Polyurethane Vacuum Casting Service- TUOWEI Mock Up

What is Polyurethane Vacuum Casting Services

What is vacuum casting (resin casting)? It is a highly versatile technology used for the production of small series of functional plastic parts. These parts are usually made of a wide range of polyurethane (PU) resins and cast nylon. Prototypes made in this way show great surface detail and fidelity to the original pattern. The polyurethane casting technique is ideally suited to low volume batch production when injection molding is not cost-beneficial.

There are hundreds of casting polymers available to reproduce any conceivable hardness and surface texture. These materials provide an outstanding variety of properties and offer the possibility to match colors and cast transparent components.

Vacuum casting is an extremely versatile method with many advantages such as low-cost and high efficiency. It is a cost-effective method for making a small number of rapid prototypes based on a master model. This method is suitable for plastic samples widely used in product testing, proof-of-concept, and display demos. At Tuowei prototype, from start to finish, our sophisticated vacuum casting technology, workflow, and professional staff can keep your project flowing smoothly to deliver exceptional molded parts and assemblies in a wide range of materials, colors, and finishes. We can provide you with premium plastic parts in the least time.

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Advantages of Polyurethane vacuum casting

Polyurethane casting involves making a mold out of silicone rubber. It is usually based upon a master pattern created from CNC machines or one of our rapid prototyping services. Polyurethane vacuum casting is ideal for rapid prototyping or very low-volume production for the following reasons:

• Low initial cost. It does not require investment in expensive hard tooling

• High-fidelity of the mold. It gives excellent surface details, requiring little or no post-processing.

• It is an excellent way for testing multiple variations of a prototype design for rapid product development.

• Many different molding polymers are available.

• Once the master pattern is prepared, molds will be ready only in a few days.

• Molds are extremely durable, which can produce up to 30 copies.

• Different types and hardnesses of plastics can be molded together into a single unit.

Vacuum Casting Process

The First Step: Making The Master Pattern

First of all, a master model or pattern is carried out. This master pattern can be manufactured from any kind of material. It can either be provided by our customers or exclusively created by Tuowei Prototype and we will use 3D printing methods or CNC machining to create it.

Master patterns are typically made of the plastic or metal. They have to be able to stand up a temperature of 40°C of curing for an extended period.

Then this master pattern will be suspended inside a casting box and is half-filled with liquid silicone rubber. Finally, it will be placed inside of a curing oven and heated at a temperature of 40°C.

The casting box will be filled with additional liquid which will also be heated and cured. It will be divided into two halves for later separation by using a releasing agent.

When it is fully cured, the casting box will be opened up along the parting line and the original master mold can be removed. There will be a hollow cavity in the mold which is an exact reverse image of the original one.

The Second Step: Making The Replica

During the mold making process, we will place a series of fine holes surrounding the master pattern. These holes will be used for the draw of air pressure out of the mold.

We can fill the cavity with any number of molding polymers to suit any design requirement. Once the cavity is filled, it will be placed into a vacuum chamber and the liquid plastic will be poured into all of the recesses of the mold, ensuring exact conformity to the original shape.

Finally, the mold will go into a curing oven once again, creating a solid and stable replica of your original master pattern.

Tolerances

The finished dimensions of vacuum cast parts will lie on the accuracy of the master pattern, the geometry of the part, and polyurethane material. As a rule, a shrinkage rate is expected to be + 0.15%.

Materials

Hundreds of casting polymers are commercially available to reproduce any conceivable hardness and surface texture. It is also possible to make parts that are fully opaque, translucent or completely transparent depending on your application. See more information on available material.

Finishing Services

At Tuowei, we provide a wide range of finishing services and methods, including painting, sanding, polishing, drilling, aqua blasting, holes tapping and threading, silk screening, pad printing, etc.

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