You have probably heard the saying “go big or go home.” While it might be a great statement applied in the right circumstances, it has all too often been a barrier for people seeking low volume plastic injection molding runs. In fact, many plastic injection molding firms have set a relatively high minimum-parts order, which can be prohibitively expensive for customers who only need a small number of molded parts. The result has been that many people with workable designs are unable to transition from pre-production to the production phase because they are unable to find fabricators or molders that are willing to create those parts affordably. At I.F. Associates, Inc., we do not believe in “go big or go home.” While we are happy to work with large runs, we are also happy to work with medium and small runs, so that customers who need low volume injection molding services can still get the high-quality plastic parts that they need.
Why would a business need a low volume run? There are a number of reasons that it might be applicable, but the most consistent need for low volume runs comes in the prototype phase. Building single working prototype is great for showing design feasibility, but low volume prototype runs can allow you to test the product and tweak the design before ramping up into production. It can also help you spot any design flaws that might impact production. There are a few design guidelines that make the creation of plastic parts easier, including things like draft and wall thickness. While you can create molds that do not have the desired properties, they are going to, by design, have greater failure rates. Running low-volume pre-production runs can help you eliminate these problems and perfect your prototype prior to production.
