Vacuum casting is ideal for creating a small series of parts, especially if aesthetics are important.
Get a quote / Get in touch
Please use the following formats:
.stl, .obj, .wrl, .step (.stp), .iges (.igs), .3mf, .dxf and .zip
100mb max file size (per file)
If you have a file type not listed, please contact us to discuss first.
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
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 Capabilities | Description |
| Maximum build size | 1.8 x 1.5 x 1.2 m |
| Typical mould life | 10 – 25 parts |
| Materials | Wide range of thermoplastics, rubbers, transparent resins, etc. |
| Lead time | From as fast as 5 days |
| Applicable Materials | Colors | Decsription | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Painting | All | Black, Pantone/RAL colours | Painting is a way to add colour, a great way to improve the aesthetics of vacuum casted parts. |
| Plating | ABS | Metallic | Plating 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. |
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.
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 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
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:
