Cast Urethane and Urethane Casting Services
Cast urethane, also called urethane casting, RTV molding or polyurethane casting, is a low-volume production method that makes parts from polyurethane in silicone molds. Agile Manufacturing produces 1 to 100 cast urethane parts per order, shipped in 2 to 3 weeks, with tolerances of ±0.005 in for the first inch. Parts can match the surface finish, color, accuracy and material properties of hard-tooled plastic parts.
Cast Urethane parts are ideal for marketing samples, test prototypes, or other situations where 1-100 pieces are required, but time and money do not allow a prototype injection-molded tool to be produced.
Parts: 1 to 100
Shipped in: 2 to 3 weeks
Excellent for:
- Test Prototypes
- Low Production Volume
- Alternate to Small Run Injection Molding
- Master pattern: Agile 3D prints a precision master pattern using SLA 3D printing.
- Finishing: The master is sanded and finished to the final surface quality the parts need.
- RTV mold: Liquid silicone is poured around the master and cured to make a soft tool that captures every detail.
- Casting: Liquid urethane is injected into the silicone mold and cured.
- Demolding and finishing: Parts are removed, trimmed, and painted or textured if required.
| Factor | Cast urethane | Injection molding |
| Tooling | Silicone (RTV) soft tool from a 3D printed master | Machined steel or aluminum hard tool |
| Tooling cost | Low | High |
| Lead time | 2 to 3 weeks to shipped parts | Several weeks for the tool before first parts |
| Best quantity | 1 to 100 parts | Thousands of parts and up |
| Design changes | Easy, print a new master | Costly tool modification |
| Material | Polyurethanes that simulate production plastics | Production thermoplastics |
TOLERANCES
Most parts can be accurately produced within +/- .005″ first inch, +/- .002″ per additional inch.
BUILD ENVELOPE
Urethane parts can be made in many different methods and therefore sizes. Contact us to discuss your application.
BEST APPLICATIONS
Urethane parts are excellent to for small to medium volume part runs.
Parts and Industries That Use Cast Urethane
Cast urethane is used for enclosures and housings, covers, knobs, bezels, gaskets and seals, overmold-style soft-touch parts, and clear lenses or light pipes. Common industries include medical devices, consumer electronics, automotive, industrial equipment and robotics. Related options: TPU 30A and 50A elastomer printing for soft parts without a mold, and MJF for nylon production parts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cast urethane is a low-volume production method that makes polyurethane parts in silicone molds. Agile 3D prints an SLA master pattern, builds an RTV silicone mold around it, then injects liquid urethane into the mold to make each part.
Cast urethane uses a low-cost silicone mold made from a 3D printed master, while injection molding uses a machined steel or aluminum tool. Cast urethane suits 1 to 100 parts; injection molding suits high volumes.
Use urethane casting for prototypes, marketing samples, pilot runs and bridge production when volume, time or budget does not justify a hard injection mold.
Agile ships cast urethane parts in 2 to 3 weeks, depending on part size, quantity and finishing.
Most cast urethane parts are held to ±0.005 in for the first inch and ±0.002 in for each additional inch.
Soft tooling is the RTV silicone mold made from the master pattern. It is flexible, fast and inexpensive to make compared with a machined hard tool.
A silicone mold typically yields about 20 parts before it wears, depending on part geometry and urethane material. Runs up to 100 parts use additional molds made from the same master.
The parts copy the finish of the master pattern, so they can be smooth, textured, colored or painted to look like hard-tooled production plastic parts.
Click Get A Free Quote on this page and upload your CAD file with quantity, material and finish, or call (905) 852-0794.
