Plastic Fantastic - Product ideas, all product ideas welcome !

[swood1]

Hi all,

I run a small company, from which I have been managing the full cycle from product ideas, product design and final product manufacture (utilising injection moulding companies and assembly shops).

My long term plans are to bring my moulding in house by purchasing my own injection moulding machine. However I dont as of yet have enough product ideas to warrant this so I was wondering if anyone had any simple plastic product ideas that they feel maybe of interest? I am looking at small components to start off with and have some good ideas for N gauge railway components. But if I purchase one of these machines I want to fully utilise it. Therefore the more ideas the better.

Any thoughts, ideas much welcome to my small cause.

Kind Regards

Steve

 

[neildigital]

Plastics, the first one that came to mind, sounds bad. Is novelity toilet seats!

Oh well, I will try and think of some better ones soon...


Neil

 

[An Oasis]

Funky looking floral button holes holders, manly aimed at the wedding market. Possibly sealed to retain water as most flowers do not survive for long. They would need be very stylish and if you got the marketing/price pitch right, probably make a killing.

 

[Calypso]

I work in the plastics industry (not Calypso Imports!), selling masterbatch (colour) for plastics to injection moulders, extruders and blow moulders. The best thing for you to do is find some existing moulding work you could run on your machine when you buy it. Then you won't have to worry about tooling costs, etc for a new design. This will support your business and pay for the costs of your machine while you develop your new products.
I'd also suggest buying a second hand machine, as there are loads available as manufacturing in our industry has seen a few casualties over the last 4-5 years, and you should get one on the cheap.

Where are you based? I may be able to help find you moulding work to fund the machine.

Dean

 

[swood1]

Hi Dean,

Thats food for thought, thanks.

I want to try to aim at small mouldings only and as such want to aim at desktop moulding machines. I totally agree with you and I am on Ebay everyday looking to buy myself a small moulding machine to help kick start my business. I have a couple of good contacts with desktop moulders within the UK, but they are specifically moulding components for there own businesses, but I know they do get contacted reference moulding tools for other companies so I see this as an opportunity alongside my own products.

Ideally I am looking for a Rondol or Babyplast machine but getting hold of one of these secondhand is not easy as most people tend to keep them and set them up in there garages !

I am based within the UK, midlands.


Kind regards

Steve

 

[julesbrad]

PM'd you

regards
julesbrad

 

[swood1]

I know this is an old thread but I just wanted to update you all.

I am now in possession of a a small desktop moulder ;-)
I can now produce small parts upto a weight of 20grams really cheaply and quickly. I can do this as I have managed to simplyify my tooling somewhat. Just produced some plastic wheels for a model maker friend. The tool cost me £120.00 to produce and I had parts to him within a week. Not many tool makers can compete with this timing and these costs.

Kind Regards

Steve

 

[Calibre Designs]

Hello Steve,

Great going! It is very competitive to manufacture plastic injection moulded products in Europe let alone the UK. It is all taken to the Far East which is a shame.

I am an experienced product design and developer. My area of expertise is exactly in this field of plastic moulding. Design can be the product itself, packaging, components, assembly and full engineering mould tool drawings. I will keep you in mind for prototypes. Please email me some details and be as technical as you can be.

Along with design, I can offer manufacturing and quality assurance issues ie gate position, gate scarring, short shots, cavity ID and alike...

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Kay
Calibre Designs
e. [email protected]

 

[emmachan]

Hello Steve,
It's very nice to start the business with the machine for the plastic products producing in UK.Plastic products have become the cheap and durable construction parts in this world.
As i think it's better to first set down what we plan to make,then we'd choose the most suitable machine for our purpose right?
Good begun.
Emma

 

[swood1]

Hi Emma,

Yes I do agree with you and that is how I have been working to some extent. I can now use my machine to mould my original tools on (I have brought my old tools back on site). But im keen for new product ideas, Plastic product ideas is my main area of interest. Moulding on a production basis is the easy part; but producing good and in my case small simple products ideas is the challenge.

 

[Calibre Designs]

Hi Steve,

I have had no time to email you back but I will do soon. Thank you for making contact.

I'll be in touch.

Kay

 

[emmachan]

Hey Steve,
What about the computer anti-radiation glass frame or some computer appliance like the mouse or video?

 

[swood1]

Hi all,

Just to update anyone interested I now have a small website setup, I did it all myself (so no laughing please), it is plas-tek.net. I now also have a small machine )pics on my website_. I am currently designing some small plastic tags for a local car showroom which I will be moulding for them. Hopefully an Oak Tree will grow from my little acorn.



Regards

Steve

 

[Calibre Designs]

Hi Steve,

I will definitely get round to calling you

We loaded our latest project for a resin prototype found here : prototype (use IE7 or Firefox 2 to view *glitch*)

The end product will not be injection moulded though. However I am in contact with a manufacturer (in UK) who has a 2.5 tonne pressurised moulding machine for one of my projects.

Speak to you soon.

Kay

 

[fiona mac]

hello steve,
i remember reading this thread with interest last year.nice to hear your update.
im just wondering, whereabouts in the midlands are you based?

and put me down for a copy of your Handbook on the Decoration of Plastics.. but can you hurry up please because i want it now.

ps.. the website looks great..

 

[swood1]

Hi Fiona/Kay,

Kay,
Your dish looks very nice and stylish, what material are you using to make it from? Can I recommend Phenol Formaldehyde or Urea Formaldehyde? It is more commonly called bakelite and I understand it is still a relatively cheap material but little used now. Will also be hygenic and has very good scratch resistance.

Fiona,
Im based in Worcester, and have been working on my book again in my spare time, its supposed to be published with Hanser publications, the only problem is the time its taking to write - I have draft written most of the chapters but I need to be in the mood to write and other things always seem to get a higher priority - ie. business ideas etc !

I will try to get my finger out as I want to finish it this year.

Is there any particular process/finish you need advice in ? Maybe I can point you in right direction, maybe you can point me? My latest project has been leather covering plastics but maybe this isnt one for you!

Take care

Steve

 

[swood1]

Kay,

I have just spent some time looking at your website, im very impressed with the layout.

Steve

 

[Calibre Designs]

Hey Steve,

Thank you very much. There are loads of work we need to add for the website and once that is done, we will concentrate on SEO.

The dish will be made out of Melamine. The designs were done using Soldworks (3D CAD), produced an STL file from it and made the initial prototype on a Zcorp machine. The client approved it and went straight into tooling/production. We also assist with the graphics transfer (deco making it look pretty) and packaging design.


Do you use masterbatch for your plastic colourant or dry powder? I have an excellent supplier for this if you need it.

Hope to be able to work with you soon.

Kay

 

[AngelaC]

Hi, I had an idea ages ago - I don't know if it would ever be viable though - a small clear plastic card stand to make birthday cards stand up on a mantlepiece or window ledge etc, either like a leaflet holder for the "writing/reverse" of the card, or a "tile spacer" shape that opens and closes with a slit in the top for the card to slot into; so is adjustable for different sizes/shapes of greetings cards. It annoys me when you have cards on display and a gust blows them all over onto the floor or in the window sill. They could also be used for exhibitions, menus, leaflets etc. I priced this up years ago with a local company, and production would have cost between 4p - 50p depending on the design and materials etc.

 

[[email protected]]

Hi Steve
peter swanson here thanks for e mail i will be contacting you in due time when ive got my head together and am closer to production of one of my inventions . But in the meantime a question i have an idea for a product that i can modify from an already existing product how do i find out if their patent has run out or if i could use their product to my ends
this is a big company and feel they would take it and use it themselves without telling them what it was i asked about it and they said they would not sign any docs protecting my idea but to send details anyway what advice do you have if any
yours
Peter Swanson

 

[[email protected]]

Hi Steve
peter swanson here thanks for e mail i will be contacting you in due time when ive got my head together and am closer to production of one of my inventions . But in the meantime a question i have an idea for a product that i can modify from an already existing product how do i find out if their patent has run out or if i could use their product to my ends
this is a big company and feel they would take it and use it themselves without telling them what it was i asked about it and they said they would not sign any docs protecting my idea but to send details anyway what advice do you have if any
yours
Peter Swanson

 

[innovator]

I work for an inventions company and we have lots of plastic product ideas. Email my boss to discuss. Can't post emails yet but google Innovate Design.

 

Hello
We're China based manufacturer of precision plastic injection molds, injection mold design and engineering, injection mold tooling, production plastic mold.

Utilizing the latest technology in solid modeling software, CAD/CAM software and machine tools, we deliver worldwide the highest level of quality available, and service all major markets including (but not limited to) electronics, consumer, home product, medical, and automotive.


We have around 500 workers in Dongguan in southern China . Our plants have ISO 9001 accreditation and TS16949 in recognition of their conformity to the highest quality standards.


Joyce Ho
YCX Centermould LTD

Industrial Park, Changan Town,
Dongguan, China
523866
Office 0086-769-81870769
Fax 0086-769-81622022

 

[lalavee]

I love to craft, making cards, scrapbooking etc. and use alot of buttons but they are very expensive for what they are. You might want to look into that.

 

[jenny-li]

Hi Emma,

Yes I do agree with you and that is how I have been working to some extent. I can now use my machine to mould my original tools on (I have brought my old tools back on site). But im keen for new product ideas, Plastic product ideas is my main area of interest. Moulding on a production basis is the easy part; but producing good and in my case small simple products ideas is the challenge.

hello,you said very good.I can not agree more