Material Selection
Let Us Help You Select the Right Prototype Materials for Your Application….
There are over 60,000 grades of injection moldable materials available with more added every year. It can be quite a daunting task to figure out which plastics are the best to use for your application. Our engineers have designed and specified materials for thousands of plastic parts and are ready to help take the confusion out of prototyping material selection.
Factors to Consider During Prototype Material Selection
Mechanical
We strive to replicate production part quality, without sacrificing speed.
Tolerances
Does the part require any unusually tight tolerances?
Environmental
Is the part used in environments that require consideration such as chemical resistance, high/low temperature exposure, humidity, etc.
Assembly
Prototype parts to be assembled need to be molded from compatible materials in some assembly methods such as ultrasonic welding, laser welding, adhesive bonding, etc
Sterilization
Will the product be a single use sterilized disposable sterilized or a sterilized reusable? What will be the sterilization method?
Regulatory
ISO, FDA, UL, IEC, USP are examples of regulatory agencies that have specific requirements for biocompatibility, food contact, flammability, etc.
Electrical
Certain applications require plastics to function as anti-static, static dissipative, ESD protective, conductive or insulating.
Cost
The part needs to be within cost targets while meeting all other requirements.
Aesthetic
Transparency, color, gloss, surface finish, etc.
Special requirements
Transparency, color, gloss, surface finish, etc.
Our Flexible Material Options
Once your material has been specified Protoshop offers prototyping material options to meet your molding needs:
Protoshop Stocked Materials
Protoshop maintains a variety of stocked material options that are immediately available for molding prototypes.
Custom Client Material Order
Protoshop can coordinate an order of a specific grade of material to be shipped directly to Protoshop. Protoshop can also coordinate compounded materials with specialty additives as needed.
Use Client’s Materials
Clients may ship plastic injection molding material to Protoshop that will be used to mold prototype parts.
