Imprezsing04 Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 I ran across a company the specializes in manufacturing injection molding and they do prototyping. They are in China, so price, quality, and communication could be poor. http://www.hoda-mould.com/index.asp I have a contact name and email, if anyone wants to PM me to get it. I personally do not have the time to dedicate to such a project. Thanks man for the research and help, but i would personally like a local US company (and most likely a veteran to this site to keep all the business internal). I dont care if I have to pay more and I am sure most of you guys wouldnt either. Reason being also on the china company, they dont have access to a usdm bumper anyway so I would have to send them a prototype. It wouldnt save me or my guy any work. Also, like you said, communication might be poor, service and shipping may cost more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strizzy Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Maybe talk to these guys? http://www.mastermolding.com/index.htm They are local to one of my office locations (down the street) and have a facility in AZ (not sure where you're located though). My bad luck build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cseagle08 Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 I'm SO IN! Been wanting this for 3 years now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KING Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 i am talking with a company who i gave a jdm rear vent set to and i was interested in asking them to model a set that will fit our usdm rear bumper. Just seeing how much interest there would be on the boards to make sure i dont lose any money by going through with asking them to make them. They are not sure on price because they havent started yet. But if these were to fit well, how much would people be willing to pay? They said about $45+ for a set if i can get 10 sets ordered. But again, they threw an estimate. Just wondering if people thought that would be too high to pay and i can discuss it with them more. Thanks -scott p.s. Hopefully im not breaking any rules since im not a vendor, etc. I was just seeing if there were interest so i can try and offer something to you guys edits: **see post 72 for more jdm vent pictures to hold everyone's interest =)* **see post 34 for my answers and post 36 for a pic of the jdm vent being held up to the usdm bumper** **see post 94-107 for progress and hold up and possible different route of producing these **also, this will probably come in white. Could easily be painted flat black to look like the jdm ones but who would be interested in me dropping a few sets at the body shop to get them color matched? Of course, i would charge what the shop charges me but itll probably be cheaper for me to get a few sets painted at one time. As opposed to you guys going to a shop and just getting one set painted** 1.imprezing04 2. Deadzep 3. Mk6933 4. Dpsubie 5. Biggu 6. Squiden 7. Scottyg7171 8. Underground000 9.w1cked 10.joeblow 11.06legacyrbp 12.rdhoggattjr 13.sleeperlgt 14.murphdaddy 15.schrei wolf (maybe) 16.1stick3pedals 17.rtbrjason 18.ripjeep2002 19. Monkonmonk 20. Bluewolf 21. Skunkworks 22. Bbc84 23. Cholmes1 24. Biodtl 25. Bignydog3 26. 300zx2g35 27. Yamarider18 28. Obpdemon 29. Wpmarky 30. Brawline 31. berkshire40 32. cklegacy09 33. tomkat1127 34. shtbxr22 35. corny357 36. hotgunz 37. stnem24 38. meshanks07 39. mmmmspecb 40. Tocinoman25 41. King Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyg7171 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 This thread was a total disappointment. Unsubscribble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk6933 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 This thread was a total disappointment. Unsubscribble. The disappointment is due to the initial high cost for the product which cause the product to cost more. The vents can't be made of fiberglass, and can only be injected mold, which cost a lot. Yes, you can find a shop in China, but fitment is not assured. Have to "pay" to get a quality piece, and it won't be cheap. By the time the seller ask for money, majority people will bail, disappeared, or have other lame excuse. I tried to bring up ideas with a company, but high initial start up cost scared people away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berkshire40 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 well at least he didnt take our money and produce nothing (RavSpec) Mod list & photos _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk6933 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 well at least he didnt take our money and produce nothing (RavSpec) Agreed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprezsing04 Posted October 19, 2011 Author Share Posted October 19, 2011 Scottyg, that was a little discouraging but hey, I'm not going to get offended over the internet. I've repeated this before, I have a full time job like all of you. I work at an architecture/engineering firm and this was a side thing I was talking to a guy with. I got busy. He had a baby. He is struggling for money and this wasn't a highly profitable project to take on, if at all. We had spent some time trying but it was a lot more involved than what was anticipated. I repeated that I wasn't planning on making any money off of this myself. If my guy did, it wouldve been maybe 10 bucks a piece max profit. 10*40 is 400...and that is max. Needless to say, he is trying to take on bigger things to keep his house and support his wife and new born son. Will we get back to this? I surely hope so. Just timing right now is not good for either of us. I didn't ask any of you for money, only input, feedback and interest to see if we took the time to produce this, that it would actually have buyers. If I brought this to you guys and 4 people buy it, what's the point for me to go thru all the trouble? I would be fine with my blacked out reflectors. The thread is "who would be interested", not"group buy, I need 10 buyers" And yes, the method we had in mind would have been very costly and time consuming so I'm looking into other options I'm not familiar with, which all takes time. If this were my business or field, of course I would be more adamant about it, but this was a side thing I thought would be fun and beneficial to you guys on the forum Mk6933, thanks btw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprezsing04 Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Yes...this is a 3 month old bump. And no, I have no progress on this other than letting you guys know I havent abandoned this just yet. BUT I need to ask if any of you guys know where I can get a mold made. Maybe you guys have friends or have a hook up or know of a website or something. I have been emailing people here and there and spoke to mastermold that Strizzy123 listed and they quoted me $12,000-$20,000 for a mold, made of hardened steel. And then start up costs and material is separate on top of that Yeah...i dont have $12,000 up front to pay for a mold lol. But I am hoping to have a finalized design done in hopefully the next month or two. I am shooting for the end of March at the latest Hopefully you guys are still interested and supportive on this "project" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legspecb08 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Im totally in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btillfan1948 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Count me in. What's the ETA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subie5 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I'm in as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprezsing04 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Count me in. What's the ETA? Im still trying to price out options. Honestly, the upfront cost for me is really high since I am not a business and I am not collecting any money up front from you guys. But I am hoping sometime before the summer starts. I am just a mechanical engineer who wanted to try and take this on, on the side to help myself out and you guys. lets put it this way. Just to pay for the mold itself (NOT including start up cost from the plastic company or material or engineering or prototyping costs) I got a quote for $12,000. To put into perspective: there are currently only 44 people interested right now (well, i dont know if everyone is STILL interested). But anyway, thats $272 a person ($12,000/44). Obviously, as more people are interested, their payment will offset the material cost and I would have to sell maybe 100 to get anywhere under even 150 bucks a set. Because i think start up from the company is 500. plus materials, shipping, etc. And thats like free labor from me. And designing this thing is a pain. There are absolutely no straight lines on the vent and i am not going to mold something that looks like crap lol. anyway, thanks for continuing to follow my efforts But yeah. It is a big project to take on and like I said, I am not here to make money. Just to get something on the market and I thought it would kinda be cool to say "i designed that" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btillfan1948 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 For what it's worth, you have my support in your ambition to do something good for us members who would like a set of these vents for the rear bumper to replace those reflectors. I think if you or someone on the forum could contact the maker of the JDM vents, we could find out if with some slight mod to their vent, they could come up with one to fit the USDM bumper. Just a thought. I'll look into it and pass on to you what, if anything I find out. Regards, Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strizzy Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 What if you make a prototype out of clay or other hard material, make a rubber/latex mold, and use a product like Alumilite casting resin to make them yourself? You can dye the resin to any color you want. http://www.alumilite.com/ProdDetail.cfm?Category=Casting%20Resins&Name=Alumilite%20Regular [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0QDtolJdYE]How To Use Alumilite Regular Casting Resin - YouTube[/ame] http://www.alumilite.com/howtos/TailLightMoldingNoEquipment.cfm My bad luck build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprezsing04 Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 For what it's worth, you have my support in your ambition to do something good for us members who would like a set of these vents for the rear bumper to replace those reflectors. I think if you or someone on the forum could contact the maker of the JDM vents, we could find out if with some slight mod to their vent, they could come up with one to fit the USDM bumper. Just a thought. I'll look into it and pass on to you what, if anything I find out. Regards, Jim Jim, Thank you for the support. At some points I did lose interest and I think some people have "given up" on looking forward to this. I know I would be too if I were on the other end. I have no idea who the maker of the JDM vents are. It is a subaru piece and i doubt subaru will say "oh, x molding is who we contracted out for those pieces to be build". But if you can find me any information, pass it on and it would greatly help. My other concern with that approach is I doubt we would have anywhere near a high volume demand for them to think it was profitable to them (I only have 50 people on here) and the second concern...by replacing the reflector with the vents, it would technically make the USDM rear end illegal since the taillights have no reflectors.... What if you make a prototype out of clay or other hard material, make a rubber/latex mold, and use a product like Alumilite casting resin to make them yourself? You can dye the resin to any color you want. http://www.alumilite.com/ProdDetail.cfm?Category=Casting%20Resins&Name=Alumilite%20Regular How To Use Alumilite Regular Casting Resin - YouTube http://www.alumilite.com/howtos/TailLightMoldingNoEquipment.cfm Strizzy, I tried to put clay around the JDM piece to see if I could measure it better in an inverted way but there is absolutely no room for error, gaps, etc. and this approach gives way to alot of those. The angles on this piece must be EXACT. Everyone is looking for something that is meant to fit, like the JDM piece is on the JDM bumper. No one will buy a terribly fitting piece and i am doubting anyone would buy my piece if it was created with your above approach. I do appreciate everyones suggestions though! Anymore would be great. Someone messaged me saying they have access to other things and I have the same tools, it is the cost of industrially molding and producing on a large scale that makes it less cost effective. Also, I am considering trying to get the JDM piece 3D scanned in order to ensure total and complete angle fitment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColdBore Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Those look sweet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legspecb08 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 (edited) Im in for the long run. just keep us posted once in awhile so that we know whats going on. im sure thats all anyone wants Edited February 22, 2012 by legspecb08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaesx Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Count me in when you have it all figured out. 08-09 bumper is being installed this week on my 05 ABP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprezsing04 Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 Count me in when you have it all figured out. 08-09 bumper is being installed this week on my 05 ABP. 01rs25 is also doing an 08 bumper swap. I am going to let him borrow my jdm vent. Maybe with his efforts and help, I can figure out a solution for us. At this point, finding a way to manufacturer this cheaply is hard. And, I would be paying alot up front out of pocket... Maybe more people will do rear bumper swaps and the market will open up and it will help me justify being able to not lose money on this project... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprezsing04 Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 Hey guys, just an update. I do not have the means to fund the project right now, to pay for everything initially and then hope to break even months down the line. I dont think anyone would put deposits down to help me pay for the material and mold to get done. And I honestly wouldnt want something to happen and then I owe everyone money. So, I am not going to ask that. At this point, I may make them off my 3D abs plastic printer. It would cost at least $100 in time and materials to make so if people are that interested, I may make a small batch. It takes about a day to print a set. so, it would be a one off type of thing for now since I can not afford the molding process. So, I dont know if people are willing to pay that much but I am going to go ahead and work on the prototype and if people are interested, I will sell them something that matches my prototype. I will try to have pictures and a prototype done in the next few weeks. Also, 01rs25 is doing a bumper swap and he is interested in my prototype so after I am done, I am going to see if he approves =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cholmes1 Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Good Luck on your prototype. I look forward to the pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperLGT Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 bump. whats the word on these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shtbxr22 Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Stalled, pending winning the lottery or some other miracle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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