Need
Impeller housing for a board under water pressure and strict technical demands
Awake is a brand that has redefined surfing, bringing it into the 21st century — with serious acceleration. Their electric boards move at breathtaking speeds, and every component works under heavy mechanical and environmental loads. One such component is the impeller housing — a key part protecting the board’s internal drive, exposed to constant contact with water, vibration, and impacts.
Until now, this element was machined from aluminum on five-axis CNC equipment. That approach delivered high quality, but as sales volumes grew it became the production bottleneck — driving up costs and lead times. That’s when Awake’s engineers came to 3DForce with a question: can we make the same component faster, cheaper, and with equally high performance?
From day one the project was demanding — in both material and design. The housing couldn’t be merely “good enough.” It had to work reliably in extreme conditions — not for a moment, but throughout the product’s lifecycle. The chosen solution also had to meet a strict set of requirements. We focused on ultra-high mechanical strength — the housing is exposed to direct hits from rocks, seabed, stones, or floating debris. The impeller is powered electrically, which introduced a V-0 flammability requirement. User safety is a priority in every project we take on. Comfort matters too. The board must be light, dynamic, and well-balanced, where every gram counts — so we prioritized weight reduction at every step.
The housing — just like the entire board and its rider — operates in contact with fresh and salt water, UV radiation, temperature swings, and cleaning chemicals. We knew an ordinary compound wouldn’t deliver the environmental resistance required, so we addressed this at the material-selection stage. None of these factors could compromise dimensional stability — the mold must hold geometry and seal integrity regardless of humidity, temperature, loads, or time. We committed to high precision — the project calls for very tight tolerances and accurate fits, including threads and mounting features.
The Awake team knew that making such a part by injection molding demands not only material expertise, but deep processing know-how. This wasn’t a project for everyone. That’s why it landed with us — and we handled every requirement with maximum care.
01
Extreme operating conditions
The impeller housing doesn’t “sit in a garage.” Salt water, UV exposure, frequent temperature changes, vibration, and dynamic impacts — that’s a typical day on the water for this part. The material had to withstand all of it — without micro-cracks or warpage.
02
Lower cost and shorter production cycle
Aluminum machining delivers great quality, but it’s expensive, slow, and hard to scale. Moving to injection molding significantly reduces unit cost and enables faster deliveries — which was crucial for Awake’s international expansion.
03
Premium polymer and mold protection
We proposed PPS — a polymer whose properties can compete with metal. But PPS isn’t for everyone. With 60% glass fiber, it abrades the mold like sandpaper. The mold therefore required protective coatings and an active heating system. The project demanded not only knowledge, but the right technological setup.
04
No-compromise strength and precision
The mold design and part geometry had to ensure perfect fill, no sink marks, a homogeneous material structure, and faithful reproduction of all functional details. High strength, excellent surface quality, precise threads and fits — everything had to be perfect in every production run.
Solution
A mold for the summer — and for years to come
To meet Awake’s needs, the 3DForce team designed and built an injection mold enabling production of the impeller housing from one of the most demanding materials to process: Fortron® PPS. We know how much effort clients invest in their products — from aerodynamics to aesthetics, from drive train to every thread. And we also know injection molding can sometimes flip those visions upside down. Our goal was to design a mold that met all technical requirements, while minimizing visual compromises.
Like most of our favorite projects, this one started with a challenge. Material selection, operating conditions, part geometry, mold wear risks — each of these could put off a less experienced team. For us, it was another technical puzzle. First we analyzed the application and environmental requirements. Based on that, we shortlisted advanced engineering polymers, comparing properties, limitations, cost, and availability. Samples went to both the Polish and Swedish Ride Awake teams. The decision was quick: Fortron® PPS. It combines resistance to high temperature, salt water, UV, and chemicals, while maintaining exceptional dimensional stability and meeting UL 94 V-0 without additives. Crucially for impeller strength, the compound can be reinforced with up to 60% glass fiber. PPS is a special-mission polymer; it’s not friendly to molds and is somewhat temperamental in processing. It requires machines and tooling designed for high temperatures (320–340 °C), precise venting, and materials resistant to severe abrasion.
Fortunately, our team and machine park were ready. We ran the project on our newest Engel injection molding machine, equipped with a hardened plasticizing unit, iQ Melt Control systems, and active mold heating with full thermal insulation.
The mold itself was designed for the material’s extreme parameters, low flow index, and the need to completely fill the cavity without shorts or burns. We used H13 steel with an additional protective coating, a precise ejector layout, and an optimized venting system — all to ensure every single impeller meets the highest standard. We share more on processing PPS at the end of this article.
Experience tells us that polymer choice affects not only part properties, but also mold cost and longevity. In a previous project, the client planned to use PVC-U — chemically resistant, but very aggressive to machines and molds. After consultation we suggested an alternative: glass-fiber-reinforced polypropylene. The result: mold cost down 50%, part cost down 20%, with no loss in final quality. We applied the same mindset here. To us, a mold isn’t just a chunk of metal. It’s an investment that must pay back — financially, in quality, and operationally.
