Want an injection moulding machine?

[Weaver]

Want an injection moulding machine? Two grand:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Injection-Moulding-Moulder-Machine-Benchtop-Repro-Minor-Copyright-Products-/230924169823?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35c427325f

Not at all sure of it's capabilities/limitations.....

Want a real one? Add a zero:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/injection-moulding-machine-New-2014-Energy-saving-50t-500KN-/191036734146?hash=item2c7aad3ac2

[rickshaw]

The machine is only half the story.  It's not going to be any use without moulds and they cost a real packet.

[kerick]

It might come in handy for that six engine bomber with contra rotating props.

[jcf]

The machine is only half the story.  It's not going to be any use without moulds and they cost a real packet.

Full steel moulds, yes; metal-filled epoxy moulds as used in short run kits for decades, not so much.

[loupgarou]

The machine is only half the story.  It's not going to be any use without moulds and they cost a real packet.

Full steel moulds, yes; metal-filled epoxy moulds as used in short run kits for decades, not so much.

The small one uses silicone moulds.

[Weaver]

As a matter of interest, does anyone have an approximate idea what the tooling costs are for the various different types of mould?

[Hobbes]

For the 1:24 Trabant, Revell spent something like €100k on the moulds.

[PR19_Kit]

For the 1:24 Trabant, Revell spent something like €100k on the moulds.

That would have probably bought the entire existing supply of REAL 1/1 scale Trabbies! 

[Weaver]

For the 1:24 Trabant, Revell spent something like €100k on the moulds.

Cheers - that's the sort of rough figure I've heard before. Scary isn't it? 

[Sticky Fingers]

Well, you could always pretend you make your own moulds... in 1/20 scale.
http://www.hlj.com/product/FNMMNK-101/Rsc

[Hobbes]

For the 1:24 Trabant, Revell spent something like €100k on the moulds.

Cheers - that's the sort of rough figure I've heard before. Scary isn't it? 

Yup, it's a lot of money. The Trabant is on the high end because it's a relatively large kit (lots of sprues and the car body means you need a deep, complex mould). Some of the money goes into engineering, making sure the liquid plastic flows well throughout the mould. The rest is milling and/or spark erosion on huge blocks of steel.

[jcf]

The machine is only half the story.  It's not going to be any use without moulds and they cost a real packet.

Full steel moulds, yes; metal-filled epoxy moulds as used in short run kits for decades, not so much.

The small one uses silicone moulds.

... or aluminum, which means that it could probably use epoxy moulds.
Even a high rigidity silicone would flex too much for moulding a 'kit'.
The silicone does allow for limited undercuts and less concern over
proper draft when making patterns and moulds.

Ask Terry 'braincells37' Moore about 299 Models and the frankinjector moulding machine. 

[Mossie]

In a previous job we used a vacuum moulding machine, a souped up industrial version of a simple vacuum former that you might use to make a garage kit.  We usually just needed a simple shaped hollow to take a bag for a product, it would cost us £10K minimum, fifteen years ago.   Add in complexity and the cost would rise massively.  We could get thermosetting plastic moulds made that would do for a prototype, you were still talking a couple of thousand pounds.  If we were lucky, the company might absorb it into their total costs if we ordered the full moulds.

[zenrat]

For the 1:24 Trabant, Revell spent something like €100k on the moulds.

Cheers - that's the sort of rough figure I've heard before. Scary isn't it? 

Yup, it's a lot of money. The Trabant is on the high end because it's a relatively large kit (lots of sprues and the car body means you need a deep, complex mould). Some of the money goes into engineering, making sure the liquid plastic flows well throughout the mould. The rest is milling and/or spark erosion on huge blocks of steel.

It's a nice kit.  My neighbour gave me one he didn't want and I was surprised by the level of detail in it.  I'm toying with the idea of a Trabant/BMW 635 Mistel...

[retro_seventies]

For a relatively simple 2 piece aluminum mould, sized approx 7x5, we're paying around $4000 US.  Production is in China and turnaround isn't lightning fast, but the price and the product are more than adequate.