Urethane Casting and CNC Parts for Large Medical Equipment Housing Prototypes

Ten prototype housings can be a difficult quantity to source. A development team needs more than ten shells that look alike: openings must align with the mating parts, the painted surfaces must be consistent, and the flexible and machined components must be ready for assembly. This medical equipment project brought those requirements together in one prototype build.

YS Rapid produced ten sets for a U.S. customer. The large exterior shell was made as a one-piece urethane casting from a silicone mold. The project also included CNC machined ABS parts, CNC machined metal components, and molded silicone parts. After casting, the housings were sanded, painted black, and screen printed to the specified design. Tooling, prototype production, painting, and printing took approximately two weeks on this project; international transit was separate.

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Project Specifications of Urethane Casting and CNC Parts for Large Medical Equipment Housing Prototypes

Requirement	Solution
Application	Large medical equipment prototype housing
Batch size	10 sets
Main shell	One-piece urethane casting using a silicone mold
Rigid mating parts	CNC machined ABS and metal parts
Flexible parts	Molded silicone components
Appearance	Sanded and painted black, with screen printed graphics
Scope	Multiple prototype processes, finishing, and assembly support
Production time	Approximately two weeks for tooling, samples, painting, and printing on this project
Export market	United States

Making the Large Shell as One Piece

The housing in the photograph has a long body, recessed areas, several openings, and separate trim pieces. These features matter when planning a silicone mold: the master pattern, mold split, casting removal, and access for finishing all affect how a full-size shell can be reproduced. For this project, the principal shell was cast as one piece rather than assembled from several cosmetic panels.

Urethane casting, also called vacuum casting or polyurethane casting, is suited to producing a short run from a master pattern and silicone mold. For ten matching housings, it provided a practical route to repeated exterior shells without committing to an injection mold at the prototype stage. A one-piece approach still requires a geometry review; size, undercuts, wall thickness, and surface requirements determine whether a particular enclosure can be cast this way.

The cast housing material should be specified for its actual prototype use. Urethane resins can be chosen to resemble a target plastic in appearance or selected properties, but a cast urethane shell is not identical to an injection molded ABS part. We discuss any critical mechanical, thermal, or testing requirements before recommending a resin.

CNC Machining, Silicone Parts, and a Coordinated Finish

The outer housing was only one part of the deliverable. ABS components were CNC machined where the project called for that material, while the metal fittings and other precision parts were also made by CNC machining. The flexible silicone components were produced separately using molds. These processes were coordinated around the same ten-set assembly, allowing the customer to source the matching parts together.

Surface preparation followed the casting work. Sanding helped prepare the visible shell surfaces for black paint, and screen printing added the specified markings. For a prototype that will be assembled and reviewed, finish planning has to consider the interfaces as well as the appearance: coating on a mating surface or around a hole can affect how a part fits. Assembly support brought the cast, machined, and silicone components together according to the customer's requirements.

What We Review Before Quoting a Multi-Part Prototype

An engineer sourcing a medical equipment housing needs a clear answer on the complete build. YS Rapid reviews the 3D models and available drawings, quantity by part number, overall housing dimensions, openings and mating interfaces, target material properties, cosmetic requirements, and whether the requested deliverable is loose parts or assembled sets. We then identify which parts fit urethane casting, which need CNC prototype machining, and which require separate silicone molding.

That review is especially important for a large one-piece housing. We check casting feasibility and the proposed finish before committing to a schedule. The approximately two-week timeline described here is the result of this particular project, not a fixed lead time for every enclosure; geometry, revision status, finishing scope, and assembly complexity can change the plan.

These are prototype components manufactured to the agreed specifications. If the equipment has application-specific cleaning, material, or validation requirements, include them in the RFQ so they can be reviewed explicitly.

Request a Quote for Medical Equipment Prototypes

Need a small batch of equipment housings together with CNC parts and flexible components? Send YS Rapid the CAD files, drawings, quantity, finish and printing requirements, and an assembly list. We can assess the one-piece casting approach and propose a coordinated plan for prototypes, finishing, and assembly.

Get in Touch With YS Rapid

Upload your 3D and 2D drawings to us, and a quotation will be provided to you within 24 hours. Also our sales engineer will contact you directly regarding your rapid prototype and cnc machinery parts quote to ensure you have received the quotation and to answer your questions.