Advise on how to produce thousands of small flat plates

[davidwoll]

I am looking for other options to make small rectangular plates. Each plate measures 2" x 1" x 2mm thick. Plates have rounded corners and have to be of good quality. I currently have 2 prusa mk3s+ printers going 24/7 and was wondering if there are any alternatives to creating stuff like that? Maybe plastic extruders or something? If I could get some advice and be led in the right direction as to which route I should take that would be appreciated. Thank you very much.

[fred_dot_u]

Good quality is open to interpretation and in this context is effectively meaningless. Consider that one can route out a board of sufficient density to match your shape requirements. A large board can provide tens of cavities based on your specifications. Collect HDPE recyclable plastic bottles, cut them up or run through an ordinary paper shredder. Heat them in a suitable manner and place in the aforementioned mold. A good mold would be one of 1 mm depth on each panel, which when pressed together will create plastic "pillows" of the desired dimensions. That's just one approach, but there are many options. https://www.instructables.com/How-To...-The-Easy-Way/

[davidwoll]

thanks for the reply.
But i was looking for something more realistic like a small scale molding machine perhaps? or an extruder? would anything like that be available for hobbyists?

[fred_dot_u]

https://www.immould.com/diy-injectio...lding-at-home/

Pretty expensive, but certainly a possibility. For the thickness you require, you could use a punch press with a couple of appropriately sized dies to cut the rectangles with the rounded corners.