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I strongly believe that video exaggerates for effect. You can buy a CNC mill capable of cutting molds on Amazon. And you can rent Fusion 360 for a few dollars p

I strongly believe that video exaggerates for effect. You can buy a CNC mill capable of cutting molds on Amazon. And you can rent Fusion 360 for a few dollars per day. And a low volume injection molding robot costs ~ $10k That means any middle sized company could have this in-house if they wanted to.

aDyslecticCrow 1y ago
You are severely underestimating the expertise and complexity in tool and die making. Cutting the metal is the simple part. The core difficulty wasn't producing the part nor mold; it was finding a guy who knew how.
- fxtentacle 1y ago
  My team has produced multiple molds for plastic injection moulding in the past. Yes, it took the CAD guy a month of training to get a feeling for draft angles and how well certain shapes will eject. And yes, you will spend some days waiting for CNC milling. But it’s neither particularly expensive nor particularly difficult.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - aDyslecticCrow 1y ago
    You found a really great CAD guy, pay them well. Others struggle to find people to hire with the right knowledge, or struggle to train up the knowledge without existing in-house expertise. Parts also vary in complexity; throwing a CAD guy without CNC knowledge in front of a 5 axis CNC and telling them to make a injection mold, doesn't feel too far off from giving a soldering iron to a software guy and asking them to design a circuit-board. It may work out if it's simple, but be prepared to invest a-lot of time letting them fail and build up a skill-set if you need something complex. I have heard from an acquaintance that once you have a good mold, there is no reason to not just injection-mold nationally.
- IAmBroom 1y ago
  So, you have to hire a new employee? OK.
bobsmooth 1y ago
At a comparable price to what you could get in China?
- fxtentacle 1y ago
  In-house will probably be cheaper. As a mid-sized company, you care about IP protection. That means the price for China will need to include bilingual lawyers. Otherwise you might end up in the super awkward position that your mold gets copyrighted by the manufacturer inside China. That would then allow your contract manufacturer to prohibit other injection shops inside China from working with you.

aDyslecticCrow 1y ago

You are severely underestimating the expertise and complexity in tool and die making. Cutting the metal is the simple part. The core difficulty wasn't producing the part nor mold; it was finding a guy who knew how.

fxtentacle 1y ago
My team has produced multiple molds for plastic injection moulding in the past. Yes, it took the CAD guy a month of training to get a feeling for draft angles and how well certain shapes will eject. And yes, you will spend some days waiting for CNC milling. But it’s neither particularly expensive nor particularly difficult.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- aDyslecticCrow 1y ago
  You found a really great CAD guy, pay them well. Others struggle to find people to hire with the right knowledge, or struggle to train up the knowledge without existing in-house expertise. Parts also vary in complexity; throwing a CAD guy without CNC knowledge in front of a 5 axis CNC and telling them to make a injection mold, doesn't feel too far off from giving a soldering iron to a software guy and asking them to design a circuit-board. It may work out if it's simple, but be prepared to invest a-lot of time letting them fail and build up a skill-set if you need something complex. I have heard from an acquaintance that once you have a good mold, there is no reason to not just injection-mold nationally.
IAmBroom 1y ago
So, you have to hire a new employee? OK.

bobsmooth 1y ago

At a comparable price to what you could get in China?

fxtentacle 1y ago
In-house will probably be cheaper. As a mid-sized company, you care about IP protection. That means the price for China will need to include bilingual lawyers. Otherwise you might end up in the super awkward position that your mold gets copyrighted by the manufacturer inside China. That would then allow your contract manufacturer to prohibit other injection shops inside China from working with you.