Compression Molding

Durable Parts With Excellent Dimensional Stability
Low Tooling Cost Makes It Affordable
Cost-Effective For Short Production Runs

Get a Quote

Trusted by Industry Leaders

																			“Fathom has been a strong partner on our EV programs. They helped us optimize a few key components for weight and manufacturability, and they consistently hit the tolerances we need. Their fast turnaround times have kept our development cycles moving, which is critical in EV work.”
																		

Senior Manufacturing Engineer

EV Systems Supplier

																			“I’m impressed with your quality, expertise, speed, and customer service.”
																		

Professor James F. Antaki, PhD

Carnegie Mellon University

																			“The team at ICOMold continue to provide us with great service. Starting with initial DFM reviews, fast tooling development and quick turn-around times, ICOMold is a partner keeping us on track to deliver quality products to our customers. Thank-you to all the ICOMold team.”
																		

Tim Latham / Project Manager

Litepanels, Inc.

																			“We have been very satisfied with ICO’s performance in every aspect: pricing, delivery, quality, and customer support. It is a pleasure doing business with ICO, and honestly, I wish there were more companies like them.”
																		

Mark Merg / Procurement Manager

Alpha High Theft Solutions

																			“I want to thank you and the rest of the team for the great support. Over the 15 years that I have been working with mold vendors I have never seen such personal attention and such great communication efforts in addressing my concerns on samples. The fact that ICO went the extra step to provide me with a second set of samples at no cost and in two days to improve my texture concerns goes a long way. I know that I have made the right choice going with ICO. I’m looking forward to a long relationship with you and the rest of the ICO team.”
																		

John Doe

Level, LLC

																			“This is a huge milestone for our team. This product is no longer a vision… I received the parts today from ICOMold. They look and function great! I don’t see any reason why we cannot move forward now and order parts for the upcoming proto build.”
																		

Dave Boretti

Schneider Electric

																			“As a small, growing company, we cannot say enough good things about ICOMold. They have been willing and able to adapt to our rapidly changing needs and have helped us get out of a pinch on occasion. Special thanks to Brian and Carla – they have been great to work with!”
																		

Scott

SLight LLC

																			“It has been a genuine pleasure dealing with the ICOMold team. You have been very patient and have been a wealth of helpful information. Your response times to my questions and comments are superb and your answers are specific and to the point. Thanks for your patience and all the time it has taken to get the details worked out.”
																		

Scott Bixler

Polyvance

																			“We are very pleased with ICOMold. Response time is fantastic, customer support is great, and the online group project management tool is very helpful.”
																		

Connie Blevins / Quality Coordinator

Leprecon

																			“I have to say that so far I’ve enjoyed this process – having the customer portal (and your well-detailed DFM reports) makes it very easy to comply with the design requirements.”
																		

Cory Starr

Blaster One

																			“I just wanted to let you know, we have all been very impressed with the quality and turnaround time of our parts. We have used several shops in the past, but so far the quality of ICOMold has been the best we have ever received.”
																		

Gregg Garrett

VEGA

																			“I just want to compliment you and your team how you are managing this project with all of the changes on the fly. Kudos.”
																		

Mark Ezzo / Plastics and Composites Engineer

Materials & Chemistry Network of Excellence

																			“Our SteriPen product must meet the quality standards of a medical device — if it ever malfunctions, people will get sick. Yet it must be economical enough to permit many people to own one. And we need the design flexibility to keep pace with rapidly changing technology. Our production at ICO meets all three challenges.”
																		

Don Snoke / VP of Operations

Hydro-Photon, Inc.

																			“I was very impressed with your company’s ability and willingness to work with a novice in plastics as I am, and work through some design changes. I have learned a lot from you and hope this is a huge success for both of us. Frankly, I did contact two other companies and they acted like they had no time for me!”
																		

Kevin Jensen

Quik-Load

																			“After reaching out to over 20 manufacturers, ICOMold was the only one that was able to take on my project, create the molds and manufacture the parts I needed. What impressed me the most is that they were able to work overtime to meet my demanding deadline and get the parts to me on time.”
																		

Aziz Razakov

Berry Good Bottle

																			“I found it refreshing to work with a company with such a phenomenal online quoting tool. It allowed us to experiment with different materials, quantities, and mold configurations to see the cost impact in real time.”
																		

Mike Yin / Founder

Nunchuck Grips LLC

																			“The parts came in a few days ago and I wanted to thank you and your team on the very impressive quality of the parts. We were thoroughly impressed by the finish and clearness of the parts. Thank you for the great customer service and we are looking forward to using your expertise in future projects.”
																		

Akash Shankar

PMC Smart Solutions

																			“We appreciate the effort you put into making our order smooth. The molded parts are used in our device that makes water safe to drink in areas of the world that do not have access to safe water. Thanks again for everything!”
																		

Sarah Yoder

WaterStep

																			“Fathom brings an open mind to each project with a positive attitude to tailor their processes to meet my needs, from part design to mold build and molding. They work hard to make sure my needs are met with a professional attitude, expertise, on-time delivery and competitive pricing.”
																		

Bob Rohr

RDR Design and Development LLC

																			“With their response time, quotes and communications, Fathom is highly regarded because they are always upfront. They say what they do and do what they say.”
																		

John Doe

Consumer Technology Company

																			“It is a pleasure to work with a company whose personnel are willing and able to think out of their box. With your commitment to staying on the cutting edge of technology, you supply tooling to us that is right on time and works first shot.”
																		

Norman R. Akens

Medical Murray

																			“Quick response time for RFQ, excellent lead time for rushed order and quality parts were manufactured and delivered on-time.”
																		

Manufacturer of Compressed Gas Storage Systems

																			“The workmanship was outstanding – we are over-the-top happy with the unit! The product that arrived at my door far exceeded our expectations, and all on short notice…amazing. Please pass our very best wishes on to everyone on your team who was involved in fast-tracking our prototype. It all started with you and your can-do attitude, Nate. I cannot thank you enough!”
																		

Larry Cole

TerraCube

																			“Fit and finish is great and the parts passed all our regulatory tests. Thank you for all your help and for the role you played helping the factory work through some of the stickier parts of the design.”
																		

Drew Macrae

Linkitz

																			“As a small, growing company, we cannot say enough good things about ICOMold. They have been willing and able to adapt to our rapidly changing needs and have helped us get out of a pinch on occasion.”
																		

M. Nasilevich

Morpho Detection

How Does Compression Molding Work?

01 Mold Design

The design of tools for compression molding are similar to other types of molding: Design for flash by including overflow grooves or a flash design to allow excess material to escape. The mold must have a cavity to form the external shape and a core for the internal shape, with a parting line where they meet.

02 The Compression Molding Process

Measure, weigh and shape the material (called “the charge”) and place it in the lower half of a heated mold cavity. Close the mold and apply pressure, which forces the material to spread evenly throughout the cavity. Heat and pressure are held for a specific time to allow the material to cure or solidify. The mold is opened and the finished part is ejected from the mold, often using an ejector pin.

03 Post-Processing

Compression molded parts often contain flash, which needs to be removed. A secondary curing process may be needed for some materials to fully harden the part and achieve its final properties, especially for thermoset materials. Holes, threads, or other features can be added using CNC machining. Heat staking of inserts and ultrasonic welding are common processes used to join compression molded parts to other components.

Is Compression Molding the Right Choice for my Application?

Advantages

Lower Tooling Cost

Cost is one of the driving factors behind the popularity of compression molding. Compression mold tooling is much cheaper than tooling for a comparable process like injection molding. Unlike injection molding, compression molds do not require the gates and runners.
Cost-Effective for Short Production Runs

The lower tooling and setup costs make compression molding economical for smaller production quantities.
Improved Dimensional Stability

Compression molding avoids the flow and knit lines that can cause defects (common in injection molded parts), leading to greater dimensional stability and lower warping. There’s also less need for post-processing to remove marks left by gating and knit lines.
Strong & Durable Parts

The high pressure and heat of compression molding create dense, solid parts with high structural stability and excellent mechanical properties.
Insert Molding

Compression molding can easily incorporate other materials or components, such as metal inserts, during molding.

Disadvantages

Longer Cycle Times

The process requires extended time for heating and cooling, making it significantly slower than methods like injection molding.
Hard to Automate

Compression molding is less automated than other processes, requiring more manpower for loading material and removing flash, which increases labor costs.
Potential for Defects

Compression molding can be susceptible to defects like voids or air bubbles if the material doesn’t flow evenly.
Limited Complexity

Using compression molding. It’s difficult to produce parts with highly complex or intricate geometries, thin walls or sharp details.
Lower Precision

Compared to other types of molding, compression molding may be subject to dimensional inconsistencies. That means it’s not suitable for applications requiring very tight tolerances.

What Industries Utilize Silicone Molding?

Compression molding is favored by many industries for parts that are large, complex, or require high strength, consistent performance and durability.

Aerospace

Compression molding is commonly used to build structural elements like beams, channels and stringers. They’re often incorporated into satellites and launch vehicles. Seals, o-rings and integrated fasteners are also used in this demanding industry.

Medical

The durability of compression molded parts make them a preferred solution in many types of medical products, including respirator masks and components, prosthetic limb parts, diagnostic equipment housings and implantable devices, such as vascular grafts.

Automotive

Tough, durable compression molded parts are typically used on exterior and interior body panels like fenders and bumpers, engine and under-the-hood components, dashboards and interior trim, and seals and gaskets.

Electrical

Compression molded parts are used in many consumer devices, including appliance housings and control panels, electrical sockets and switches, and insulators for wires and circuit boards.

compression-molding-electrc-socket-chatgpt

Explore Fathom’s Full Range of Manufacturing Equipment

Download our complete machine list for a detailed look at our capabilities across CNC machining, additive, molding, and fabrication.

Download Machine List