Product Development
Planning the product development process from idea, sketch, sample, or existing part to production-ready design.
Product Development
Planning the product development process from idea, sketch, sample, or existing part to production-ready design.
- 01A preliminary technical review can be made from an idea, sketch, sample part or image.
- 02Support can be provided through CAD modeling, mold design, mold manufacturing and into production.
- 03DFM analysis can address injection moldability, wall thickness, draft angle, gating and cooling.
- 04Material selection can be evaluated against the part's intended use, mechanical expectations, production volume and process conditions.
- Physical part or scan data
Existing sample, STL, or point cloud
- Target CAD format
STEP, IGES, SolidWorks, Siemens NX
- Manufacturability requirements
Draft angles, wall thickness, parting lines
- Tolerance expectation
Nominal dimensions and critical tolerance ranges
- Usage environment and load conditions
Mechanical, thermal, or chemical requirements
3D Scanning
Digitizing physical parts with red laser and blue laser 3D scanning technologies.
Reverse Engineering
Creating manufacturable CAD models from physical parts or 3D scan data.
Mold Design
Project-based mold design for plastic injection, aluminum injection, zinc injection, and volume mold making.
Technical Consulting
Technical evaluation and improvement support for molds, production, materials, processes, and part design.
Design for Manufacturability (DFM) is the analysis of a part's suitability for mold tooling and plastic injection processes during the design phase. Wall thickness uniformity, draft angles, and overall part geometry are the primary elements of this analysis.
Read Definition →Draft AngleA slight taper applied to vertical surfaces of plastic injection parts to allow clean ejection from the mold. Typical values range from 1° to 3°, though textured surfaces may require greater angles.
Read Definition →ToleranceThe permissible range of dimensional deviation. For plastic injection parts, general tolerances typically range from ±0.1 mm to ±0.5 mm, while tighter values may be applied in precision assembly zones.
Read Definition →Frequently Asked Questions
- At what stage can product development services begin?
- Involvement is possible at any stage — from sketch or concept through CAD modeling, DFM analysis, mold design, and series production. The starting point is determined during the project discussion based on current project status.
- When is DFM analysis performed in product development?
- DFM analysis delivers the greatest value before mold design, while the part design is still being finalized. At this stage, costly revision-triggering issues such as wall thickness problems, insufficient draft angles, and undercut regions can be identified in advance.
- Is prototyping also covered?
- Prototype requirements can be evaluated within the project scope. Guidance on rapid prototyping or low-volume test production can be provided; capacity is discussed at the start of the project.
- I want to improve an existing product — does that fall within scope?
- Yes. Digitizing an existing product via 3D scanning, making geometric improvements or a redesign, and then proceeding to mold revision or a new mold design can all be evaluated on a project basis.
- Which software is used in product development?
- Siemens NX, SolidWorks, and Cimatron for CAD modeling and mold design; Geomagic Design X for reverse engineering; and Moldex3D for flow analysis evaluations.
Download the Design Guide
PDFA technical reference covering common design mistakes in plastic injection parts and their cost implications. Delivered as a PDF to your email.
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