technician examining injection molding block

Prototype Tooling for Injection Molding

Reduce mold costs and validate part designs with a low-cost prototype tool

We have two injection molding service options—prototyping and on-demand manufacturing—and each offers its own benefits depending on your project needs. If part quantities are lower, an affordable entry point for tooling is important, and rapid development over a short period of time is critical, our prototyping option works great.

 

Prototyping Tool for Molding


Mold Price Lower than on-demand manufacturing tool
Part Price Higher than on-demand manufacturing tool
Mold Cavities Single
Guaranteed Mold Life Limited (guaranteed for at least 2,000 shots)
Mold Storage Stored for 18 months of inactivity
Quality Documentation Basic and digital inspection reports available upon request
Additional Features
  • Aluminum molds
  • Standard lead times as fast as 7 days
  • Tolerances of +/-0.003 in. plus resin tolerance (in./in.)
  • Set-up fees apply to each run

Compare to production

Why Use a Prototyping Tool?

application engineer examining injection molding CAD file

Design Feedback

  • Receive interactive design for manufacturability feedback with every quote to make early adjustments before prototyping begins.
  • Talk with applications engineers to discuss any design challenges and manufacturing questions that arise.

Iterative Development

  • Have physical prototypes in hand within days to quickly modify designs during early product development.
  • Produce multiple prototypes at the same time to compare and iterate designs simultaneously.
  • Reduce overall time to market with an iterative product development cycle.
technician holding yellow injection molded part from protolabs

Design Validation

  • Test the form and fit of components with small quantities of molded parts.
  • Perform functional test with prototypes manufactured in production-grade materials.
  • Full library of online design resources including guidelines, tips, white papers, and videos.

Market Testing

  • Produce a pilot run injection-molded parts to validate market interest before launch.
  • Reduce financial risk at market launch by implementing affordable aluminum tooling before full-scale production begins.