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A wide variety of finishes are available, including bead blast, painting, surface textures, vacuum metalising, electroplating. Talk to us to meet your exacting requirements.
Due to the labour costs, it is advisable to use CNC machining or 3D printing for highly complex parts with internal structures.
We use plastics, metals and woods in our assemblies. Far too many materials to be specific.
When you require that extra level of detail and finishing that machines alone, cannot provide. Or when you cannot fully resolve what you are trying to achieve in CAD, sometimes it is best to use some of our very experienced model makers.
Bench model making utilises the skilled modelmakers in Ogle’s team. It is where the machined or 3D printed components are hand finished or built into a larger assembly. This could be anywhere from adding the finishing touches to a small aesthetic component, to assembling and finishing hundreds of components in a full-scale functional aircraft seating model. It is here that value is added to a project.
Yes. If you have a master you would like us to cast from, this can be done. Sometimes, due to the surface quality or the master, they can require refinishing to ensure a high quality surface finish. This can result in it being more economical for us to build the master from scratch. In this event, we will let you know the most cost-effective option. The material the master is made from, and any applied finishing such as paint etc., needs to be compatible with our mould silicone.
A wide variety of finishes are available for vacuum castings. Pigments/tints in the resins, bead blast, painting, surface textures, vacuum metalising, electroplating. Talk to us to meet your exacting requirements.
Very large parts (please see our capabilities information). Certain types of large undercuts or complex frame type geometries. Very thick wall sections. High quantities more suited to RIM or Injection moulding.
All of our vacuum cast materials are polyurethanes designed to simulate certain performance aspects of production materials, such as ABS, PC, and PP. We can also produce rubber-like parts with a Shore A hardness range of 30-90. We can also cast silicone rubber parts into CNC’d rigid plastic moulds to make parts where the advantages of silicone are required.
Short batch production, or when both aesthetics and functionality are required. Clear parts and also rubbers of varying Shore A harnesses can be produced using this process. There is no need for hard tooling with this process, so huge cost savings can be achieved if the quantities are suitable.
Vacuum casting uses an SLA (or machined) master and silicone tooling to produce polyurethane castings. The master is finished to achieve the desired surface texture and gloss level. Silicone is poured around the master and, once set, it is split to remove the master. A two-part polyurethane resin (many plastic and rubber simulants are also available) is then poured under vacuum into the cavity, producing a casting.
Using different stepovers (machined finishes), hand finishing, painting, anodizing, plating.
Some geometries just cannot be machined, such as internal undercuts and features actually inside the walls of components which can be achieved through 3D printing.
We are able to machine a large variety of materials on multiple devices. Anything from low-density model boards and foams, through a large variety of plastics and metals, providing they are available in billet form for us to machine from.
When you require the very best accuracy, exact production materials, end use components, large block models and assemblies and tooling for GRP or carbon fibre parts.
Computer Numerical Control (CNC) is where a computer controls the path of a tool and/or machine bed, of a 3, 4 or 5 axis machine, subtracting material from a billet as the part is machined.
Unsintered SLS powder is messy. Even by taking extreme care, the fine particles can be carried through the air and end up contaminating the white SLS powder (PA2200), impacting the colour purity of the white material. As an alternative post-processing step, we opt for dyeing our SLS parts which opens up the doors to a wider range of colour options.
Light bead blast, tumbling, dyeing, painting.
Parts requiring a crisp finish, clear parts. Certain long & thin or extra chunky parts will require extra attention or they are at risk of warping or shrinkage – talk to us.
Powders: PA2200 (Nylon 12), PA3200GF (Glass filled Nylon 12), PA2210FR (Flame retardant version of PA2200)
