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> The quote for plastic injection molds was coming out to low 6 figures, and there wasn't a guarantee they would work the first try, so he bought a 3-axis CNC m

> The quote for plastic injection molds was coming out to low 6 figures, and there wasn't a guarantee they would work the first try, so he bought a 3-axis CNC mill and a plastic injection molding machine for the same cost and could iterate faster and cheaper. For small parts, it’s now possible to buy reasonably priced injection molding machines (under $10K) that take 3D-printed (resin, not FDM) molds. This is the way to learn and iterate. Mold making is not as easy as it sounds, but it can be learned. Once the mold is working well you can CNC machine a soft or hard tool. Although I have to admit that even in the large scale manufacturing space we have no desire to do injection molding in house. Working with a trusted Chinese injection molding company is extremely cheap these days.

robbmorganf 5y ago
Would you recommend any particular brand of said injection molding machines?
- PragmaticPulp 5y ago
  I can't recommend anything personally because I haven't used them. They're also very new, so they're not as mature as old machines. Older machines are massive and poorly documented, though. This is one of the more polished micro injection machines: https://www.micro-molder.com/ https://www.micro-molder.com/ This one is more industrial but seems better for continuous runs: https://www.apsx.com/desktop-injection-molding-machine https://www.apsx.com/desktop-injection-molding-machine There are also several Chinese vendors offering reasonably priced injection molding machines now, but unless you're well-versed in the art of dealing with these vendors and DIYing your own support, they're not a great place to start. If you just want to experiment, you can build or buy a manual lever-operated machine for under $500: https://busterbeagle3d.square.site/product/buster-beagle-3d-injection-molding-machine-mark-1-pre-built/7 https://busterbeagle3d.square.site/product/buster-beagle-3d-... These won't be powering any production runs, but if you're only interested in prototyping then they can be surprisingly effective.

robbmorganf 5y ago

Would you recommend any particular brand of said injection molding machines?

PragmaticPulp 5y ago
I can't recommend anything personally because I haven't used them. They're also very new, so they're not as mature as old machines. Older machines are massive and poorly documented, though. This is one of the more polished micro injection machines: https://www.micro-molder.com/ https://www.micro-molder.com/ This one is more industrial but seems better for continuous runs: https://www.apsx.com/desktop-injection-molding-machine https://www.apsx.com/desktop-injection-molding-machine There are also several Chinese vendors offering reasonably priced injection molding machines now, but unless you're well-versed in the art of dealing with these vendors and DIYing your own support, they're not a great place to start. If you just want to experiment, you can build or buy a manual lever-operated machine for under $500: https://busterbeagle3d.square.site/product/buster-beagle-3d-injection-molding-machine-mark-1-pre-built/7 https://busterbeagle3d.square.site/product/buster-beagle-3d-... These won't be powering any production runs, but if you're only interested in prototyping then they can be surprisingly effective.