Soft tooling for plastic parts – An application comparison

	Rapid Prototyping

	Stereolithography Polyjet Fused deposition modeling Selective laser sintering RP Glossary RP Material Spec Sheet

	Rapid Tooling

	RT Glossary RT Success Stories

	Metal Casting

	Sand Casting Process Investment Casting Process Rubber Plaster Molding Process

	RTV Molding

	Injection Molding

	CNC Machining


	Plastic Applications Plastic Part Comparison Chart Metal Applications Metal Part Comparison Chart

Plastic model making comparison chart

Choose a soft tooling application for plastic parts based on the factors listed below. We offer RTV molding, CNC machining and soft tooling.

Features	RTV Molding	CNC Machining	Rapid Tooling
Materials	two-part cast urethane, silicone, wax	spec material	spec material
Tolerance	+/-.002" inch per inch	machining tolerance a needed	injection molding tolerance as needed
Lead time	7-12 days	6-12 days	1-3 weeks
Quantities	20 parts per mold	1 to low-volume production	1 to low-volume production (10,000+ parts)
Pros	Spec-like material. Good for tradeshows, sales samples, photoshoots. More functional than other RP options.	Good for testing. Functional material. minimal cost for low-volumes compared to tooling.	Functional material for testing. Same method as production manufacturing. Once tooling is complete, thousands of parts may be shot.
Cons	Not spec material. Only 20 parts per mold. Limited materials. Loose tolerances on larger parts.	Expensive per-unit cost. Limitations on corner radii. Limited availability of exotic materials.	Must have tooling to product parts. Higher per-unit prices than production tooling.