Resources
Guides and reference
Working notes on process selection, tooling, and design for manufacture.
Guides
By process
01
Injection molding guide
Design rules, runner systems, tooling, defects, and costing for molded plastic parts.
02
CNC machining guide
Machines, workholding, tooling, cost drivers, materials, tolerances, and feature-level design rules.
03
3D printing guide
Materials by process, achievable tolerances, design rules, and file preparation.
04
Sheet metal guide
Flat patterns, bend allowance and k-factor, springback, bend radius, relief, and feature placement.
Articles
Process, tooling and sourcing
01
How injection molding works
What happens inside the machine on each cycle, and which of those stages your design actually controls.
02
Injection mold explained, with components
Plates, inserts, slides, ejection and cooling, and what each line on a tooling quotation is paying for.
03
Why injection mold design matters
Mold design is the last inexpensive moment in a program. Most later cost and defects were decided here.
04
Types of runner in an injection mold
Cold, insulated and hot runner systems compared on waste, cycle time, tool cost and part quality.
05
Avoiding common molding defects
Sink, warp, short shot, flash, weld lines and burn marks, and whether each is a design, tool or process problem.
06
What drives injection molding part cost
How tooling charge and per-part charge behave differently, and which decisions move each one.
07
On-demand injection molding
Holding the tool and producing to order rather than to forecast, and when that maths works.
08
Cleanroom injection molding
What a controlled environment does, which classes exist, and when the requirement is real.
09
Diversifying manufacturing away from China
Why concentration became a visible risk, and how the alternatives actually compare on cost and lead time.
10
Manufacturing for hardware startups
Sequencing prototype, bridge and production tooling so capital is not spent on a design still changing.
11
The impact of IoT on manufacturing
What connected sensors change on a factory floor, and what they do not.
12
Digital data and AI tools in manufacturing
Which specific decisions improve when a model is in the loop, and which do not.
Let’s get started on your part
Send your CAD files and target volumes. We come back with a price, a lead time, and any design notes that would reduce either.
Materials
Materials library
01
Thermoplastics
ABS, Polycarbonate, Polypropylene, HDPE, Nylon (PA), Acetal (POM), Acrylic (PMMA), PETG, PBT, PC/ABS, PEEK, PEI (Ultem), Polystyrene (HIPS), PLA.
02
Elastomers
TPU, TPE (SEBS), Silicone (LSR).
03
Metals
Aluminum 6061, Aluminum 7075, Aluminum 5052, Stainless 304, Stainless 316L, Mild steel (CRCA), Brass C36000, Titanium Grade 5.