3 Week Lead Time, 1000* thermoplastic parts, $4900

The SuperMold program has become a very popular offering for ASH's rapid injection molding customers. The fast lead time, detail of parts, and small price typical leave engineers and product designers with questions on how to get the most from SuperMold. Here are a few of the answers to commonly encountered questions.

What materials can I choose from?

Any thermoplastic. Material costs are in addition to the base program. In this way the overall price of the program is kept to a minimum. One customer may choose inexpensive polyethylene adding $50 to the program while others may choose FDA approved, implantable, or engineering resins.

Do you mold ___? (fill in with plastic material)

ASH can mold any thermoplastic. Certain materials may have restrictions from suppliers but if we can find a line on it we will mold it. PEEK, Ultem, PVC, Glass filled Nylons, Polypropylene, ABS, or your own custom blend supplied for the project.

What if I want more than 1000 molded parts?

No problem. Your mold is built to last and subsequent production orders will be approximately $0.65+material. We will quote you a piece price with your initial quote.

Less than 1000 parts?

We can ship as little as 1 part if necessary. Subsequent orders under 1000 may require a short run setup fee.

What about over molding, can SuperMold do that?

The base SuperMold 1.0 program does not cover over molded components, but ASH does over mold. Items that fall outside of the SuperMold criterion may be subject to modular add-ons. Just because your part does not fit the basic program does not mean you can not use the benefits of SuperMold. Over molding can be done with some slight modifications to the tool. This process can sometimes be done for no additional tooling costs and as little as $0.20/part more than base.

What tolerances can you hold?

SuperMold 1.0 guarantees tolerances within +-.005, however ASH can hold much tighter tolerances. Items that fall outside of the SuperMold criterion may be subject to modular add-ons. Typically tolerance assurance requires some  limited additional up front costs to ensure accuracy of the mold, this can be as low as $500 depending upon the feature.

Can SuperMold make parts with undercuts?

The base SuperMold 1.0 program does not include parts with undercuts. Items that fall outside of the SuperMold criterion may be subject to modular add-ons. Typical undercuts incur additional fees ranging from $1500 up depending upon the design. ASH Industries will also work with you to optimize the design to eliminate these features where possible and reduce costs.

What are the molds made from? Are they "soft tools"?

SuperMold uses pre-hardened tool steel, either P20 or 420 stainless steel. This means your tooling will last for hundreds of thousands of parts. While many customers use SuperMold for production, others use it to prove a design, run testing and analysis, or go to clinical trials. Upon completion of the project these customers will be able to go into production immediately without any further tooling costs.

Who does the mold belong to?

YOU! Upon final payment of the SuperMold project you own all custom tooling created for your project.

Can SuperMold make parts larger than 2"x2"?

If a part is only slightly larger than the cutoff we can typically fit it in the program for a nominal fee.

Parts that fit in a 5"x5"x2" window should consider our SuperMold 2.0 program.

ASH also molds significantly larger parts in mold presses up to 700 tons we would simply like to review these components more thoroughly before offering a price.

What type of part do you specialize in?

We specialize in a type of customer, not a type of part.  As engineers, we focus on solving problems servicing other engineers whether they are in the medical, electronic, or consumer fields. SuperMold has been used by professionals in virtually every industry.

How are you able to do SuperMold so inexpensively?

We initially began the SuperMold to service our medical customers in Northern California who were sending us so many similar small medical parts.  We noticed that as we were quoting on the small parts, the geometry of the parts “disappeared” after the first few design steps.  By consolidating mold manufacture for parts of a certain size, we realized efficiencies in time and effort saving on both cost & lead times.

Where do you make SuperMolds? Overseas?

All of our work is done in-house in Lafayette, LA.  Lafayette is in south Louisiana on Interstate 10 half way between Mississippi & Texas. If you are ever in the area feel free to give us a call and stop by, we would be happy to show you some Southern Hospitality.

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Contact ASH today to get started on your SuperMold.