Services

Rapid Prototyping

Our Technical knowledge, well equipped finishing facility coupled with with some specially selected suppliers means we can offer rapid prototyping of your parts to a fully finished, exhibition standard in a very short space of time. Alternately if it is just for fit and function testing we have the skills to tweak your prototypes to make those last minute changes without fuss.
Using our experience and knowledge for your prototypes, will make the step up to low or medium volume production, quicker, easier and usually much less costly.

Low to Medium Volume Production

Our RIM process is perfectly suited to low to medium volume production.
The majority of our RIM tooling is made by us, in house by our skilled team. Setup costs are very low when compared to virtually all other moulding processes meaning you can go from prototype to production parts without it costing an arm and a leg. This is especially useful for new projects where future forecasting and demand is unclear.
Our production process allows for tools to be produced that can yield 500-1000 parts (depending on the design) without the need for replacement.
Tools can also be resurfaced for very little cost, which further increases their working life, avoiding the need for costly premature replacement.
Due to the unique way we manufacture our RIM tools we also have the ability to form localised design changes, again keeping the costs down.

Choice of Materials

The materials used for our RIM process have been specifically developed to allow us to offer a balanced combination of properties for ease of production with the best possible mechanical and physical properties of the finished part.

Polyurethane Elastomers
- We offer Materials that are designed to simulate the common properties of thermoplastic materials such
  - ABS
  - Polypropylene
- Fire Retardant to UL94V0
- Wall sections from 4-15mm and as low as 2.5mm locally
- Parts with variable wall sections can be moulded without sinking issues
- Unlimited design scope
- Parts can be post finished easily with colour, texture and gloss level
- RFI shielding can be applied to the parts surface for specific applications
- Metal inserts can be incorporated into the moulding or inserted after for optimum accuracy
- Tight tolerances. 0.4mm over 500mm Linear

Structural Foams
- A foam that is used to make hard cases, or housings or lightweight structural mouldings
- Foam that has a very tough outer skin and a lightweight rigid core
- Offer excellent strength to weight ratio
- Can be utilised with our bespoke in mould painting process to keep costs low
- Can be post finished and Painted to a very high standard through our in-house spray paint shop
- Various densities depending on requirements
- Fire Retardant UL94V0
- RFI shielding can be applied to the parts surface for specific applications
- Tight tolerances. 0.4mm over 500mm Linear

PU Rubber
- Out PU Rubber provides a solid yet soft touch alternative to foam or injection moulded parts requiring low volume.
- Various colours are possible
- Inexpensive set up costs

Tooling

Tooling for the RIM process is specific to the material that is chosen for manufacture

Polyurethane elastomers & PU Rubber use our in house cast tooling method and require model (pattern) or prototype to kick things off. We can supply this for you. Some key benefits are:

Very Low Set up costs
500-1000 cycles without a requirement retool
Re-skinning of tools to prolong life further
Local design changes can be incorporated easily and inexpensively

Structural foams require the use of Aluminium tooling in order to provide the best possible surface finish and to cope with the additional internal pressures generated from the foam process It is more expensive than Soft tooling but there are other benefits:

Very long life cycle. 10,000+ cycles
Quicker cycles times
Better suited for longer production runs, medium volume
Allows in Mould painting on parts

Finishing and painting & finishing touches

We have a fully equipped spray booth and drying rooms for which you have a choice of any colour and many finishes, including texture.
Extensive skills for the manufacture of fitting and drilling jigs
We can also offer screen printing, Pad printing or Vinyl transfers to add the finishing touches to your product with a brand or company name
We are also happy to address any assembly needs you may have

Applications

Polyurethane elastomers and structural foams can be used as housings, enclosures, facias trims and surrounds in any industry and for virtually any application. Some examples are:

Scientific