Frequently Asked Questions
If you have addition questions that need answered, please contact us directly at 515-758-2262 or
by email at murray.rdeng@mchsi.com.

Q: How fast can R & D Engineering turn around a part and tooling quote?

A: A part quote can be generated in 1 day and a tool quote in 3 to 5 days. You may request a project quotation online by clicking here.

Q: How many tooling sources does R & D Engineering use?

A: Typically R & D Engineering uses from 3 to 6 sources, depending on the type of tool being quoted. Some tool shops are better equipped than others at certain types of tool construction methods.

Q: Can R & D Engineering provide a prototype mold and prototype samples?

A: Yes, R & D Engineering can provide both, however, we will sometimes recommend building one cavity ahead in a multi cavity tool. This way, there is not the added expense of having a prototype tool built that is going to sit on a tooling shelf after the production mold is running. In addition, one of the advantages of using the production tool for the early samples is that it truly represents how the tool will run in production, this isn't always possible in a prototype tool.

Q: Can R & D Engineering assist in making material recommendations?

A: We do help in selecting possible materials that would fit the application and have many industry resources to call on for their expertise.

Q: What information is on the quote sheet?

A: The quote is usually presented with part information such as, part weight, material type and material price. There will then be the piece part section which lists the cost in $ per thousand with 4-5 quantity breaks and possibly two different mold configurations, and a daily production rate. The mold quote section will contain the tooling cost and lead time, and then a comment section.

Q: Does R & D Engineering handle existing takeover tooling?

A: Many companies do not like to deal with takeover tooling due to the many possible problems that can be encountered. R & D Engineering however, understands these issues and how to avoid them and make the transaction as seamless as possible. We have handled as many as 75 take over molds in one year.

Q: What CAD format is necessary?

A: NMC uses Cadkey, with Fastsurf, for an in-house CAD system. We would prefer that CAD data comes in one of the following formats (in order of preference): .PRT (Cadkey), .igs with trimmed surfaces, .igs, .dwg or .dxf (Autocad) .stp, or .stl. STL is required for the Moldflow software. If you have a question if another file type would be acceptable, please contact our Engineering Department. You may also visit our online file transfer center for more information.

Q: What types of material does R & D Engineering process?

A: We process a wide variety of injection molding grade materials such as, nylons, acetals, abs, pp, pe, ppo, polyesters, pvc, pc, and acrylic. NMC also can process many specialty grades such as, Amodel, Ryton, and long fiber materials with up to ½" long glass at up to 60% concentrations.

Q: Will R & D Engineering help in selecting a grade of material to fit an application?

A: Yes, we would consult with various material representatives to determine what the best resin is for a particular application. Factors to be considered include, thermal requirements, mechanical properties, chemical resistance, UL rating, UV stability, cost, and availability.

Q: Could we run different materials in the same mold?

A: Possibly, it would depend on the material shrinkage, for example, the shrinkage on a styrene material would be about .005" inch per inch and the shrinkage on a unfilled nylon would be about .025" inch per inch. In this case the parts would obviously be quite different in size, but if the materials had similar shrinkage rates, such as polycarbonate, ABS, or styrene, then they could be possibly interchanged if the customer would like to see how different materials would perform.

Q: Does R & D Engineering process any clear materials?

A: Yes, we currently process clear grades of polycarbonate, pvc, styrene, acrylic, polyester and nylon.