At 08:48 AM 9/20/99 +0200, you wrote: >Dennis Plunkett wrote: >> >> At 06:03 20/09/99 +0200, you wrote: >> >Jeff King wrote: >> > >> >> I stopped by one shop, who wants to mold a enclosure for me out of >> >> urethane (not injection molding, but a "poured process"). $850 mold >> >> design, $500 tooling and $85 for each box (qty 100).... not >> >> having any experience with this, it sounded a bit high. This plastic >> >> is common used in industrial environments and very strong. >> > >> >Those prices are crazy. >> > >> >We can get an injection tool made for around $4000 with the >> >boxes around $1 each. >> >> At $4000 how long does the mould last 5000 boxes? How many do you have to >> have made each time before no setup cost? Surely not the expected 150000... > >The tools are hardened after the first 500 (no changes after that). >It will last 150k (machine steel). > >Material is polycarb, polyprop, or nylon. ABS is cheaper. > $4000 + 400 is much better than 1350 + 8500 in my book--and quite reasonable for steel tooling. Have to wonder if that price includes cutouts, holes in boxes, stiffening ribs, and all the other necessities to make a plastic box work? We are getting boxes machined from solid aluminum--about 3" cube for around $60 each, for comparison. Kelly William K. Borsum, P.E. -- OEM Dataloggers and Instrumentation Systems &