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vacuum urethane casting services for prototypes and production parts

Prototype Quantity, Production-Like Quality

Vacuum casting is ideal for creating a small series of parts,
especially if aesthetics are important.

Lead times from 5 days
From 1 to 10,000+ parts
Massive range of materials available
ISO and IATF certified

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Home Office: 116 Cardigan Road, Office M2.
Headingley, Leeds UK, LS6 3BJ
Company Number: 12704810
VAT Number: GB393458263

Factory: Building A, Hongfa Industrial District
Houda Road, Daling Shan, Dongguan,
Guangdong, China

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Our Vacuum (Urethane) Casting Services

Vacuum casting sometimes referred to as Urethane casting or Polyurethane casting, is a perfect solution for production quality parts without the cost or lead time required for production tooling. At HLH, we have a massive range of plastic materials available, and we can cast parts as large and small, everything from headphones all the way up to 2m long car bumpers.

Our CapabilitiesDescription
Maximum build size1.8 x 1.5 x 1.2 m
Typical mould life10 – 25 parts
MaterialsWide range of thermoplastics, rubbers, transparent resins, etc.
Lead timeFrom as fast as 5 days

vacuum (urethane) casting services mould tooling for prototypes and low volume production

Vacuum Casting Materials

Soft-rubber-like

Vacuum casting is excellent choice for creating rubber parts and prototypes. Soft-rubber-like materials are useful in applications that demand flexibility and durability for industrial parts and consumer goods alike.
Appearance
Colorless Transparent, Yellow Transparent
Material Reference
T0387,8400
Vacuum casting soft rubber like parts and prototypes

PA-like

PX223, a PA-like material, is used in silicone molds for the production of parts that are highly durable and versatile with properties similar to nylon parts.
Appearance
Black, Tawny
Material Reference
PX223
vacuum casting a PA-like or nylon-like part

ABS-like

With vacuum casting, you can create high rigid ABS-like parts with good impact resistance and insulating properties. They are commonly used to make electronic housings, automotive parts and more.
Appearance
Beige, Black, Milky white
Material Reference
Hei-Cast 8150, PZ858, 6160, P+600
Vacuum casted ABS-like Material automotive part

PP-like

UP 5690 have mechanical properties similar to that of true PP and HDPE material. It is easy to process, has high impact resistance and good flexibility, and can be used for bumpers, equipment boxes, covers and anti-vibrant tools.
Material Reference
UP 5690
Appearance
White, Black
vacuum (urethane) casting a Polypropylene-like (PP-like) part

PMMA-like

Urethane casting is a great choice for creating clear transparent parts. While inferior to true PMMA, PX-5210 has good transparency, is easy to polish, resistant to yellowing, and offers good UV resistance. This makes it suitable for a wide range of applications where clear parts are needed.
Material Reference
PX 5210
Appearance
Transparent
vacuum casted PMMA-like transparent part

PC-like

PX520 is used by casting in silicone moulds for the realization of prototype parts and mock-ups with mechanical properties similar to that of true PC material.
Material Reference
PX520
Appearance
White, Clear
vacuum casted PC-like material parts
Soft-rubber-like PA-like ABS-like PP-like PMMA-like PC-like

Typical Vacuum Casting Finishing Options

Applicable MaterialsColorsDecsription
PaintingAllBlack, Pantone/RAL coloursPainting is a way to add colour, a great way to improve the aesthetics of vacuum casted parts.
PlatingABSMetallicPlating is method of adding a thin layer of metal of the outer layer of a material. It is used to harden, decorate and improve wearability of parts.

How It Works

The vacuum casting process involves three main stages. 1. Building a master model using 3D printing (via SLA or SLS) or CNC machining. 2. Building the silicone tool by pouring liquid silicone around the master model then curing it. 3. The resin is poured into the cavity to create a production-like replica.

Design For Vacuum Casting

There are a number of things you can do when designing your part to ensure it is a good fit for vacuum casting and for better results. Learn actionable design tips here.

vacuum casted goggles for the consumer goods industry
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Why Choose Vacuum (Urethane) Casting

Vacuum Casting vs Plastic Injection Moulding
Vacuum casting produces parts with similar properties to plastic injection moulded parts. Injection moulding demands a higher front-end cost and a lower unit price, whereas vacuum casting offers a lower front-end cost with a higher unit price. This makes urethane casting a more cost-effective choice for developing early prototypes before creating end-use injection moulded parts.

Vacuum Casting is Used For
Low volume prototypes, low volume production, clear transparent parts, rubber parts, market testing, rapid iterations

Advantages of Vacuum Casting

  • Great for low volumes
  • Self-coloured parts
  • Low upfront investment
  • Production like parts
  • Massive range of materials

Vacuum Casting FAQS

Vacuum Casting refers to the use of the original template to make a silicone mold under vacuum, and use PU material for pouring under vacuum, thereby cloning the same copy of the original template. Read the full process guide here.

The advantages of vacuum casting have made it a choice for many applications across different industrial sectors, including:

  • robotics
  • automotive
  • consumer goods
  • technology
  • medical & pharmaceutical
  • toys
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