Plastic casting

prototypingfor the electronics industryfor the automotive industry

Overview
Norck delivers urethane casting services for rapid prototyping and low- to medium-volume production. The process reproduces high-fidelity parts that closely mimic injection-molded components, supporting engineering, design validation and short-run manufacturing needs.

Capabilities

• Master pattern production via CNC machining, 3D printing or manual modelling for accurate replication
• Silicone mold making to capture fine textures and complex geometries (two‑half molds)
• Diverse urethane formulations: rigid and flexible resins, multiple colours and hardness ranges
• Finishing operations: painting, insertion of hardware, assembly and polishing
• Scalable quantities: one-off prototypes up to medium-batch production

What is Urethane Casting?
Urethane casting is a molding technique where a silicone mold is formed around a master pattern, split into halves and filled with liquid urethane. It is widely used for low-volume production and prototyping due to lower tooling cost and the mold's ability to capture fine detail.

Advantages

• Lower tooling cost compared with hard tooling methods such as metal injection molds
• High accuracy and capability to reproduce detailed features and textures
• Fast turnarounds suited to iterative prototyping workflows
• Material options that can meet food- or medical-grade requirements when appropriate resins are selected

Disadvantages

• Post-processing commonly required to remove flash and excess material
• Silicone molds have limited shot life and are not suitable for very high-volume runs

How it is fabricated

• 1. Produce the master component using rapid prototyping (3D printing, CNC) or manual methods
• 2. Embed the master in liquid silicone to create the mold
• 3. After curing, split the silicone mold into two halves along the parting line
• 4. Remove the master from the mold
• 5. Reassemble the mold halves and pour or inject liquid urethane (casting)
• 6. Cure under controlled temperature and pressure as required for the selected formulation
• 7. Demold the part and perform post-processing (trimming, finishing, assembly)

Quality & Standards
Norck operates under a certified quality management system (ISO 9001:2015), with process controls and inspection routines to ensure repeatability and compliance with customer requirements.

Technical features / specifications

• Process: silicone-mold urethane casting (two‑half molds)
• Master patterns: CNC, 3D printing or manual modelling
• Mold material: silicone formulated to capture fine detail
• Casting materials: rigid and flexible urethane resins; multiple colours and hardness ranges available
• Typical volumes: prototypes to medium-batch production
• Finishing: painting, polishing, inserts, assembly; secondary machining if required
• Curing: controlled temperature and pressure cycles depending on resin
• Limitations: finite mold life; parts often require post-molding finishing for tight tolerances