Knowledge Hub
30/01/2021
Aluminium Vs Steel
What are the Benefits of Aluminium Tooling?
We’re asked many questions about prototype tooling and moulding on a daily basis. Normally by potential customers who are trying to evaluate if aluminium tooling is suitable for their project. We often wonder how many other people must have the same questions, or how many people have given aluminium tooling consideration but don’t have the time to ask the questions.
We thought we’d share a few of those questions with you; it may help to make your own mind up about aluminium tooling…
Q: How many parts will a prototype/aluminium tool produce?
A: This depends on many factors. How many parts do you need your tool to produce? We supply components into many different industries, some customers require 10 parts, some 10,000 and this has to be considered at the time of making the tool. Our tooling can be a cost effective solution to a handful of parts, or we can produce an aluminium tool to be capable of 100’s of thousands of parts. We build each tool to suit our customers’ requirements and offer a tooling guarantee for the lifetime of your project.
Q: What materials can you produce parts from when prototyping with your tools?
A: Our prototype / aluminium tooling is very robust which enables us to mould in most thermoplastic materials, from polypropylene and ABS to high temperature metal replacement engineering polymers like PPS, HTN and PEEK.
Q: How long does it take to make tools and mouldings?
A: It depends on the complexity and how busy we are at any given time. We’ve produced simple non complex tools and mouldings in a couple of days, to very complex tools and mouldings in several weeks. It’s always best to contact us to discuss your requirements at the time.
Q: If I have a tool made by RP Technologies can I have additional parts made at a later date, and who owns the tool?
A: Once you have a tool produced by RP Technologies we store it on site which enables you to call off as many parts as required, at any time. As long as RP are making parts from your tool we guarantee the quality of the tool and parts for the duration of your project. All of the tooling we produce is the property of the customer.
Q: If I have a production tool that’s late, can you supply a quick turnaround on a tool and support our production?
A: Yes this is a common occurrence for many OEM’s and we often support production for several months.
Q: How much cheaper is aluminium tooling against steel tooling?
A: This again depends on the levels of complexity, but by rule of thumb it’s around 30-40% cheaper. Aluminium tooling also has much shorter lead times, which in itself offers reduced time to market for new products and the potential for substantial cost savings.
Q: Is it possible to have parts overmoulded or mouldings made from soft materials with aluminium tools?
A: Yes we can mould materials like TPE / TPV as over-mouldings or straight forward mouldings. We also offer insert moulding.
This list of questions is far from exhaustive, but we hope this information gives a small insight into some of the benefits of aluminium tooling and that it’s confirmed to you that aluminium tooling is also suitable for projects that require higher volumes.
