Case Study · Energy
US Energy OEM: Silicone-Mold Prototypes Skip Hard Tooling for Overmolded Cable
Swapping hard tooling for silicone molds produced five functional overmolded samples in three to four weeks with no upfront tooling investment.
United States · 2025 · Energy harnesses
5 sample units
3-4 week turnaround
Zero hard-tooling investment
Background
A US energy management company needed initial physical samples to validate a complex custom overmolded power cable design before committing to production tooling.
The Challenge
Standard production molds for overmolded cable assemblies are costly and slow to build, creating a barrier for early-stage NPI validation that needed only a handful of units.
Our Solution
We proposed a rapid prototyping approach using silicone molds instead of hard tooling. We allocated 50 pieces of raw material to produce an initial batch of 5 sample units for testing.
The Result
Functional samples were delivered within a 3-4 week turnaround, including 2 weeks for silicone mold creation. The customer proceeded with physical testing and design iteration without any upfront hard-tooling investment.
Program Specifications
| Sample Volume | 5 units (50 pcs raw material) |
|---|---|
| Mold Creation | 2 weeks (silicone) |
| Total Turnaround | 3-4 weeks |