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I’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

I’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 ago
I couldn't imagine forking over $12k to a website that looks like a poorly constructed phishing attempt
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- bryanrasmussen 7y ago
  I'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 ago
  Web site looks fine, probably done by an engineer. Rather that than some slicked up bullshit from some “startup”.
  - cr0sh 7y ago
    This 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...
    - madengr 7y ago
      Like these (no BS like stock photos of models around conference tables, just the products): https://www.fairviewmicrowave.com/ https://www.fairviewmicrowave.com/ https://www.digikey.com/ https://www.digikey.com/ Of course this is not marketing to the general public. The site in question is a injection molding machine, so should follow the same no-BS guidelines. What’s wrong with static pages and at most 2 frames? Man I sometimes I wish the internet would revert 25 years.
    - King-Aaron 7y ago
      The other comment below yours does illustrate it a bit better, I don't think a sales site needs to be of a 'slick startup' style to provide a little more trust about their product and service, rather just take some care and attention with their presentation. Things like the lackluster approach to their imagery or the lack of thought behind layout of elements in the footer/header etc to me doesn't instill the notion that this company has taken any care or thought to their own presentation, and because of that I wouldn't trust them to also take care with their card processing or other infrastructure related to taking my payment. You don't need a design degree or a deep understanding of the arts to make something which doesn't look like a dog's breakfast :)
extrapickles 7y ago
It looks like you make only a small part of the mold with a high temperature plastic that the UV cure (formlabs, objet) 3D printers can do. The rest of the mold is metal. I suspect that they do not last long (<100 cycles).
Animats 7y ago
Here's an overview of 3D printed molds for injection molding.[1] These aren't the first people to do this. The mold has to have a much higher melting point than the material being molded, of course. Formlabs has a "high temp resin", melting point around 289C.[2] US$200/liter. This is for their stereolithography machine. Filament-based 3D printers, not going to work for this. This makes sense for production shops that need to make a few hundred of something. [1] https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/3d-printing-low-run-injection-molds https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/3d-printing-low-run-in... [2] https://archive-media.formlabs.com/upload/HighTemp-DataSheet.pdf https://archive-media.formlabs.com/upload/HighTemp-DataSheet...
epanchin 7y ago
During my time in engineering, the majority of my large purchases were made after exhibitions, often ordered on the phone with an email invoice. I can understand why websites are not a priority.
vgoh1 7y ago
I'm a mechanical engineer who has been involved in the purchase of some industrial machinery. This is typical. You call the company, they will usually have a regional salesman come to your place of business to talk about it and bring literature. It's a very old way of doing business, but also effective. If there is a place to order from the website, it is usually for only after you have talked to their sales staff. This is actually a good website for me, because it shows a price. You would usually have to call to figure out if a machine costs $50k or $250k.

King-Aaron 7y ago

I couldn't imagine forking over $12k to a website that looks like a poorly constructed phishing attempt

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
bryanrasmussen 7y ago
I'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 ago
Web site looks fine, probably done by an engineer. Rather that than some slicked up bullshit from some “startup”.
- cr0sh 7y ago
  This 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...
  - madengr 7y ago
    Like these (no BS like stock photos of models around conference tables, just the products): https://www.fairviewmicrowave.com/ https://www.fairviewmicrowave.com/ https://www.digikey.com/ https://www.digikey.com/ Of course this is not marketing to the general public. The site in question is a injection molding machine, so should follow the same no-BS guidelines. What’s wrong with static pages and at most 2 frames? Man I sometimes I wish the internet would revert 25 years.
  - King-Aaron 7y ago
    The other comment below yours does illustrate it a bit better, I don't think a sales site needs to be of a 'slick startup' style to provide a little more trust about their product and service, rather just take some care and attention with their presentation. Things like the lackluster approach to their imagery or the lack of thought behind layout of elements in the footer/header etc to me doesn't instill the notion that this company has taken any care or thought to their own presentation, and because of that I wouldn't trust them to also take care with their card processing or other infrastructure related to taking my payment. You don't need a design degree or a deep understanding of the arts to make something which doesn't look like a dog's breakfast :)

extrapickles 7y ago

It looks like you make only a small part of the mold with a high temperature plastic that the UV cure (formlabs, objet) 3D printers can do. The rest of the mold is metal. I suspect that they do not last long (<100 cycles).

Animats 7y ago

Here's an overview of 3D printed molds for injection molding.[1] These aren't the first people to do this. The mold has to have a much higher melting point than the material being molded, of course. Formlabs has a "high temp resin", melting point around 289C.[2] US$200/liter. This is for their stereolithography machine. Filament-based 3D printers, not going to work for this. This makes sense for production shops that need to make a few hundred of something. [1] https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/3d-printing-low-run-injection-molds https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/3d-printing-low-run-in... [2] https://archive-media.formlabs.com/upload/HighTemp-DataSheet.pdf https://archive-media.formlabs.com/upload/HighTemp-DataSheet...

epanchin 7y ago

During my time in engineering, the majority of my large purchases were made after exhibitions, often ordered on the phone with an email invoice. I can understand why websites are not a priority.

vgoh1 7y ago

I'm a mechanical engineer who has been involved in the purchase of some industrial machinery. This is typical. You call the company, they will usually have a regional salesman come to your place of business to talk about it and bring literature. It's a very old way of doing business, but also effective. If there is a place to order from the website, it is usually for only after you have talked to their sales staff. This is actually a good website for me, because it shows a price. You would usually have to call to figure out if a machine costs $50k or $250k.