Vacuum Casting
Vacuum casting is a prototype manufacturing process that uses silicone molds to quickly create urethane casting parts for the production of small batches of functional parts.Bridge the Gap From Prototype to Production – Global delivery in 10 days or less
Vacuum Casting and Urethane Casting by Rapid Manufacture
Vacuum casting, also known as Urethane casting or polyurethane vacuum casting, is a great way to make rigid or flexible parts ideal for high-quality prototyping, functional testing, proof of concept, and showcase demonstrations. Urethane castings can range from a few to hundreds depending on the need. The characteristics and quality of vacuum cast parts are comparable to injection molded parts.
Rapid Manufacture is fully equipped to handle your vacuum casting and silicone molding needs. With years of expertise in the field, we can manufacture your plastic parts to the highest standards with cost-effectiveness and quick turnaround.
Are you looking for vacuum casting services? Contact Rapid Manufacture today, and you will receive a free quote on your vacuum casting service needs within 24 hours.
Vacuum casting quick quote
You only need to upload the 3D drawing file to get a quote quickly. And there’s no need to request multiple quotes for different quantities of the same part. We provide you comprehensive quotations with different prices, you can compare and make the right order according to your budget.
Rapid Manufacture is a leader in polyurethane casting services, offering international economical options to fit your schedule and budget.
The Advantages Of Our Vacuum Casting Services
Our vacuum casting prototyping manufacturing cost is low and production time is short.
Cost effective for Low volume production. After making a master pattern and the silicone mold, it can be duplicated according to the master pattern.
Flexible de-mould operation. After the mold is dry and solidified, the mold is soft and flexible, conductive to cutting and de-mould.
Diverse material and colors for your choosing.
High quality. The defect rate is small. As long as there is no defect on the master pattern, the vacuum casting parts will not be wrong. Most of the time we have avoided it.
Good repeatability, ensure same quality and consistency.
Gallery of Vacuum Casting Parts
Since our establishment, we have been helping the aerospace, automotive, medical device and other industries develop various elastomer vacuum cast parts.
Vacuum Casting Materials
Urethane resins are polymers with a wide range of properties and use. Rapid Manufacture offers various urethane materials to meet your applications, including Hei-Cast from Japan and Axson from France. Materials with certain properties are similar to engineering production plastics, such as ABS, PMMA, PC, PP, PA, and so on. Casting parts can be varied from transparent, translucent to colored, and from soft rubber to hard plastic. Various materials contain those impact-resistant, high-temperature resistant (120℃) or fire-resistant (UL94-V0), glass-filled resins, and different hardness silicone.
Technical specifications
| Maximum build dimensions | The size of the mold is limited by the dimensions of the vacuum chamber (1,900 x 900 x 750 mm) and by the volume of the product (maximum volume: 10 liters) |
| Standard accuracy | ±0.3% (with a lower limit on ±0.3 mm on dimensions smaller than 100 mm) |
| Minimum wall thickness | At least 0.75 mm to ensure the mold is filled properly; for best results, wall thickness of at least 1.5 mm is recommended |
| Surface structure | High-quality surface finish comparable to injection molding |
Materials
Choose from a broad selection of materials when you come to Rapid Manufacture for your vacuum casting projects.
Rubber-like Polyurethanes
DESCRIPTION
Offering a range of different material properties, our rubber-like polyurethanes can be used with silicone molds to produce high-quality prototypes or small series of end-use parts.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS
- Excellent surface quality and detail, resembling TPE, TPU, and silicone rubber
- Ideal for applications that need good shock absorption
- Cost-effective way to produce prototypes or small series of end-use parts
- Max part dimensions: 1,900 x 900 x 750 mm (maximum part volume: 10 liters)
DESCRIPTION
Offering a range of different material properties, our ABS-like polyurethanes can be used with silicone molds to produce high-quality prototypes or small series of end-use parts.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS
- Excellent surface and detail, with injection-molded look and feel
- Flame-retardant, food-safe, and UV-stable materials available
- Cost-effective way to produce prototypes or small series of end-use parts
- Max part dimensions: 1,900 x 900 x 750 mm (maximum part volume: 10 liters)
DESCRIPTION
Offering a range of different material properties, our PE/PP-like polyurethanes can be used with silicone molds to produce high-quality prototypes or small series of end-use parts.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS
- Excellent surface and detail, with injection-molded look and feel
- Tough and lightweight with a wide range of finishes available
- Cost-effective way to produce prototypes or small series of end-use parts
- Max part dimensions: 1,900 x 900 x 750 mm (maximum part volume: 10 liters)
The Applications Of Vacuum Casting
Vacuum casting is a great method to manufacture low-volume production runs for functional prototypes and plastic parts and helps you strike the right balance between high-quality, end-use parts and production lead-time.
- Low Volume Manufacturing / Short Production Runs
The urethane casting is perfect for high-quality plastic prototypes. When volumes do not justify investment in injection molding and short-run production parts, it can complete weeks before production tooling is ready. Our advanced rapid prototyping manufacturing services help you to create custom and complex production parts in low volumes faster than traditional tooling and molding.
- Engineering Verification / Functional Testing
The vacuum casting process and relatively inexpensive tooling involved make it easy and economical for any necessary engineering verification and design changes. Additionally, these would be used to do function testing before testing the mass production products and issue reports or even get any certification approval.
- Aesthetic Models / Color & Texture Studies
The casting urethane part can be a full set aesthetic model with various colors, textures, and surface finishes under the same design idea. If have no idea about what color would be the most suitable for a final product, you can make a silicone mold to produce 10-15 castings and paint each cast part with your design colors and textures to discuss internally during a meeting among design departments or even management meetings.
- Marketing Ready / Display Models
End-user functionality and a high-quality finish make urethane cast parts ideal for consumer testing and user evaluation. The application of the cast urethane process means that changes can be quickly made for either further testing or market launch. At any trade shows or exhibitions, you can display several modeled pieces to clients who are interested. Urethane molding is also needed for photos in preparing the company brochure or being posted on the official website to more potential clients.
Our Vacuum Casting Service for Various Industrial Applications
Due to its fast production, low costs, and durable parts, our vacuum casting service is the favored option for making custom parts used in the automotive, medical, consumer goods, and other industries.
Enquire About Vacuum Casting
Do not hesitate to contact us for more information about vacuum casting. Your customer support partner
will contact you directly to answer any questions you may have.
