3D Modeling and CAD Design in Plastic Manufacturing
Expert CAD services by Advanced Plastiform - guaranteeing quality, accuracy, and on-time delivery for custom plastic parts, from a trusted leader in the industry.
At Advanced Plastiform, Inc., no matter if we’re thermoforming plastics for vehicle dashboards or using injection molding to provide intricately detailed pieces for the medical industry, the key to a successful product begins with design. We know that the design step of manufacturing plastics is the foundation to ensuring an accurate, high-quality final product. With an accurate design, we can create a prototype that will serve as the model for tooling and finally, mass production.
While we’ve always taken pride in creating the exact plastics necessary to meet our customers’ needs, when we opened in 1989, the design process was much more difficult and time-consuming. Trying to convey the look and functionality of a plastic part or component through one-dimensional drawings and measurements was very limiting. Fortunately, the development of 3D modeling through computer-aided design and drafting (CAD) allows our engineers to help our customers bring more accurate design ideas to life, visualize concepts, and test how the design will work when finished.
Understanding CAD Drawings
Our plastic engineers will work with you as you utilize CAD software to design your model. With their experience, they can ensure precision in technical design. Using this software allows us to provide specific input regarding materials and size all the way to draft angles and draw ratios needed in the product.
As we’re working with our customers on the design, our experience with thermoforming and injection molding allows our customers to use that information to aid in their design. CAD software allows the user to rotate the image to view it from any angle, giving us a unique perspective that allows us to make adjustments and tweaks to the design as needed without having to start from scratch or wait until we see a prototype to know if it’s right.
Benefits of CAD in Designing Plastics
We have an experienced team of designers and engineers who aid in CAD design to create 3D models for us to use prior to prototyping. The benefits to this include:
Minimal Details Needed
You can achieve a more accurate model with minimal information, if needed. From rough sketches to updates on existing pieces, we can help you design the right pieces and make adjustments as needed.
Reverse Engineering
If you have already have a plastic piece or prototype you need fabricated, we can help you reverse engineer it to create a 3D model.
Easy Communication
It’s easy to email 3D models back and forth from our team to yours so we all stay on the same page and can share feedback as needed.
Rapid Prototyping
In addition to 3D modeling, we also utilize 3D printing, especially during the planning stages prior to final production. CAD design creates the digital file that as you complete it, we can send it to the 3D printer to quickly get a prototype that will serve as the basis for the tooling used in final production. This hastens the lead time and saves money on the overall cost.
A 3D Design Partnership
Because our engineers can address problems or changes during the design process, we’re able to see issues while they’re easy to fix, instead of having to go back and fix a design after the prototype is created.
Once the model is completed and approved, our production engineers will use them to do much of the programming required on our CNC trimming equipment. Entering in details directly from the model to the machine coding guarantees accuracy in the final product.
Contact Us for 3D Modeling and Plastics Design
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you design your 3D model and create an accurate prototype, reach out to us today! Our Zebulon, North Carolina headquarters gives us a central location to deliver to seven states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia.
