Work Smarter with Custom Cast Nylon Shapes
Often in the plastics industry, applications required by customers have significant variations from available stock shapes. Perhaps it is a funneled shape (Figure 1), bearing block or a sprocket with off-center holes or spacing. In these instances, cast nylon custom shapes may allow you to work smarter and more cost-efficiently for your clients.

Custom casting is a term used for the creation of any custom shape that falls outside of stock shape definitions. Instead of beginning with an over-sized stock shape and turning down to a desired custom product, custom casting puts brains before brawn and creates a shape which more closely resembles what is required for an application.

Ordering custom shapes can save both time and money in the manufacturing process. If you can order a shape to specifications, you will, inevitably, save on the amount of material needed to complete your order. In most cases, machining a custom shape means more than 1/3 of a stock shapes’ material is being shaved off and left to waste.

Also, consider the time spent for a machinist to turn a sheet or rod to the shape your client needs. There is a considerable time differential between fine-tuning a pre-cast shape and cutting, boring, planning or other machine work done to customize from a stock shape.

A large area where custom casting can save money is in prototypes for injection molded parts. Creating a custom tool for injection molded nylon can easily cost $80,000-$100,000. Creating a cast nylon custom prototype tool allows a customer to test out a part at a much lower cost; often less than the cost of turning down an oversized stock shape to the desired custom design. Depending on the complexity of the tool needed, a custom cast tool may run 1/10th the cost of the injection molded tool.

Of course, custom cast designs will not always be the best option. In some cases, the associated costs will outweigh those outlined above. Creating the specifications for the shape and the cost of creating the custom cast tool may cancel out the benefit of having a custom cast shape.

“Often, people assume that the cost of tooling will outweigh the associated savings. But, often, those assumptions are not true. We invite our clients to work with us on coming up with the best solution for their particular needs,” said Calvin Petersen, General Manager at Nylatech, a leading manufacturer of custom shapes. Petersen suggests consulting with your manufacturer about the feasibility of designing and using a custom shape. Custom cast shapes are an important and often overlooked aspect of the nylon industry. The option to use these shapes opens a world of cheaper, yet fully effective options for nylon product applications.

For more information, contact Nylatech, Inc., P.O. Box 455, Everson, WA 98247, 800-506- 9566/360-966-2838, Fax: 360-966-2838, E-mail: info@nylatech.com, Web: www.nylatech.com. Written by Sylvia Steiger from Nylatech, Inc.; specializing in manufacturing cast nylon 6 and 6/12 as rod, sheet and tubular bar as well as finished or semi-finished custom cast components.