Material selection in product design shapes almost everything about a product: how it looks and feels, how strong it is, how it is manufactured, and how much it costs. Choosing the wrong material can force a redesign late in development, so it pays to think about it early. Our product design team in Los Angeles helps inventors and companies narrow down materials before CAD is finalized. Here is a practical overview.
Start with Requirements, Not Materials
Before picking a material, list what the part must do:
- Mechanical loads: Will it bend, carry weight, or take impacts?
- Environment: Heat, cold, sunlight, moisture, chemicals, or outdoor exposure?
- Appearance: Glossy, matte, clear, textured, colored, or metallic?
- Feel: Rigid, soft-touch, flexible, or rubbery?
- Regulations: Food contact, children’s products, or medical use may require specific certified grades.
- Volume and budget: A part made 100 times and one made 100,000 times may call for very different materials and processes.
Those answers quickly rule materials in or out.
Common Plastics in Product Design
ABS
Tough, easy to mold, paints and finishes well. Common in housings, enclosures, and consumer electronics.
Polycarbonate (PC)
Very impact resistant and available in clear grades. Used for protective covers, lenses, and rugged housings.
PC/ABS blends
Combine the toughness of polycarbonate with the processability of ABS. Popular for electronics enclosures.
Polypropylene (PP)
Lightweight, chemical resistant, and excellent for living hinges. Common in containers, caps, and household products.
Nylon (PA)
Strong, wear resistant, and often glass-filled for added stiffness. Used in gears, clips, brackets, and mechanical parts.
Acetal (POM, Delrin)
Low friction and dimensionally stable. Great for gears, bushings, and precision moving parts.
Metals in Product Design
- Aluminum: light, strong, and easy to machine; anodizing adds color and protection.
- Stainless steel: corrosion resistant and durable; heavier and slower to machine.
- Steel: strong and inexpensive; usually needs coating or plating to prevent rust.
- Zinc and aluminum die-cast alloys: good for high-volume metal parts with complex shapes.
- Brass: attractive and easy to machine; used for fittings, hardware, and decorative parts.
Elastomers and Soft-Touch Materials
Silicone, TPE, and TPU provide grip, sealing, cushioning, and flexibility. They are used for gaskets, seals, buttons, grips, and wearable straps. Overmolding a soft material onto a rigid part creates a comfortable, premium feel.
How Manufacturing Process Affects Material Choice
Material and process go hand in hand. Injection molding supports thousands of plastic grades, CNC machining favors metals and machinable plastics, sheet metal requires formable alloys, and 3D printing has its own material set. A design intended for molding should be prototyped in a material that behaves similarly, even if the prototype is printed.
Cost and Availability
Commodity plastics like PP and ABS are inexpensive and widely available. Engineering plastics and specialty alloys cost more and may have longer lead times. Over-specifying a material is a common way products become more expensive than they need to be.
Prototype and Test
The best way to confirm a material choice is to test it. We often print or machine prototypes in candidate materials, then compare stiffness, feel, and durability side by side before finalizing.
Get Material Guidance in Los Angeles
eCadCam has more than 22 years of experience taking products from concept to manufacturing. Visit us at 4212 San Fernando Rd, Glendale, CA 91204, call 213.489.1173, or request a quote to discuss your design.