3D Printing is one of the key services that Immould offers. We offer state of the art 3D printing applications that will help produce high-definition prototypes within record time.
Why custom plastic 3d printing service is preferred before injection molded parts manufacture
Initial molded part design confirmation
Before we start on making your plastic prototype, we will need you to give a confirmation on the initial design of your mold. This is to ensure that your design could be made into a prototype.
Injection molded part prototype design development
After we get your design,we will have our team of experts look through it. They will determine the feasibility of your design, and whether there needs to be modifications made.
Injection molded part design validation
After we have our designing team look through your designs, we will need your validation, whether or not the prototype design is to your liking.
Market testing
One of the key attributes of custom plastic 3d printing are the perfect dimensions. If you use 3D printing, you will be assured that your products will be perfect for market testing.
Why choose Fow Mould for plastic prototype manufacturing
Advanced prototype manufacturing equipment
When you use prototype injection molding you will be given access to advanced prototype manufacturing equipment. By using this state-of-the-art technology, you could be assured that your prototype’s specifications will be perfect.
Quick quotation for your custom project
If you are interested in getting a quick quotation for your custom project, you won’t have to wait long. Our customer service team will have the product quotation ready for you within the day.
Fast sampling in 1 week
It is always a good idea to ask for a sample of your design, before you invest in a large scale order. We have the ability to provide you with a sample within a week.
Expertised printing experts
We have a team of printing experts that can fulfill all your 3D printing needs. Just give us a sample of your design, and we can make a great prototype mold..
Over 1000+ prototype injection molding examples worldwide
Immould is one of the first companies that have used 3D printing in creating plastic prototypes. Through the years we have provided a myriad of plastic prototypes to industries such as furniture, storage, toy, automotive and electronics to name but a few.
Your Plastic Prototype Manufacturers
FOW Mould is a well-equipped 3D printing and prototyping service provider. We have invested in multiple state-of-the-art industrial 3D printers that produce high resolution prototypes fast and in precise detail. Our team also has advanced skill sets on how to handle different printing resins as well as prototype designs of various sizes and complexities.
The scope of our 3D printing services comprises different industries. The bucket industry was one of our earliest clients but we have since grown our capacity and technique to cater to the furniture, baby product, home appliance, and warehousing & storage industries among many more.
Advantages of FOW mould's 3D Printing
Prototyping Services
3D Printing and prototyping have greatly reduced the turnaround times for designing complex parts, something that used to take long in the past. This has not only improved the quality of the end product but has increased the pace of production significantly to the point that 3D printing service companies are now flexible enough to create complex designs at a moment’s notice. Some of the advantages include the following.
Endless Options: There are millions of possible combinations that can result from using 3D printing services for making prototypes. You are free to use all kinds of materials with varying finishes and tolerances to create high-quality prototypes.
Easy to Use: The technology is not as complicated as many make it out to be. Everything can be made quickly and delivered to the client without a need for sourcing out part of the work to third-party entities. Everything is handled in one place.
Guaranteed Quality: Every raw material used is the best in the market, and this ensures that the end result is of similar build and construction. Our products are made to perfection and function exactly as they are prescribed to.
High precision and Repeatability: The ability of our 3D printing machine to reduce accurate replicas of complex samples as many times as needed ensures that we are able to meet the clients’ needs ahead of the set deadline, allowing them more room to further plan their distribution.
Cost-Effective: You don’t have to pour all your money just to create unique prototypes. We offer cheap services for high-quality products at no extra cost. All you need to do is provide the blueprints for the products you want to be developed, and we handle the rest on your behalf.
Experienced Engineers: We have a team of experienced engineers who have years of work behind them. They know exactly what they are doing and even go out of their way to offer improvements that would make your products even better.
WHAT IS 3D PRINTING
3D Printing is the process of manufacturing three-dimensional solid objects from nothing but a digital file that is fed through a program that is in sync switching the printing machine using preloaded liquid polymers as the raw material.
The entire process is achieved through the additive processes where the object is created by laying down successive layers of the polymer, which solidifies immediately it is laid dying according to the specifications of the program. Depending on the speed of the 3D Printing machine, you can actually see how the object takes shape slowly.
The process works by combining different components together. It all begins with a 3D model that is either created from scratch on a 3D designing computer program. You can also download any file from a wide range of online libraries that can be found easily. Once you have your printable file, the next thing you have to do is make it ready for the 3D printer in a process called slicing.
A slicing software then cuts up the virtual 3D model into thousands of layers. These layers are fed into the 3D printer through a USB drive or can be sent to it via WiFi or any other file-sharing technology that you’d be comfortable with. Once you have done all that, the sliced layer file is now ready for execution.
The next step would be to make the 3D printing machine ready, and once the file is fed into it, the process can officially begin. Depending on the speed and the size of the file, this could take minutes to hours. You have the flexibility to create any kind of model you want; you are only limited by your imagination.
SELECTING 3D PRINTING MATERIALS
What makes our 3D printing prototype service the best is our ability to work with all kinds of raw materials to create unique products that are in line with what the customers request. Some of the raw materials that we are able to work to produce the very best of well-designed products from scratch include the following.
Metal
Resin
Thermoplastics
Titanium
Stainless Steel
Polycarbonate
Carbon Fibers
TYPES OF 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES
3D printing technologies come in varying forms, each designed for a specific function in the market. Their development is usually based on each other and the need to address a void for something that is needed at a particular moment. The following are some of the notable 3D printing technologies in existence right now.
STEREOLITHOGRAPHY (SLA)
This was the first form of 3D printing technology, and most of the others are based on it. It excels at producing price parts that are of great detail, tight tolerances, and smooth finishes. Stereolithography is mostly used in the medical sector where the creation of anatomical models and microfluidics.
SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING (SLS)
This is a 3D printing process that melts together powders that are nylon-based and converts them into solid plastic. The fact that products made from this process are crafted using real thermoplastics, they are more durable and perfect for functional testing. However, their surfaces are not as smooth; the process is the best when it comes to making large 3D prints.
PolyJet
PolyJet can fabricate multiple parts with multiple attributes like colors and still make them workable. It is a handy process that can be used for prototyping over molded parts. This is the type of 3D printing technology that you go for when you want a flexible end product that has a rubbery feel to them.
Digital Light Processing (DLP)
This is a process that is almost similar to the SLA that makes use of UV light to cure light. This gives the DLP a bigger advantage in terms of speed as it is able to print an entire layer of the model at once. The products from the DLP process are hardened as soon as they are laid down by light, and this allows the product to be handled almost immediately after being created. DLP is good for low volume production of clean and accurate items.
Multi Jet Fusion
Another process that makes use of thermoplastics as the raw material, instead of using laser light like most of the other printing technologies, uses an inkjet array for applying a special fusing agent to the bed on nylon powder. This is followed by a heating element that is passed over the bed to fuse everything into one component. The advantage of this process is that it adds consistency to the models that are built; it is a fast process and uses less power compared to most of the other technologies.
3D PRINTING PROCESS
The 3D printing process goes through three main steps:
Step 1: The first thing you have to do is to prepare a 3D file of the product you want to print. There is a lot of software that you can use for this work, and it can be done on a computer separately from the printing gear. You can use CAD software or a 3D scanner. The other option is downloading a ready-made file from one of the many online marketplaces that stock them. Check the 3D file to determine its sizes to ensure it is compatible and ready for printing.
Step 2: This is where the actual printing process occurs. You start by choosing the raw material that will best suit your design and the attributes you want to see in the end products. There are a number of materials available for that, and they range from resins, ceramics, thermoplastics, textiles, sand, glass, lunar dust, biomaterials, among many others. Some pointers will allow you some room to add some finishing touches while others came out already from the very start.
Step 3: This is the stage where the finishing touches are added. Once the product has been printed, depending on the material used, it cannot be handled directly. It has to undergo UV treatment, some sanding, painting, and other processes for it to be complete.
3D PRINTING SERVICE COST
The cost of 3D printing depends on a lot of factors. The raw material will determine the final cost of the end product. Some materials like glass are a bit hard to deal with, and the technology for art has not yet been refined well enough for that. Resins and thermoplastics are the cheapest, and that influences the final price. Energy consumption and is directly tied to the printer you chose. There are some cheaper 3D printing technologies like the Multi Jet Fusion that use less energy, and this will have a dent in the final.
APPLICATIONS OF 3D PRINTING
The application of 3D printing in the modern world is unprecedented, and the more it is being developed, the better it becomes. The following are some of the notable applications of 3D printing.
Education: The creation of learning materials through 3D printing has enhanced the quality of learning as replicas of human body parts can now be produced in high definition, and this gives the teachers better teaching materials to help kids understand things better.
Concept Models: It is much easier to create concepts that have never been seen before through 3D printing. The speed and versatility give creators the room and the time they need to come up with all kinds of designs that are transforming the lives of people all around.
Rapid Prototyping: The ease of creating prototypes has also accelerated production as it is now easier to produce functioning samples of parts and products that can then be inserted into the assembly line after they pass the tests.
Direct Digital Manufacturing: There is high accuracy and precision that comes with 3D printing that makes it easier for parts to be produced and added to the production line without interfering with the regular assembly lines. Making customized parts is very easy.
What is 3D Printing
What is 3D Printing
3D Printing is the process of manufacturing three-dimensional solid objects from nothing but a digital file that is fed through a program that is in sync switching the printing machine using preloaded liquid polymers as the raw material.
The entire process is achieved through the additive processes where the object is created by laying down successive layers of the polymer, which solidifies immediately it is laid dying according to the specifications of the program. Depending on the speed of the 3D Printing machine, you can actually see how the object takes shape slowly.
The process works by combining different components together. It all begins with a 3D model that is either created from scratch on a 3D designing computer program. You can also download any file from a wide range of online libraries that can be found easily. Once you have your printable file, the next thing you have to do is make it ready for the 3D printer in a process called slicing.
A slicing software then cuts up the virtual 3D model into thousands of layers. These layers are fed into the 3D printer through a USB drive or can be sent to it via WiFi or any other file-sharing technology that you’d be comfortable with. Once you have done all that, the sliced layer file is now ready for execution.
The next step would be to make the 3D printing machine ready, and once the file is fed into it, the process can officially begin. Depending on the speed and the size of the file, this could take minutes to hours. You have the flexibility to create any kind of model you want; you are only limited by your imagination.
Selecting 3D Printing Materials
What makes our 3D printing prototype service the best is our ability to work with all kinds of raw materials to create unique products that are in line with what the customers request. Some of the raw materials that we are able to work to produce the very best of well-designed products from scratch include the following.
- Metal
- Resin
- Thermoplastics
- Stainless Steel
- Polycarbonate
- Carbon Fibers
Types of 3D Printing Technologies
3D printing technologies come in varying forms, each designed for a specific function in the market. Their development is usually based on each other and the need to address a void for something that is needed at a particular moment. The following are some of the notable 3D printing technologies in existence right now.
Stereolithography(sla)
This was the first form of 3D printing technology, and most of the others are based on it. It excels at producing price parts that are of great detail, tight tolerances, and smooth finishes. Stereolithography is mostly used in the medical sector where the creation of anatomical models and microfluidics.
Selective Laser Sintering(sls)
This is a 3D printing process that melts together powders that are nylon-based and converts them into solid plastic. The fact that products made from this process are crafted using real thermoplastics, they are more durable and perfect for functional testing. However, their surfaces are not as smooth; the process is the best when it comes to making large 3D prints.
Polyjet
PolyJet can fabricate multiple parts with multiple attributes like colors and still make them workable. It is a handy process that can be used for prototyping over molded parts. This is the type of 3D printing technology that you go for when you want a flexible end product that has a rubbery feel to them.
Digital Light Processin(dlp)
This is a process that is almost similar to the SLA that makes use of UV light to cure light. This gives the DLP a bigger advantage in terms of speed as it is able to print an entire layer of the model at once. The products from the DLP process are hardened as soon as they are laid down by light, and this allows the product to be handled almost immediately after being created. DLP is good for low volume production of clean and accurate items.
Multi Jet Fusion
Another process that makes use of thermoplastics as the raw material, instead of using laser light like most of the other printing technologies, uses an inkjet array for applying a special fusing agent to the bed on nylon powder. This is followed by a heating element that is passed over the bed to fuse everything into one component. The advantage of this process is that it adds consistency to the models that are built; it is a fast process and uses less power compared to most of the other technologies.
3D Printing Process
The 3D printing process goes through three main steps:
Step 1
The first thing you have to do is to prepare a 3D file of the product you want to print. There is a lot of software that you can use for this work, and it can be done on a computer separately from the printing gear. You can use CAD software or a 3D scanner. The other option is downloading a ready-made file from one of the many online marketplaces that stock them. Check the 3D file to determine its sizes to ensure it is compatible and ready for printing.
Step 2
This is where the actual printing process occurs. You start by choosing the raw material that will best suit your design and the attributes you want to see in the end products. There are a number of materials available for that, and they range from resins, ceramics, thermoplastics, textiles, sand, glass, lunar dust, biomaterials, among many others. Some pointers will allow you some room to add some finishing touches while others came out already from the very start.
Step 3
This is the stage where the finishing touches are added. Once the product has been printed, depending on the material used, it cannot be handled directly. It has to undergo UV treatment, some sanding, painting, and other processes for it to be complete.
3D Printing Service Cost
The cost of 3D printing depends on a lot of factors. The raw material will determine the final cost of the end product. Some materials like glass are a bit hard to deal with, and the technology for art has not yet been refined well enough for that. Resins and thermoplastics are the cheapest, and that influences the final price. Energy consumption and is directly tied to the printer you chose. There are some cheaper 3D printing technologies like the Multi Jet Fusion that use less energy, and this will have a dent in the final.
Applications of 3D Printing
The application of 3D printing in the modern world is unprecedented, and the more it is being developed, the better it becomes. The following are some of the notable applications of 3D printing.
Education
The creation of learning materials through 3D printing has enhanced the quality of learning as replicas of human body parts can now be produced in high definition, and this gives the teachers better teaching materials to help kids understand things better.
Concept Models
It is much easier to create concepts that have never been seen before through 3D printing. The speed and versatility give creators the room and the time they need to come up with all kinds of designs that are transforming the lives of people all around.
Rapid Prototyping
The ease of creating prototypes has also accelerated production as it is now easier to produce functioning samples of parts and products that can then be inserted into the assembly line after they pass the tests.
Direct Digital Manufacturing
There is high accuracy and precision that comes with 3D printing that makes it easier for parts to be produced and added to the production line without interfering with the regular assembly lines. Making customized parts is very easy.
