d printed molds would likely need even thicker walls to account for the voids in printing. The one benefit would be if you were using or developing generative design in 3d printed molds, this would be a great test bed. source - I work in the injection molding, 3dp, and CNC industry.
- tomcam 7y agoMan, this is why I love HN. One paragraph and you clarified questions raised by the last 10 injection molding articles I’ve read. Thank you.
- jandrese 7y agoMaybe instead of buying the $7,000 CNC machine you send the design off to a machine shop? Or use the CNC at a local makerspace? I do agree that the low volume and small build area will pigeonhole the product, but it does fill a niche between 3D printing and big boy injection molding.
- gnode 7y ago> In order to make the molds, you must also buy a CNC machine. Manually controlled machines also exist.
- syntaxing 7y agoSurprised and excited to see this on HN! I've been eyeing this machine for work but the tough part is designing a good mold. A simple two part mold is relatively easy with today CAD tools but it still takes some time to design if you are printing multiple pieces in one shot. If you want something for home, you're probably better off with a "drill press" injection molding machine [1]. It will run you less than $1K but you will need to do some post processing work. [1] https://www.techkits.com/products/model-20a/ https://www.techkits.com/products/model-20a/
- analognoise 7y agoI was considering this one, but I'm just starting down this particular rabbit hole.
- HeyLaughingBoy 7y agoNice. That machine looks pretty easy to DIY with an arbor press and a temperature controlled melter for the plastic.
- doodah 7y agoOP here. As someone who launched and fulfilled a small plastic gizmo on Kickstarter and then sold them on Amazon and at local Makerfaires, this equipment really spoke to me. Hence the submission. I 3D printed my product initially and found market fit at $5/piece, which didn't leave me with a lot of options to go into production and build a profitable business off it. 3D printing them was unsustainable. Which is why I'm not currently selling them. In order to produce them cost effectively, I'd need molds that cost several times what this entire system cost. And after that I'd have to order thousands at a time to bring my cost down to say $1. I passed on that at the time and considered producing them myself but this machine didn't exist at the time. If it had, I might be making them now! There are other benchtop/low volume molding systems but nothing comes as close to automatic production as this one. As for the company's site, this is fairly typical, but I'm sorry I didn't link to a better page. It certainly didn't get my blood boiling though. Them showing their price brings lots of good will. The CNC mill is also very interesting, with 4 motors driving the Z axis simultaneously.
- radcon 7y ago> In order to produce them cost effectively, I'd need molds that cost several times what this entire system cost. Was that price from China or the U.S. (or somewhere else)? > I passed on that at the time and considered producing them myself but this machine didn't exist at the time. If it had, I might be making them now! Does this mean you stopped making your product after fulfilling the Kickstarter orders?
- doodah 7y agoChinese molds would have been 2x. Plus all that goes into working with China (as a very small fish at that) I was pretty concerned with paying $20k for what wouldn't amount to much more than a boat anchor. After fulfilling around 700 units on Kickstarter, I sold another 300 at local Makerfaires and around 100 on Amazon (using Vendor Express.)
- bennythomson 7y agoWhat was the part you designed? Do you have a link to the Kickstarter?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- utopcell 7y agoWeird economics for this one. They claim to produce one piece of plastic every 60 seconds. Probably with post-processing, this translates to a part per 2 minutes, or 240 per day at most. In this low volume, you'd need to be selling high-value products to make economic sense. But then, if you have the budget for more than a few dollars per plastic, why wouldn't you go for a 3D printing service like Shapeways, or low volume molds, like ProtoMold ?
- gnode 7y ago> Probably with post-processing, this translates to a part per 2 minutes Is this not something which can happen in parallel on a production line?