What to Expect During Your First Custom Extrusion Project

Starting your first custom plastic extrusion project can feel like a big step–especially if you’re transitioning from off-the-shelf components or you’re developing a brand-new product. The good news? A well-structured extrusion process gives you more control over material performance, dimensional accuracy, long-term cost efficiency, and overall manufacturability. 

Here’s what you can expect from start to finish when partnering on a custom extrusion project.

Initial Consultation: Defining Your Requirements

Every successful extrusion project begins with a detailed consultation. During this phase, you’ll discuss the functional purpose of your part, performance expectations, physical environment, and any challenges you’re currently facing with standard components.

Key considerations often include:

• Shape, size, and wall thickness
• Material options and performance requirements
• Tolerances and dimensional precision
• Regulatory needs (e.g., food-grade, UV-resistant, chemical-resistant)
• Expected volumes and production timelines

The goal is to gather the technical information needed to determine the right materials, tooling design, and extrusion method.

Material Selection: Balancing Performance and Cost

Choosing the correct polymer is critical. Depending on your application, you may need flexibility, rigidity, impact resistance, chemical resistance, or thermal stability. This stage helps narrow down the best material family.

You’ll also discuss additional requirements such as:

• Color matching
• Additives for UV stabilization or flame resistance
• Surface finish considerations

Material selection affects weight, durability, cost, and long-term performance, so this phase ensures your design and polymer work together.

Tooling & Die Design: Bringing Your Vision to Life

Once specifications are finalized, the next step is designing and machining the extrusion tooling. This includes creating a custom die, calibration fixtures, and downstream equipment setup.

CAD modeling and engineering analysis help ensure the part will extrude smoothly, maintain dimensional stability, and meet tolerance expectations. Tooling is a one-time investment that allows consistent, repeatable production, whether you’re running a short prototype series or scaling up to high-volume manufacturing.

Production: Consistent Output at Scale

Once approved, your part moves into regular production. This includes:

• Precise temperature-controlled extrusion
• Inline quality checks
• Cut-to-length operations
• Packaging and delivery tailored to your workflow

Your extrusion provider will also monitor factors like line speed, cooling rates, and tolerances to ensure every foot of material meets your specs.

Ongoing Support and Optimization

A great extrusion partner doesn’t stop at production. You can expect support with design improvements, secondary operations, assembly considerations, and scaling to larger runs as your product evolves.

Custom Extrusion with Inplex

Looking for quality custom extrusion products and services? Inplex is one of the leading custom extrusion services in the US and has almost 60 years of experience. We pride ourselves on our ability to put the right talent and technology in place to perform the best possible job for our clients.

We own a 42,000 sq. ft. facility in Naperville, Illinois, that is temperature-controlled and features an environmentally friendly closed-loop water cooling system. If you have specific needs or questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!