Production tooling is a big investment. Before you commit, you want to know the part works. That's why we make temporary moulds: quick, accurate, low-cost tools for one-off and prototype composite parts.
How we build them
- Laminated MDF sealed with resin. We laminate sheets of MDF with vinylester resin and CNC machine them into patterns and moulds. We've used this for boat hatches, drone moulds and more. Our process is mill, resin, repeat, using pigmented VE resin for a good finish.
- CNC-milled foam. Our 4-axis foam mill handles large shapes up to 4 m x 1.3 m x 700 mm. We've shaped polyurethane blocks as large as 1200 x 1200 x 500 mm.
- 3D-printed inserts. We use 3D prints for tight radii and complex geometry that's hard to machine, such as corner radii on a hardtop mould kit.
Recent examples
- Prototype fibreglass air inlets: 3D scan, temporary moulds, two prototype parts. We keep all the digital data, so the parts can be tested properly before moving into serious tooling and carbon production.
- Haines V19: a temporary fibreglass mould for a one-off part.
- Race car headlight blanks: designed from a headlight scan and printed in multiple pieces.
- One-off hardtop mould kit for 26 South Marine.
- A mould for a 12-piece run, toolpathed and milled in-house.
Why it works
You can iterate fast without paying for full moulds up front. When the design is proven, we move on to production tooling with confidence.
Got a part to prototype? Get a quote from Method CNC.