Blog
Notes from the shop.
How we think about molds, machined parts and prototypes. Written by the people who run the shop.
- Test the Risky Part Before You Pay for the Whole ThingA proof of concept should test the one thing you are unsure of. How to prototype the risky part first, before paying for a polished version.
- Which Prototype Paperwork Is Worth Paying ForAt the prototype stage, some paperwork protects your test and your money, and some only adds cost. A simple test for telling them apart.
- What Makes an Injection Mold Cost MoreUndercuts, deep ribs, texture and wall thickness change how an injection mold is built. What drives mold cost, and what to send first.
- What Sinker EDM Is ForSinker EDM cuts what a cutter can't: sharp inside corners, deep narrow ribs, blind keyways, hardened steel and broken taps. When it's worth it.
- Difficult Parts in Small Runs: Questions to Ask Before You Send the DrawingBefore a difficult part goes out for a quote: which features need the tolerance, whether the material is fixed, and where it will move or chatter.
- Which Industries Need a Small Machine and Injection Mold ShopDefence electronics, medical equipment, research instruments, automotive and more: who the Uxbridge, Ontario shop made parts for, 2020 to 2025.
- Short-Run Machining and Molding: The Work Your Line Isn't Set Up ForShort-run CNC machining and low-volume injection molding in Uxbridge, Ontario. Pilot batches, service parts and overflow, with no minimum order.
- How to Get a Quote on Something Nobody Can QuoteWhen a project is too new to quote, split it: list what is known, prove the uncertain part for an agreed budget, then quote the rest on real results.
- Questions to Answer Before You Build a PrototypeWho buys it, how it ships, what it must cost, how it is assembled, what happens if it sells. Five answers that change a prototype's design.
- Replacing a Part When the Drawing Is GoneA worn part shows its worn size. How to find the design size of a broken or obsolete part with no drawing, and what to bring.
- When to Move From a Short-Run Shop to a Production MolderWhen does a short-run molding shop stop being the right shop? The signals that say it is time for a production molder.
- Design for Molding and Machining When Your Team Is FullDesign overflow for engineering teams: design for molding and machining, drawings and fixtures, worked inside your own design environment.
- How to Brief an Outside Machine Shop So the First Quote Is RightWhat to send an outside machine shop so the first quote is right: the drawing, the intent, the quantities and the paperwork you need.
- Aluminum or Steel Mold? Choosing for Your StageAluminum or steel injection mold? How bridge tooling, P20 and hardened steel suit different stages of a product, from a mold shop in Uxbridge, Ontario.
- Injection Mold Repair and Modification: What's Worth FixingWhen a damaged or outdated injection mold can be welded, re-cut or given a new insert, and when a new mold is the better money.
- When the Tolerance Is TightWhich dimensions need a tight tolerance, why heat and setup decide whether a part lands on spec, and what to ask a machine shop. Uxbridge, Ontario.
- Why We Took Up the Baton at Colpitts DesignDan Kitchen on why Invent Art took up the baton at the Colpitts Design shop in Uxbridge, Ontario, and what stays the same at 192 Main Street North.
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