Many PEEK parts start with machining. It’s a great way to test an idea, check the fit, and confirm performance.
But as demand grows, machining often becomes too slow and too expensive. To scale up, many engineers turn to injection molding. This process helps bring their PEEK parts to market faster—and at lower cost.
Let’s walk through the key stages of that journey.
Phase 1: The PEEK Prototype – Validating Design Through Machining
Machining is often the first step. It’s flexible and fast for making one or two parts.
You can try different versions, run tests, and adjust the design. This helps you make sure the part works the way you need it to.
But even at this early stage, machining PEEK can be costly. PEEK is a high-performance plastic, and the raw material alone is expensive. Plus, machining it takes time and skill, which adds to the cost.
The Scaling Challenge: When Machining PEEK Reaches Its Limits
Time Constraints for Market Entry
As demand increases, machining can slow you down. Each part takes time, and machines can only produce so many per day. This makes it hard to hit deadlines or respond to market needs quickly.
Inconsistent Costs and Budget Overruns
Machining PEEK isn’t just slow—it’s also unpredictable. Tooling can wear out fast, setup times can vary, and small design changes can require reprogramming.
These issues can lead to unexpected costs and delays.
Overview
Once you need more than a few dozen parts, machining becomes harder to manage. It’s time to think about a better long-term plan.
Phase 2: Design for Injection Molding – Optimizing Your PEEK Part for Volume
This step is called Design for Manufacturability (DFM). It’s the process of adjusting your part design so it can be molded instead of machined.
You’ll work with a molding expert to look at things like:
- Adding draft angles so parts release from the mold easily
- Keeping wall thickness uniform for better material flow
- Choosing smart gate locations, where the melted PEEK enters the mold
These small design changes help ensure that your part molds well and keeps its strength and shape.
Phase 3: PEEK Injection Molding – Achieving Speed, Consistency, and Cost-Effectiveness
The Power of Multi-Cavity Molds
Injection molds can be built with more than one cavity. That means each time the mold closes, it can create multiple parts at once. This greatly boosts production speed.
Material Optimization and Process Control
Injection molding also uses PEEK efficiently. There’s very little waste, and process controls help keep temperature and pressure just right.
This means each part comes out nearly identical—with consistent size, shape, and surface finish.
Overview
Once your part is molded, production is faster, more repeatable, and more affordable—especially in high volumes.
Conclusion
Every successful PEEK product starts somewhere. For many, it begins as a machined prototype.
But to grow, you need a production method that’s faster and more cost-effective. Injection molding offers that next step.
It keeps the benefits of PEEK—like strength, heat resistance, and stability—while giving you the speed and scale to meet demand.
If you’re ready to move forward, we can help you make the transition smoothly.
