I hear ya. And only 1 out of 10 will say "thank you" and appreciate your info

So sorry Jogaki.. i am quite busy with my schedule

no point go injection or blow moulding if u only want small quantity. nobody will do it for u unless u got direct contact or relatives. wait heat up and changeover time oredi kill u. mould also not cheap. small small mould if want good quality can cost up to 30k or above. if not so quality got around 8-15k. but still nobody will inject or blow if u no volume.

vacuum forming can try. cheaper alternative if your design not too complex. some ppl call it vacuum forming, some ppl call it tray stamping. basically the mould casting is still cheaper than injection moulding. last i ask, around 1000+ only for mould.

then 3d printer u can try la as prototype. but if u wan more towards actual, u better be prepared to pay lor. finding someone to do for u for 1-2 piece is gonna be the tough one even if u are willing to pay.

I do small scale 3D printing. Actually now it's easier to find an individual with a 3D printer that is willing to do 1 or 2 prints. Quality and cost varies from person to person.

yes. i think u got me wrong. 3d printing is good and i meant to say that its better to use 3d printer as prototype. but if he wants more like actual and final finished product, its gonna be difficult for him to find someone to inject or blow mould for him just for 1-2 pieces. That also would cost him an arm and a leg for those 1-2 pieces .

i think people who suggest 3D printing has never use 3D printing or see 3D printed product before..

3D printer pro n cons

Pro
- Able to manufacture complex part
- Initial cost lower than injection

Cons
- Surface finish is rough, need smoothing process afterwards, compared to injection
- Long production time. simple injection molding process can produce 1 product in less than 15 sec (including cooling), while 3d printer can take lot longer
- Not cheap for mass production while injection molding save cost for mass production.
- Material modification is hard thing to do. 3d printer use long strand of plastic. while injection molding use small plastic pallets (can modify pallet properties using extruder)
- Material availability. AFAIK, there is currently only a few plastic that is 3D printer compatible (abs, pla n few other).

This post has been edited by asparagsu: Feb 25 2016, 12:13 PM

MOULD FOR DA DIAO SHAO?

Although 3D printing has its cons but for an individual looking for someone wiling to do small quantities at low cost that is the deal breaker compared to commercial manufacturing.

I don't agree with some of the cons like production time, since the mold making time takes a significant amount of time to make. As for materials, its no longer limited like what we have 2 years ago, I now stock ABS, PLA, FlexPLA, Ninjaflex, and even conductive PLA so there is more than enough materials for a complex prototype. There is also wood, steel, and ceramic filled PLA now.

3D printing isn't limited to making plastic stuff but it also involves in PCB making and soft mold making as well.

This post has been edited by altan: Feb 25 2016, 12:39 PM

Resin

Have you done any research on whether there is demand or not in the market for your product?

Product costing will consist of the following
1) mould cost
2) material cost
3) production cost (power, water, labour, etc)
4) packaging cost
5) etc

mould cost
1) complexity & size of product
2) material of product
3) annual volume
4) shelf life expectancy of mould
5) etc

material cost
1) type of material / materials
2) production cost (if mixing is required)
3) etc

do you have injection moulding machine to run your product in?
is there any certification required for your product? to get certified, there's another cost to it.

it's not merely make and sell, do a initial market research and from there, decide whether it is worth it or not to proceed with this product. Then only you proceed to the next step. No point get all the costing when product no demand at all...

try this lah if you have the time and energy

http://www.scorchworks.com/Injection_moldi...on_molding.html

get 3d printer la....you can even mould serious weapon for you toys also

yes, i agree on small quantities part. 2000 units doesnt worth the cost of mold.

however, the plastic properties modification is a deal breaker. most commercial product require certain properties to comply the requirement (tensile strength, degradation, fire retardant and etc). 3D printing for simple non commercial product would be no problem.

BTW, i saw your siggy about 3d printing, the current tech have reach to the point where printing Teflon is possible or not? i needed teflon mold for my master degree project.. last time i ordered 20 unit 3d printed mold using abs from penang company, however the abs doesnt really meet the expectation. i need the non-sticky properties from teflon, or do you have any other materials fits the non-sticky properties?

Pure Teflon, not available but there is something similar used in plastic ball bearings called iglide from igus. The material is damn expensive and the company is snobbish enough to ignores orders from small individuals.
http://www.igus.com/wpck/11723/N14_4_1_igl...boFilament?C=US

I don't know why you need a non-stick surface for molding but that can be achieved with silicon demolding agent for an easy demoulding.

Don't mind me asking. What is your expectation for the 3d printed mould?

lemme explain in short,my project involve freeze drying of ceramic slurry. the slurry poured into mold, freeze it, then freeze dried, remove product from mold, then the product will be sintered. the problem raised when the mold is sticking to the product after freeze dried. the unsintered slurry is extremely brittle, removal process from the mold usually causing damage to the product due to the sticking part. thats why i need teflon or other non stick material. 2 requirement only, can resist low temp at -40 and non stick.

btw, silicon demolding agent would have mixed with my slurry.. even though sinter process will be at 1100 C, the reaction during freezing would have alter the binder and dispersant action..

You could try 3D printing a positive of your object and create a silicone rtv mold of it. Silicone rubber has surface energy second to PTFE. I am not too sure if the silicon rubber can survive -40 or deforms.

An alternative for this is to find a machine shop to make the Teflon mold for your project but as usual cost depends on complexity.

Another method is to sinter the freeze dried slurry together with the 3D printed PLA mold. It's a reverse to loss wax method. You have to do it above 300 deg C (to burn the mold away) and there might be some stain left on the surface.

This post has been edited by altan: Feb 25 2016, 04:52 PM

Hi guys, sorry for my late reply to my own made topic.. thank you for all response and i hope this thread continue to bring more info for all technical personnel in LOWYAT.

As for my query, lots of answers given and now i know that it is not cheap to fabricate customized plastic molding unless for massive scale.

What i intended to do is to commercialize new hydroponic system which suitable for those living in apartment / condo and suitable for indoor cultivation. I can design it using CAD software but to fabricate it is really out of my hand.

I do not have any funding whatsoever but i can propose the copyright for my design.