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Founded as a custom medical molder, Flexcraft continues to excel making unique and complex parts to exacting customer specifications.
Custom engineered, blow-molded bellows can serve a variety of functions such as suctioning or dispensing liquids, pumping, damping vibration, leveling, or cushioning. We have decades of experience making custom bellows out of various materials (LDPE, polypropylene, Hytrel®, and more), meeting each customer’s needs.
Do you manufacture and sell a product that has unique plastic components? Are you having trouble finding a solution to a design requirement? Flexcraft excels in finding unique, commercial solutions that can help you supply your customers dependably and with zero quality complaints.
Flexcraft is on the cutting edge of blow molding thin wall objects and is often successful where others have failed (or say things can’t be done). We have produced thin-walled products as varied as laryngeal airways and donor-blood testing assemblies.
If you have any other unique, hollow plastic product requirements, Flexcraft will help you determine the feasibility of our processes getting your product into manufacturing. Expect guidance from a trusted partner when you rely on our broad experience with unusual shapes and requirements.
We can craft high-quality, rigid containers manufactured to be impact-, crush-, and needle-proof. By utilizing multi-cavity mold configurations, high quality, custom rigid containers can be manufactured cost-effectively to meet the requirements of the medical market.
Flexible fluid and breather bags can be cost effectively blow molded in high volumes, meeting the quality and technical requirements critical in the medical market. Materials such as Teknor Apex Medalist are commercially available and capable of replacing the expensive, time-consuming process of dip molding.
Blow molding can be used to produce plastic vials of various shapes, sizes, materials, and configurations. We are also able to produce multi-chamber, blow molded bags capable of freezing and preservation at cryogenic temperatures.
How long does it typically take to develop a custom product?
This largely depends on the complexity of the item, and how prepared you are (or aren’t) before engaging Flexcraft as a molder. We like to get involved as early as possible, at the sketch-on-a-napkin phase, to help make sure design considerations are being made for the molding process. As a very broad generalization, we can typically turn around a custom extrusion blow molded bottle in about 10-12 weeks. This timeline begins at the point of engineering being finalized, supply agreement in place, and any necessary deposits or financial commitments being satisfied. Molds typically take about 8 weeks, and then there will be about four weeks of sampling, modifications, dimensional verification, and approvals. Custom PET ISBM bottles take around 20 weeks.
For much more complex projects, projects requiring extensive engineering design assistance, or complex process validations, this process can take upwards of 30-40 weeks.
Between design iterations, 3D prototyping, unit cavity mold development, and production molds being built, there are multiple critical steps that must be precisely followed for success.
How much does it cost to develop a custom product?
The most important thing to understand is that in order to make a custom product, the 3D engineering design must be created and approved (meaning you fully approve what is going to be made off this design, and understand that any changes after the molds are started are your financial responsibility) and then molds must be built. Unfortunately good design and reliable molds aren’t cheap. As a general guideline:
Engineering
Molds
What materials can be used for my custom product?
We have experience molding a wide variety of resins, including HDPE, PCR, PET, rPET, PP, LDPE, Polycarbonate, Styrolux, Elastomers, PEEK, Polysulfone, Ultem, and more! There are general compatibility questions that need to be answered prior to selecting a material, but once we understand your requirements, we can assist or connect you with materials experts who can provide more detail. Ultimately, resin selection and approval is the responsibility of the customer to ensure it is compatible with your product requirements, but we can provide resin sampling services to assist with your selection.
What size can I make my product?
We can mold bottles up to about 2.5 gallons. For custom sizes, a custom mold must be built, but we are happy to review your specific application and determine if it is a fit.
