A Little Bit About Us…
Dudley Associates, an owner managed business since 2014 and founded in 1991, has gone from strength to strength.
In 2016, an additional adjoining building was taken on to house the new, state of the art high-precision, high speed CNC production cell with full automation.
Over the past decade, the company has trebled its footprint which allows adequate space for current operations and room to expand capacity further.
We are ISO 9001:2015 Quality management accredited and specialises in Design, Rapid Prototyping and toolmaking alongside a modern well-equipped, Plastic Injection Moulding facility. All our operations are based on a single site, in the heart of the UK; meaning that we are fully capable of fulfilling your complete requirements, without outsourcing.
We are here and ready to help whether you are looking to:
- Launch a new project with tooling, followed by injection moulding of components
- Run a quick turnaround prototype exercise
- Use local manufactures to reduce timelines, shipping costs and improve your carbon footprint;
- Re-shore existing manufacturing – including moving existing tooling from overseas;
- Find a partner who can cope with any plastic polymer and bespoke colour matching.
How Can We Help?
Dudley Associates can help you achieve your goal of production injection moulded parts from any starting point. Whether you already have the design and drawings or have an idea and need us to do the designing for you. We can offer full product design services using the latest CAD software to produce your components, with all part designs optimised for injection moulding. We can advise on material choice and work closely with many material suppliers to ensure that you get the right material for your job. When the design is complete we can supply prototypes for design validation.
We can manufacture your prototype at the very early stages of design and testing to ensure that the finished products fit requirements and specifications exactly. At Dudley Associates, we offer this service to our customers because we believe in providing the very best level of service and are dedicated to getting the project right every time. So if a project needs a little more help to get there, then rapid prototyping is a more cost effective and faster solution. Producing premium quality but low cost prototypes from CAD data sources.
Materials:
We mould in a very wide variety of materials, sourced from around the world. These include filled and unfilled ABS, Acetals, Acrylics, nylons, Polycarbonates, Polypropylenes, peek & Ultem, but we also use some highly specialist materials with ‘extreme’ attributes in relation to flame retardancy, electro-conductivity or operational temperature ranges. We can help identify the material best suited your final application and required aesthetic attributes. Where required, we can introduce a variety of different additives, such as anti-microbial, anti-static, UV stabiliser, siloxanes and colouring agents.
Injection Moulding is a manufacturing process for producing identical plastic parts. It is suitable for low to high volumes and small to large parts. Plastic polymers are available to suit every application for the final component, according to the need for strength, durability, conductivity, aesthetic finish, fire rating, ect.
Before we can make the plastic components, we need an injection mould tool. An injection mould tool can be design to produce a single part at a time or it can have multiple impressions of identical, mirrored or different components.
An injection mould tool is effectively the mould into which molten plastic polymer material is injected. The polymer then cool inside the mould, solidifies and forms the unique shape mandated by the design, after the designated cooling time, the tool is automatically separated into the the two halves and the components are ejected and removed.
When we are initially discussing a project with a client, we will establish the key facts around the final application. this will lead to the most suitable material for both the mould tool and moulded components, and the structure of the tool.
A Highly Experienced Team
Every client seeks components which are unique to their requirements. We will help optimise the process to create the finished part in the most efficient and effective way. We have a highly experienced team making injection moulded components for a wide variety of sectors. We have a broad range of moulding machine sizes, from 35 tonnes to 300 tonnes. This allows us to manufacture parts which are very small, lightweight and potentially delicate through to larger, heavier parts.
Sectors
We have a highly experienced team making injection moulded components for a wide variety of sectors, including:
- Automotive
- Defence & Aerospace
- Medical/ Dental
- Oil, Gas & marine
- Packaging & Security
- Construction & Safety
- Electronics, Household & Leisure
- Latest Technology
All our injection mould tools are manufactured using the latest software and high speed, high precision, automated Röders CNC production cell.
We can produce to the required finish, whether it be mirror or textured. Our tooling is always metal, but several options are available, which include aluminium and steel.
Complexity: We make tools which are quite straightforward and many others which are more complex. We can cater for multiple loose inserts, sliders, hot runner systems and most other features
Testing/ Sampling: Because we have an injection moulding facility in house and on-site, we can trial new tools quickly with no grey area for dispute between the toolmaker and moulder.
Beyond New: We offer injection mould tool services beyond just creating from new , including maintenance to extend the lift of the tool and preserve the detailed finish, repairs and modifications, should minor alterations become necessary
Whatever your injection tooling needs we can help just contact us to discuss further.
So that’s why Dudley’s is your first choice plastic injection moulding and tooling provider. Why not Find out how our in house toolmaking & injection moulding experts can assist you too.
Tel: 01455 558825
Email: Sales@dudleyassociates.com
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Member-created content 2 years ago | From members