Ambitious overmold: included suction cups? 1

[salukikev]

Hi,
I've designed some parts with undercuts allowed by soft overmold before, but never anything quite so dramatic as a fully formed suction cup. I have an application for a small (3")electronic device which will have co-molded TPU or PVC over the vast majority of the exposed surface. It would be really slick if I could also mold in some suction cups to the same material, kind of like they do for so many bath mats. Anyone tried something like this? What material spec/dimension should I be heading toward to pull that off? I haven't found a good reference guide yet.

 

[asimpson]

Not sure if these guys do overmoulding.

http://www.protolabs.co.uk/injection-molding/rubber-injection-molding.

You could consider trying something yourseld with RTV silicone

 

[salukikev]

Thanks, yeah, I know that I could prototype it using casting materials, but I want to try to validate it as a practical part to manufacture. Thanks for the tip. Protomold might be a good option for this.

 

[MikeHalloran]

TPU and PVC may be too hard at some use temperatures to be effective as suction cups.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA