When to choose quality plastic fabrication for your custom manufacturing project
Plastics may only boast a relatively recent use in industrial fabrication and manufacturing, but they’ve solidified their role as a viable material for strong, long-lasting parts and components. The development of advanced polymers has opened doors in a wide range of plastic fabrication applications from aerospace engineering to electronic technology. While the increasingly versatile plastic materials available to these industries provide new levels of malleability, complex dimensions, and overall production efficiency for a variety of components and assembled parts, the engineering process for polymers can be much more difficult to approach than that of other materials.
The MultiSource Manufacturing network has worked to constantly improve our abilities for high-quality plastic fabrication, and our experience as a contract manufacturer allows our team of engineers to continually break boundaries in the field of plastics.
Metal manufacturing plays a critical role in the majority of production industries, but in many cases, plastics may be a viable material to utilize in the making of custom parts for several reasons.
Efficiency: The engineering approach to plastics is different from that of metal because of the way these materials react to stresses during and after fabrication, but the use of plastics over metal for specific parts can still offer a more efficient production process. Not only do plastics have a lower melting point and higher malleability than most metals—providing a quicker path to forming a part—but the use of plastics in part production also reduces the need for finishing operations. The coloration, treatment, and other finishing processes that would be applied at the end of a machining process for metal parts are applied during the process of plastics fabrication eliminating the need for an extra step and streamlining the efficiency of full part production.
Speed: With the increased efficiency that plastic fabrication provides in the manufacturing of a component or fully assembled part, increased speed in production follows. With MultiSource engineer’s expertise in plastics forming, bending, and welding, your project can be completed from start to finish quickly and efficiently.
Weight: Some metals may fit the description of “lightweight” in comparison to heavier metals (aluminum in comparison to steel, for example) but nothing beats plastics when it comes to weight. The “feather-weight” of plastics means MultiSource customers save money on shipping and can use lighter parts for a greater range of functions. Additionally, the weight and malleability of plastics allows for the production of structurally-sound, extremely complex parts.
Long-lasting: Plastics are resistant to the majority of chemical damages including oxidation and other forms of corrosion where metals are not. This resistance means plastics last longer in certain conditions where any metal part might quickly corrode.
The use of plastics may not be fitting for the production of every component or assembled part, but it’s a highly effective and reliable material for a wide range of circumstances. No matter the part you need, the MultiSource network provides the right materials manufacturing services for full design, fabrication, and assembly.
To learn more about our custom metal machining and plastic fabrication request more information today.
