Mold designing is a process where engineers come together to create a specific rubber part design. This part can be a component on a machine or mechanical device, or a simple connective part or seal.
These parts may be fused with metal and other materials, or stand on their own. Your part may require “mating” parts that have a high degree of precision or they might be subjected to “stretch and compression” stress. All these factors must be considered when planning the best design.
How do you start? The planning of any part requires a number of steps:
- Research and design;
- Creation of a custom rubber mold;
- Prototyping of the molded rubber part;
- Rubber mixing and formulating.
Each of these steps requires close attention.
Obviously, the better the original design, the better the final product. TMI’s experienced professional network can handle the initial and ongoing development of your rubber product, including testing and refining until it meets your exact requirements.
TMI is equipped to employ a variety of methods to make your custom part, including the three most common rubber molding operations: injection molding, compression molding, and transfer molding.
Our design shop’s state-of-the-art software & equipment gives us the ability to design and create virtually any rubber mold design. By offering rubber part prototypes, we allow customers to experiment so they can inspect and test parts before committing to final production.
As part of our commitment to meeting your needs, TMI will keep you involved in all aspects of our prototyping service and final development.
Our advanced research, design and testing services are always at your disposal. Once prototyping and design is done, we are happy to consult on material selection and performance analysis to help guarantee the best result.