Hi,
I've been working on a product similar to Lego, which interlocks. There are a number of different bricks that I want to produce, and I've gotten them all interlocking nicely using a 3D printer and ABS plastic. The 3D printed product is nice for prototyping, but at over half an hour per brick to print, it's limited with regard to scaling up.
The next step is to machine some molds and go to injection molding. This is where you guys come in
The pieces are mostly about 30 x 15 x 10mm in size, with the largest about 90 x 15 x 10mm. I have around a dozen different designs, and require around 20,000 pieces made in total. The pieces have thin walls, and internal cross webs. Each wall is around 0.8mm width, and 6.2mm high. I'd need a bit that can reach down that far and be able to mill a slight taper into the wall (for ejection).
I'm looking at a 3 axis Taig mill at the moment, with a CNC conversion kit. I'm also looking at making a small benchtop injection molder to do prototype molding with. I built (and have designed many upgrades to) my 3D printers, so I'm no stranger to automation.
The problem I've got is that I know nothing about milling at all What sort of aluminium would you recommend for the molds? Is the Taig good enough to make injection molds? Is it possible to get milling bits that can create those 0.8mm slots that are 6.2mm deep? Am I looking at this the wrong way?
Any ideas welcomed.