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Rapid Prototype Molding Services

Norck: Rapid Prototype Tooling for Fast Injection Molding Iteration

Norck delivers rapid prototype tooling solutions for injection molding, empowering businesses across diverse industries to validate designs, test functionality, and bridge to production with speed and cost-effectiveness.

Capabilities for Prototyping Success:

  • Fast Tool Fabrication: Utilizing aluminum or rapid-tooling alloys for shorter lead times and reduced costs compared to production-grade steel molds.
  • Scalable Production Volumes: Supporting low to mid-volume runs of prototype parts for design validation, testing, and market feedback.
  • Production-Representative Materials: Molding with a wide range of engineering thermoplastics to accurately simulate the properties of your final production parts.
  • Design Flexibility: Accommodating design changes and iterations quickly without the cost and time penalties associated with modifying hardened steel tools.
  • Finishing & Assembly: Secondary operations and finishing services to deliver complete prototype components or assemblies.

Norck's Engineering Edge: It's About Accelerating Your Development

  • Design for Manufacturability (DFM): Early collaboration to optimize your part design for both prototype and production-grade injection molding, ensuring a smooth transition.
  • Material & Process Expertise: Guidance on selecting the right materials and molding parameters to achieve your desired functional, mechanical, and aesthetic prototype requirements.
  • Simulation & Optimization: Utilizing mold filling simulation where applicable to predict potential issues and optimize prototype tool design.
  • Bridge to Production: Seamlessly transition from prototype tooling to production-grade molds with minimal rework, saving time and resources.

Why Choose Norck for Prototype Tooling?

  • Speed to Market: Get functional, injection-molded prototypes in your hands faster, enabling rapid design validation and iteration.
  • Cost-Effective Validation: Test design functionality, material choice, and assembly processes before investing in expensive production tooling.
  • Realistic Testing & Feedback: Prototype parts produced in production-intent materials offer more accurate performance and user feedback.
  • Partner for Success: We collaborate with you through prototyping and into full production, ensuring smooth transitions and on-time product launch.

What is Prototype Molding?

There are mainly three toolings used for injection molding projects: prototype, bridge, and production tooling.

Prototype molding is used for a low-volume injection molding process to validate a design in terms of functionality, appearance, and assembly.

Its mold is made from aluminum or mild-grade steel, so it is cost-effective compared to a production mold. But it might wear quickly due to the soft material.

What are the advantages & disadvantages of prototype molding?

Prototype molding offers many advantages:

• Cost effective: Cost is reduced due to the prototype mold material (Aluminum/mild steel)

• Accurate parts: Prototype molds are ideal for prototyping, better than 3D printing, as it produces accurate details with conforming dimensions to the CAD models.

• Design validation:
Can help designers and clients decide on the shape, materials, finishings, features, gaps, and textures of a part before launching the production tooling

But there are some disadvantages as well:

   - Low volume production: Only one cavity can be made for each mold
   - Wears quickly: <500 shots
   - Limited modifications: Can’t be welded (adding material)

How is it fabricated?

Prototype injection molding is made through four steps:

1. Plastification: The plastic granules are transferred from the hopper to the mold using a rotating screw and molted using heaters.

2. Injection: The screw will advance to increase pressure in the injection chamber to inject the molted plastic into the mold. The two cavities are maintained close until the plastic solidifies.

3. Cooling: After injection, the molted plastic will be cooled down to become solid using a cooling circuit. The screw will hold its position to hold the pressure inside the mold.

4. Ejection: After the molted plastic solidifies using a cooling circuit, the Die is opened, and the part is ejected via ejector pins. The screws will retreat to prepare for the next injection.

Injection Molding

Obtaining a fully functional part might require extra processing for features that can’t be made with the Prototype molding process, such as taping. The designed part should follow Prototype molding design guidelines.

Norck: Your Data-Driven Partner for On-Demand Manufacturing Excellence

Norck is a technology-powered manufacturing leader specializing in CNC machining, 3D printing, sheet metal fabrication, and injection molding. Our intelligent, data-driven approach ensures exceptional quality, optimized costs, and seamless supply chain management for companies worldwide.

Key Services:

Why Choose Norck?

  • AI-Powered Manufacturing: Data and AI optimize our processes for superior quality, minimized costs, and supply chain visibility
  • Vast Production Capacity: Our extensive partner network in Europe and the US guarantees both low and high-volume production.
  • End-to-End Expertise: Our team of engineers, data scientists, and product developers ensure design for manufacturability and unparalleled service
  • Single-Source Solution: Norck streamlines your supply chain, reduces overhead, enhances purchasing power, and delivers just-in-time results.

Experience the Norck difference. Get a quote fast for your manufacturing needs today!

OUR SERVICES

WHAT NORCK DOES BEST

WHY NORCK?

Get Access to Huge Production Capacity

Besides Norck's own production capacity, Norck has access to hundreds of top quality CNC machining, sheet metal, 3D printing, injection molding, and urethane casting providers across the United States, Germany, and Europe.

Creating Supply Chain Resilience

Working with Norck effectively reduces your risks against supply chain shocks, unforeseen delays, price fluctuations, and quality issues, thus increasing your company’s resilience in its outsourcing and supply chain.

Innovation at Work

Besides being an artificial intelligence augmented digital manufacturing company, we also develop extremely innovative manufacturing tools, fixtures and of course software applications such as RapidCAD, a highly intuitive and innovative web based CAD application.

Artificial Intelligence Augmented

Norck gathers and uses thousands of data points to augment its engineers with a state of the art artificial intelligent system for better design and manufacturability.

Green Driven

Norck encourages its partners to be carbon-neutral, and gives carbon neutral compliant suppliers priority over non-compliants.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR CAPABILITIES

LEADING ON DEMAND DIGITAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY IN THE UNITED STATES, GERMANY, AND EUROPE.