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SUV Step

After-market small business manufacturers need to employ (briefly) skills over and above the in-house talent that they have already gathered. They need to employ St. Joseph Mold and Tool Co. just long enough to bring their idea to production.

The small business manufacturer provides the initially important essentials of a successful project; they provide the knapkin sketches, the verbage, even the gestures. They get their idea accross as completely as they can using whatever props fit the need.  We take their idea from there.

The SUV Step pictured, is one of our early Solid Modeling projects. The customer gave us no prints and not even any knapkin sketches.  He did give us the bent and formed stainless steel pipe that the "yet to be developed" step had to fit.

Our task was loosely defined yet clear enough for us:  Develope a plastic injection molded part, (functional and aesthetically pleasing) and produce the plastic injection mold to commence production.  Oh and could you please hurry?

The Solid Works solid modeling program was used to bring the customers conception to the viewable and very mold-worthy state that is shown here.

The solid modeling program was further utilized to produce mold cavities. (solid models)

The solid modeled cavities were high-speed milled then completed (peripherals) by our moldmakers in our mold shop.

The mold has been producing parts for five years now.  This part is not made in China.