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Xometry’s Instant Quoting Engine is covered by U.S. Pat. Nos. 11,086,292, 11,347,201, 11,693,388, 11,698,623, 12,099,341, and 12,189,361. Other patents pending.
Plastic can be manufactured using many different processes. For many parts—especially sheet, plate, rod, and tube components—plastic fabrication is one of the most cost-effective approaches. Plastic fabrication includes methods such as machining, precision cutting, bonding, welding, routing, and thermoforming.
LK Tools supports custom plastic fabrication for projects that need stable dimensions, practical material performance, and production-ready results—without the lead time or tooling investment required by injection molding.
Plastic fabrication refers to shaping, forming, or joining plastic sheet, plate, rod, tube, or bar stock. Unlike melt-processing methods (such as injection molding), fabrication typically starts from pre-made plastic stock and uses machining, cutting, and joining techniques to create the final part.
A typical project starts with requirements review: operating temperature, chemical exposure, load conditions, cosmetics, and tolerance needs. From there, we provide manufacturability feedback and help finalize drawings and build strategy.
Common plastic fabrication methods include:
Plastic fabrication offers strong advantages when you need functional parts quickly without investing in hard tooling.
A wide range of plastics covers many property needs (impact, chemical resistance, electrical insulation, transparency, and more). Many can also be modified with fillers or additives.
Many plastics offer a strong strength-to-weight ratio, making them useful for portable equipment, panels, covers, and structural components where mass matters.
For low-to-mid volumes, fabrication can be more economical than tooling-based processes because it avoids mold costs and supports fast design iteration.
Many plastics resist impact and do not rust or corrode, making them suitable for harsh handling and long service life.
Certain plastics perform well in chemical exposure environments where metals would corrode—useful for processing equipment, tanks, and lab/industrial components.
Materials such as UHMW-PE and PTFE-family plastics provide low friction and wear performance for guides, liners, and sliding interfaces (project-dependent).
Despite its benefits, plastic fabrication has limitations to consider:
Many plastics soften, creep, or lose strength at elevated temperatures compared to metals. High-temp plastics exist, but should be selected intentionally.
Chemical resistance varies widely by plastic and chemical type. Some plastics can crack or degrade over time in specific solvents or environments.
Plastics can deflect more than metals and may creep under load, especially at higher temperatures. Design should account for stiffness needs.
Plastics are used across almost every industry. Common fabricated plastic part types include:
Common for electronics, appliances, and scientific/industrial equipment where low weight and electrical insulation are beneficial.
Plastic supports many colors and textures and is easy to fabricate into attention-grabbing, lightweight display structures.
Precision components can be machined from engineering plastics for wear surfaces, insulating parts, and mechanical interfaces.
Fabrication is often ideal for prototypes because designs can be changed quickly without new tooling.
Plastic packaging aids protect sensitive parts and can be fabricated for repeat logistics use.
Certain chemical processing tanks and vessels use welded plastic panels to resist corrosion and simplify maintenance.
Plastic fabricated parts are used across many sectors, including:
Enclosures, insulating components, guards, and protective covers.
Lightweight functional parts, guards, channels, and non-structural components.
Durable, cleanable components and housings (requirements vary by program).
Appliance panels, fixtures, packaging, and product housings.
Lightweight components and protective covers (requirements vary; share specs for review).
Chemical-resistant tanks, liners, ducting, and custom fabricated assemblies.
Plastic fabrication isn’t always the best fit. Alternatives include:
Better for high temperature, high stiffness, and heavy-duty structural demands.
Useful for low-cost prototyping and fixtures, but limited in chemical/thermal performance.
Excellent strength-to-weight performance for certain applications; typically requires different tooling and fabrication approaches.
Choose from millions of possible combinations of materials, finishes, tolerances, markings, and certifications for your order.
Get started with our easy-to-use platform and let our experts take care of managing the project from locating the right manufacturing partner to delivery logistics.
We are ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485, and AS9100D certified. Only the top shops that apply to become Suppliers make it through our qualification process.
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