What is Rapid Tooling? Overview, Advantages & Limitations

The prototype aims to see exactly how your product appears and acts in a real-world scenario. There are different prototyping processes in the manufacturing industry, ranging from CNC machining to 3D printing. The beauty of these processes is their speed and cost-friendliness, as most of them enable you to produce prototypes cheaply. Rapid tooling is another process used for producing prototypes.

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Unlike the other prototyping processes, this process applied in low volume injection molding helps manufacturers produce tools and project parts cheaply and fast. Prototyping using this approach can help show how different parts of your product would work.

Keep reading as we provide great insight into rapid tooling, what it is, the processes involved, how to make rapid tools, and its benefits and limitations.

Overview of Rapid Tooling

Also known as bridge tooling or prototype tooling, this is one of the steps in product development. It involves hand-load inserts, stocked mold base, and mold material. The mold material could be either aluminum or soft steel.

It is a rapid tool that enables you to get project parts cheaply and fast. The result is the production of parts through low-volume injection molding that functions as tools. Manufacturers subscribe to rapid tools because they enable manufacturers to notice and correct flaws in the current design to prevent issues in the final parts before a full-scale investment in production tooling.

Moreover, it allows you to use the same materials for actual production. In order words, they enable you to decide if you have made the right material choices, as you get a clearer picture of your prototype, including how its different parts would function in a real-world scenario. Therefore, using rapid tooling is a good way to develop small-batch orders in process design, marketing, and product evaluation.

How Does Rapid Tooling Work?

With the rise in demand for cheap tooling solutions, there is also a rise in the number of methods used for making rapid prototype tooling. Generally, there are two main methods of making rapid molds. These include:

• Direct Approach
• Indirect Approach

Direct Approach

The direct approach to rapid tooling produces the cavity mold inserts and actual core. One of the major strengths of this approach is its ability to produce tools with geometries that might be unattainable without them. For instance, in the conformal cooling technique, heat removal from the mold is uniform, reducing cooling times by about 66%. This occurs because the internal cooling channels follow the contour present in the mold cavities.

• Fast Production: With this approach, you can design and develop tools or molds in a few days or weeks as in this case.
• Not complex: The steps involved in this method are easy. They are also few as compared to the indirect method.
• Does not consume resources: Prototyping or producing using this method requires few resources. For instance, you can make several prototypes from one tool or mold.
• Flexible Approach: This approach is very flexible, allowing you to change designs as quickly as possible. In other words, if you have a design idea and want to test if it would work or not, this is the best approach for you. In addition, if your product does not require high-level detail, you should stick to the direct approach

• Not durable or robust: Prototypes made using this method are not often durable. That is to say, molds made using this process could break easily since the material used is usually not of high quality. This would subsequently lead to a higher production cost if you repeatedly have to replace the mold. Another avenue that could increase product cost is if you keep changing designs. Hence, a change of design would mean a change in the mold. Also, if detail is an important quality for your product or prototype, then this method is not for you.
• Error Prone: Creating multiple molds using this method often results in errors. This error is often due to differences in mold dimensions. This is especially true if you use different materials.

Indirect Approach

The indirect approach uses master patterns produced through additive manufacturing to make die or mold. While many methods are available for achieving this, soft tooling techniques are commonly used.

Soft tooling involves making use of silicone molds for plastic parts. Furthermore, these silicone molds also serve as sacrificial models when you want to cast metal parts.

• Durable: The master pattern made from durable material lasts for a very long time. It is difficult to damage it during the prototyping process. This means that for the duration of your production, you may likely not change a master pattern unless there is a change in design.
• Versatile: Depending on the requirement, manufacturers can create soft and hard tools faster with this method.
• Ideal for experimentation and testing: This method gives you the leverage to experiment with different materials.

• Time-consuming: It takes longer to produce a master tool than it takes to produce a mold in the direct method. Furthermore, there are many steps involved in the process, which could increase the cost of production. Also, if there is a likelihood that your design will change during the prototyping stage, then you should avoid this method.
• Not for simple designs: This method works best with complex designs that require a lot of detail. In other words, if your design is simple, then this method is most likely not for you.

Having examined both methods, their merits, and their demerits, how do you choose the ideal one when you want to make a rapid mold? Below are some guidelines you should consider before making your decision.

• Budget: This entails how much funds you plan to use for prototyping and production.
• Timeline: How soon do you need the prototype or product
• Design complexity: Does your design require details? Is it complex or simple?
• Materials: What material do you have in mind for developing your prototype or product

Considerations to Make Prototyping Molds

When making prototyping molds, below are some factors you must consider.

• Mold strength: Mold should be strong and durable to withstand the injection molding process. It is also important to note that molding machines force heated materials into the mold at pounds per inch. If the mold is not strong enough, it might fall apart.
• Mold Smoothness: To inject and eject the plastic cleanly into and from the mold, it has to be smooth. However, some processes require adding materials in layers, so their products are not usually smooth. In situations like this, surface finishing is required in plastic parts.

Advantages Of Rapid Tooling In Manufacturing

Rapid tooling now has a wide rate of adoption among manufacturers because of the benefits it affords them. Still undecided on whether to use it for your prototyping needs? Here are some benefits rapid production tooling affords you.

Reduced Product Development Costs

Materials used in making a rapid mold are often cheaper and more flexible than those required for making a conventional mold. These materials range from different types of aluminum to steel.

Besides, 3D printed tooling being cost-effective helps you save money spent on production because the faster the process, the less you spend.

Fast Time to Market

It results in faster production of both prototypes and products. Besides, this speed reduces the time spent in the prototyping stage of production, hastening the time to market.

Mold Customization

With this prototype tooling, you can create your custom mold with any dimension. You can also run different materials through the mold and perform quality control tests on them. This comes in handy when you are unsure of the ideal material for your product.

Test Design and Functionality Thoroughly

This prototyping method gives you the leverage to make several prototypes or molds in a short time, sometimes in hours. It also gives you the freedom to test out new ideas and adjust old ones. This, in turn, helps improve design functionality and market value.

Increased ROI

Another advantage is that it hastens product development time, which in turn ensures you start recouping your investments in a short time. Also, lower production and prototyping costs reduce the time spent getting your ROI because you incur fewer expenses.

Limitations of Rapid Tooling In Injection Molding

It&#;s possible to produce rapid molds or tools in the shortest time, which accelerates the production of plastic parts. However, there are still limitations to rapid tooling. Below are a few of them.

Higher Injection costs, Labor costs

Prototyping with rapid tooling is a repetitive process, and this means spending more on injections, especially if you are looking to perfect a design. Higher injection costs translate to higher labor costs, which could increase your cost of production.

Shorter Mold Life Cycles

Rapid molds do not last long. This is due to the stress placed on them by the injection process. Besides, the materials used in producing the molds like aluminum and steel, are not of high quality. Hence, you would end up creating a new mold from time to time, as the previous ones wear out.

Rapid Tooling Vs Rapid Prototyping

Some people feel rapid tooling and rapid prototyping are the same, which is not true. There are differences, and we will discuss them here.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Rapid Tooling For Injection Molding. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Rapid tooling involves the production of a tool or mold that enables manufacturers to rapidly-produce parts of a product that would function as a tool. Furthermore, there are two approaches to prototyping here; direct method and indirect method. But the common technique used is injection molding.

On the other hand, rapid prototyping is a technology or method that aids the rapid production of a physical part for end-use or use as a prototype. In addition, the common technologies involved in rapid prototyping are additive manufacturing (3D printing) and subtractive manufacturing (CNC machining).

Choosing Your Rapid Tooling Services

Want to realize your plastic products from a design in the shortest possible time? That is exactly what rapid tooling does for you.

Thankfully, RapidDirect remains the go-to company for your rapid tooling needs. Our top-quality injection molding service includes rapid tooling services. We tailor our services to meet clients&#; demands, ensuring the production of quality prototypes. Furthermore, you do not have to break your bank to get a prototype of your design, as we offer one of the best prices in the industry.

Not sure what producing your design would cost? RapidDirect offers you an online quotation platform. All you need to do to access the quotation is upload a design file.     

Conclusion

There are many benefits rapid tooling provides manufacturers, from saving time to reducing costs. We believe with the above information, you have gotten great insight into the different methods involved in this process and what differentiates it from rapid prototyping.

Irrespective of the type of product you want to develop, you must hire a reputable prototype manufacturer. With several manufacturers in the market, RapidDirect is the recommended manufacturer for all your prototyping needs.

Testing and validation of parts is an essential part of the product development process. Although other prototyping options such as 3D printing, CNC or vacuum casting would generally allow faster and cheaper prototypes, the main advantage of rapid tooling lies in the process and materials. For this reason, Rapid Injection Moulding is still one of the most common form of rapid tooling today. In this article, we take look an in-depth look into the process, how it works, when to use it and how it compares to other rapid prototyping methods.

What is rapid tooling in injection moulding?

Rapid tooling (RT) refers to the process of &#;rapidly&#; producing mould (also known as tools) to be used in the injection moulding process. Traditionally, creating moulds for injection moulding could be a very time-consuming and expensive process. With RT, engineers and designers can manufacture moulds in a significantly shorter timeframe and a lower cost than a full production mould tool without compromising on the quality of the part; rapid tooling allows for the fabrication of detailed and complex geometries with precise tolerances in production-grade materials.

Example of rapid tool building process at HLH Rapid

By eliminating the need to remake a full-scale production tool, the speed and lower costs of rapid tooling offers greater flexibility and provide designers and engineers with an opportunity for innovation. This makes the process suitable for not just lower volume production but also market testing and rapid prototyping applications.

How rapid tooling works

How are rapid tools made and how does it differ from conventional tool making? There are many different approaches depending on the part and requirements but essentially the general idea is to reduce as far as possible both the time taken and the costs involved in manufacturing the tool. Some of the most common techniques include:

• Opting for Aluminium or Softer Steels: aluminium or soft steels are much easier to machine which helps expedite machining process. They are also cheaper than hard steel materials.
• Using Standard Mould Bases: utilising ready-made or standardised mould bases and focusing on producing inserts can help save several days of time on the tool-making process.
• Eliminating Extra Processes: omitting supplementary steps such as Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) can enhance efficiency.
• Post-Machining Features: incorporating features or threads after initial machining rather than including them in the initial tooling process facilitates quicker production.
• Abandoning Side Actions: while abandoning side actions may increase cycle time, it can still prove beneficial in cases where quantities are low.

Example of worker working on rapid tool at HLH Rapid

Reasons to use rapid tooling for your project

Here are the top reasons why you may want to consider the process for your next project:

1. Prototyping in the production intent material

In certain instances, prototyping in the production intent material is a &#;must have.&#; This may be because the standard prototyping options cannot achieve the temperature or other environmental requirements or you want a much clearer picture of how the parts will act in real-world applications. If so, prototyping in the production intent material will allow you to test and confirm you&#;ve made the correct material choices.

2. You only require lower volumes

Unlike full-scale production tooling, rapid tooling is designed to cater to &#;smaller projects.&#; This allows for the fabrication of production-grade parts with precise tolerances but in lower volumes. This is especially beneficial for aerospace component or specialist vehicle manufacturing that deal with smaller quantities of parts but require the use of high performance materials.

3. You need to get your product to market quickly

Rapid tooling shortens the time between the initial idea and evaluation. This fast turnaround can help companies obtain a competitive edge to bring new products into the market. In other words, you can get parts to market in a fraction of the time of traditional methods. This is especially important if you&#;re working with a tight timeline.

Limitations of rapid tooling

While rapid tooling in injection moulding offers many benefits, like any other process, it isn&#;t without its limitations. So, how does RT compare to conventional tooling methods and other rapid manufacturing technologies like 3D printing and CNC machining? These are some of its main disadvantages:

• Shorter mould life cycles: aluminium and softer steel tools do not last as long as steel moulds due to the stress placed on them by the high pressure injection process. This means you won&#;t be able to get as many runs from it.
• Not suitable for early-stage prototypes: if you&#;re at the outset of prototyping and anticipate the need for multiple modifications or significant changes, avoid rapid tooling. This is because the process is costly and less tolerant to design changes.
• Can be a costly process: while rapid tooling processes can be cost effective, it can also be expensive, especially for low-volume production runs. The initial investment in tooling may not be justified if the production quantity is not sufficiently high.

How to get started with rapid tooling

Are you trying to source a rapid tool manufacturer for your project? Essentially you need to be very clear on what exactly you are after. Obviously, the increased speed and lower costs of rapid tooling compared to conventional production tooling are also going to impact somewhat on the final parts, but as long as you know what you are looking for and make your requirements clear to the manufacturer you should be able to avoid surprises.