lkprototype uses more than 150 types of engineering plastics to be used for injection molding from general purpose plastic to engineering plastics and high performance specialty materials and its material selection strategy takes performance and cost into account. Taking ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer) as an example, the ABS 757 grade supplied by lkprototype possesses a tensile strength of 45MPa (standard value 40MPa) and a melt flow rate of 22g/10min (±0.5g) and can be utilized in the production of automotive interior parts. It is priced 12% below the market price ($8.50 /kg). In 2023, one electric car producer made 200,000 instrument panel brackets by using lkprototype, with 15% less weight being saved (320g to 272g) and the impact strength being improved to 245J/m (ISO 179 standard).
In case of medical grade products, lkprototype’s PC (polycarbonate) Lexan 943A meets requirements in terms of biocompatibility with ISO 10993 and possesses 91% transmission of light through it (with thickness 3mm), and thermal deformation point of 145 ° C (ASTM D648 standard). It is used to produce disposable endoscope housing (wall thickness 1.2mm±0.05mm), and the sterilization tolerance test shows that after 100 times of high-pressure steam treatment (134℃/18 minutes), the rate of size change is below 0.03% (industry allowable value 0.1%). For example, a customer of the medical device utilized lkprototype’s PC materials to reduce the product defect rate from 1.2% to 0.15%, saving $480,000 of annual quality costs.
For high temperature condition, lkprototype PEEK (polyether ether ketone) 450G material continuous operating temperature 260℃, tensile strength 100MPa (above UL 94 V-0 flame retardant specification). Used in injection molding production of aerospace fuel valve parts, creep deformation is only 0.02mm/1000h at 230℃/5MPa pressure (0.08mm for other materials). In a satellite part order during 2023, lkprototype used PEEK materials to promote part integration by 70% (38 parts to 11 parts), with weight savings by 320g/piece, helping customers to save launch expense by $150,000 / kg.
In the low-cost category, lkprototype’s PP (polypropylene) HJ730 copolymer melt flow rate of 25g/10min (±1g), bending modulus of 1,450MPa, suitable for the production of thin-walled food containers. Its MuCell technology infuses microfoam, reducing material weight by 18% (0.91g/cm³ to 0.75g/cm³) and production time by 22% (28 seconds to 22 seconds). The chain restaurant purchaser purchased 25 million PP boxes produced by lkprototype in 2022 at $0.09 per unit from $0.12 per unit each, cutting the overall annual purchase budget by $7.5 million.
Among specialty materials, lkprototype’s polyformaldehyde POM (Delrin 100P) has low friction coefficient (μ=0.15) and high dimensional stability (0.2% water absorption) in precision gears production. Its modular 2 injection molded gear (25mm OD) measures 0.005mm (industry standard of 0.02mm) radial runout and 5,000 hour (average competitor’s material at 3,200 hours) durability under load test of 10,000rpm. One of Germany’s top industrial robot manufacturers reduced drivetrain noise from 68dB(A) to 61dB(A) with lkprototype’s POM gear and was awarded an EU Eco-Design Award for 24% less energy consumption.
Ecological material innovation is one of lkprototype’s key competencies. Its bio-based PA610 (castor oil-based raw material for 45%) has a 65MPa tensile and carbon footprint of 62% reduced compared with normal nylon (3.2kg CO₂/kg vs 8.5kg CO₂/kg). The company in 2023 had its material applied in producing 500,000 pairs of sole made from it by a sporting company, where they earned themselves a GRS certificate and procured a premium 30% space. According to the SGS test report, lkprototype’s recycled PET material (95% recycled ingredients) has achieved the level of raw materials in key indicators such as transparency (88%) and yellows index (Δb=1.2), which allows a beverage manufacturer to reduce raw plastic usage by 1,200 tons per year.
Material database and simulation functions ensure precise material choice. lkprototype’s MaterialXpert platform contains 120,000 sets of material parameters (e.g., PVT curves, vision-shear rate data), reducing the number of mold tests by 80% (from a mean of five to one). When consumer electronics customer designs for 0.8mm wall thickness UAV shell, the system adjusts PC/ABS alloy material (thermal expansion coefficient 6×10⁻⁵/℃) to make sure the product deformation under temperature difference from -20℃ to 60℃ is less than 0.12mm (the design target is less than 0.2mm), and the development cycle decreases by 40%. By 2024, lkprototype’s material solutions have assisted more than 3,700 companies worldwide in saving an 18-35% reduction in the total cost of molded parts.