"Resin casting might seem slower initially, but it's great for ironing out design kinks without blowing your budget or timeline."
Glad you mentioned this—I'm currently planning custom fixtures for my first home build and was leaning toward injection molding. Maybe resin casting is safer to start...less chance of expensive regrets later?
Resin casting definitely gives you more flexibility early on, especially if you're still tweaking your designs. Injection molding can be unforgiving if you realize halfway through that something needs adjusting—those molds aren't cheap to redo. But once you've nailed down your design, injection molding can scale up nicely. Curious though, what kind of fixtures are you making? Depending on complexity or quantity, one method might have a clearer advantage...
"Injection molding can be unforgiving if you realize halfway through that something needs adjusting—those molds aren't cheap to redo."
Yeah, learned that the hard way when I was making custom brackets for some shelving units. Thought I had the measurements spot-on, but turns out a tiny miscalculation cost me big. Resin casting would've saved me a headache early on. But once I got it dialed in, injection molding paid off nicely for the larger batch. If you're still tweaking, resin's probably safer.
Had a similar experience when I was working on some custom drawer pulls for our kitchen cabinets. Thought injection molding would be the way to go since I needed quite a few, but man, did I underestimate how precise those measurements had to be. I swear, I triple-checked everything, but once the mold was made, I realized the grip felt slightly off—just enough to annoy me every time I opened a drawer.
Ended up biting the bullet and redoing the mold, which wasn't cheap. Looking back, resin casting would've been smarter for the initial prototypes. Could've saved myself a chunk of change and a lot of frustration. Once I finally got the mold dialed in though, injection molding was fantastic for cranking out the final batch quickly and consistently.
If you're still in the tweaking phase or not 100% sure about your design yet, resin casting is definitely more forgiving. You can make adjustments on the fly without breaking the bank. But once you nail down exactly what you want, injection molding really shines for larger quantities. Just gotta make sure you're absolutely certain before pulling that trigger...
Yeah, injection molding can be unforgiving if you're even slightly off. I ran into something similar with custom knobs for my bathroom vanity—thought I had it nailed, but nope, grip felt weirdly shallow. Resin casting first would've saved me some headaches (and cash)... hindsight, right?
