Several years ago my brother bought me a 3D printer kit. It was a Printrbot Plus, and I've been amazed at what I can design and print with it. Specifically, I've found it an indispensable tool in making the world more accessible to my daughter, who is challenged with cerebral palsy. I've made headrest mounts, computer mounts, and even some arm orthoses that are better suited to her than what we could get elsewhere. But what has driven me into injection molding are the adapted switches that I designed for her to control the world around her. They've been wildly successful for her, and I've been printing extras and donating extras to a local organization where there is high demand for them to help other special kids. But 3D printing has its limits, and 4 hours of printing (when everything goes right) for a single switch is just not sustainable for any more than a few pieces. Injection molding was clearly the path forward for me.
After scouring online resources trying to figure out what machine would work best for my application, I settled on a Morgan Press. It's has a 20-ton clamping force, and depending on the model supports a shot size of 2, 4 or 5 oz. The price of a new Morgan Press is approx. $20k, way more than I was willing to spend. But, they come up from time to time on eBay, usually for somwhere from $2k-$8k. After nearly a year of watching and losing on auctions, I found one a couple hundred miles from where I live. The price was excellent, and I couldn't pass it up. A few days later, I was taking the day off of work and driving to California to pick it up. (A lot cheaper than shipping freight!)
Thus my journey into injection molding begins...
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