Part design can take anywhere from 1 day to several weeks. Complex assemblies with tight tolerances can undergo several rounds of design, prototyping, and testing. Once a design is complete, tooling can take another 8-16 weeks. For simple or small parts, options exist to create low-run or modular tooling in as little as 2 weeks.
Questions often asked about injection molding and automation. As always, we are here to answer any other questions you have through the contact form or directly by phone.
What are ideal and minimum quantities for injection molding?
There is no universal rule for minimum quantities when considering injection molding. Generally, with tools costing at least $10,000 for the smallest and simplest parts, production volumes of a few dozen parts or even a few hundred parts can rarely carry a proportion of the capital cost of the molds. It is not uncommon for injection molds to cost between $50,000 and $500,000. In this range, it is expected that production volumes would be at 10,000 units and up.
What materials do we use? Which ones do we NOT use?
Noble has experience will all common commodity resins but has specific expertise in engineering grade resins with fiberglass and carbon fiber fillers. Noble does not mold PVC.
What is injection molding?
Injection Molding is one process used for mass production of thermoplastic parts. The resins are heated and injected into a closed mold, cooled to solidify into the shape machined into the mold, then ejected as either a finished part or can undergo further manufacturing steps.
What are the smallest and biggest size products we make?
Noble can make parts as small as a few grams and a quarter of an inch up to 10+ pounds and 40+ inches.
How do we go from idea to product?
Knowing the best manufacturing method for a product idea lets a design be optimized for that process. Often the “best” method isn’t dependent on the part itself, but on commercial considerations like the number of parts needed, timeline to realization, and limits on capital to allow for investment in equipment.
What are the quality management issues?
Quality management issues are all things that could go wrong leading up to production.
Examples: Supply Chain Complexity, Excess Documentation, Resistance to Technology, Over-reliance on theory as opposed to data presented, Lack of Resources and time.
What are the steps of the quality assurance cycle?
Noble employs several measurements and verification systems. Parts might be confirmed by process monitoring, automatic camera validation, operator measurements, specialized testing apparatus, gages, and final release from the Quality Control team.
Why do businesses need strategic sourcing?
Noble has been a successful addition for clients looking to reshore product manufacturing, particularly to position them for strategic success. The challenges of material supply, transportation, and workforce shortages are hitting around the globe. Our automation, relationship strength, and technical tools serve to make confident those businesses looking for both domestic and overseas options for manufacturing.
What are the benefits of automation?
Automation’s biggest benefit is the consistency of process and results. Anything that needs to be done the same way for a long time, or has risk to it can benefit from automation. Sometimes a robot is considered for work that is dirty, dangerous, or dumb. We see robotic automation as a tool to get consistent processes to free up people for work that is more challenging or varying.