Technical parts with tight tolerances
When geometry or function cannot accept deviations: assembly fits, sealing interfaces, precision guides, or CTQ-driven features that must be verified before committing to production tooling.
Injection moulding prototyping with production logic to validate plastic parts before the production mould.
Pilot2Plant is an injection moulding prototyping service that delivers real plastic parts using the final production material. It is based on an existing mould base with a machined insert containing the geometry of the part to be validated.
The objective is not mass production, but obtaining a minimum batch of injection-moulded parts to make technically sound decisions before manufacturing the production mould.
The mould base acts as a reusable structural carrier compatible with industrial injection presses. The insert reproduces cavity geometry accurately, including gating, ejection, and the surface finish required for validation.
Unlike 3D printing or direct machining, Pilot2Plant reproduces the real injection process: material shrinkage, filling behaviour, ejection, and dimensional stability under the same conditions as the production mould.
Reusable standard structure that holds the insert and connects tooling to the industrial injection press. It includes base cooling, feeding and ejection systems.
Insert manufactured specifically for each project, reproducing the exact geometry of the part to validate. Machined in aeronautical-grade aluminium or mild steel, with specified surface finish and gate adapted to the material.
In traditional plastic part development, many critical technical decisions are made without real injection data. Prototypes made by 3D printing or machining do not replicate injected-part behaviour: material is different, process is different, and outcomes are therefore different.
When errors are detected after the steel mould is already built, correction cost can be 5 to 10 times higher than finding them during prototype validation. Pilot2Plant exists to close that gap.
Pilot2Plant creates the most value when production mould decisions depend on prototype validation results.
When geometry or function cannot accept deviations: assembly fits, sealing interfaces, precision guides, or CTQ-driven features that must be verified before committing to production tooling.
Reinforced or high-performance materials with high differential shrinkage: PEEK GF30, PPS GF40, PA GF30, PBT GF30. Their injection behaviour cannot be predicted or replicated with conventional prototypes.
When the part belongs to a larger assembly and must be tested with real mating components: fit checks, interface verification, and representative product-level mounting.
When production tooling cost justifies upfront validation. Reduce post-tooling rework risk and transfer validated process data directly to the steel mould project.
Not all prototyping techniques provide the same validation quality. The key difference is process plus material.
| Feature | 3D Printing | Machining | RIM | Pilot2Plant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real material | No | No | Partial | Yes |
| Real injection process | No | No | No | Yes |
| Industrial tolerances | Limited | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| Surface finish | Limited | Good | Good | Good to excellent |
| Warpage validation | No | No | No | Yes |
| Direct transition to production | No | Complex | No | Optimized |
Pilot2Plant bridges functional prototyping and pre-series, when design decisions are mature but production tooling is not yet committed.
Pilot2Plant is the right tool between the functional prototype and pre-series stages, when design decisions are being finalized before investing in production tooling. At this stage, changes are still economically manageable, and the data obtained - process parameters, dimensional behaviour, warpage - can be transferred directly to the production mould file, reducing post-tooling iterations.
ITM Moldes manufactures production moulds. If Pilot2Plant validation confirms the design, the next step can be taken with the same team. View production moulds — ITM Moldes →
Send us the 3D file or drawing and our technical team will assess project feasibility.
