Hey everyone. The job is still nuts - been on the road six of the last seven weeks. Hah!
I admit that my lack of progress on this part has actually kept me away from MUD for the past few months... feel like I let you all down! Right when I changed jobs, my local injection molding resource went to sh!+ and the cost for tooling went from ~$1000 up to ~$2200. That's where it stalled. At this point I have an accurate reverse-engineered model that I've 3D printed and tested, but nothing as far as true injection molded components.
I am glad to give my 3D CAD file to anyone who asks. A few options exist for interested individuals:
1) Give the file to any CNC machine shop. There is nothing goofy in the file that would prevent it from being machined of any material of your choosing.
2) Upload the file to a service provider in the world of 3D printing. There's a caveat, here: you need the material to be friggin' strong or you'll be disappointed. This gives you more sub-options:
2a) Go with sintered metal from a company like Shapeways. You'll get strong parts but they'll appear a little "fuzzy" due to the method of manufacture.
2b) Go with sintered Nylon 12 from a company that stocks the new Multi Jet printers from HP: HP figured out how to solve the "fuzzy" edges problem. The parts are bomb-proof and look like real injection molded components - this is what I used in my testing. Looks like Protolabs and Shapeways both have the technology...
3) Take my file and have a mold built to create injection molded parts as I originally intended! If you do the math, however, you'll see it'd be hard to recoup costs if tooling goes much beyond $1k.
Perhaps sourcing 3D printed parts with confidence is outside of your comfort zone? I'm glad to assist - just shoot me a PM. In fact, looks like Shapeways is charging a mere $5 per part for the HP printed options right now. For that price why not give it a shot? Here:
HP Nylon Plastic 3D Printing Material Information - Shapeways
Hopefully this helps me regain some face on the forum. If things change I'll update everyone.