About a week ago, a team of engineers and fishing enthusiasts debuted a new product on Kickstarter with modest expectations. It's understandable; a little more than 40% of projects launched on the crowdfunding platform reach their funding goals, and about 15% fail to raise a single dollar.
So, when Saltgator launched the world's first desktop softgel injection molding machine, the Saltgator, it had a modest goal of raising $15,000.
In the first seven days, the company raised more than $300,000, more than 2,000% of its initial goal, and it has about 37 days left to go.
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The team developed Saltgator to bring industrial-quality soft plastic molding to desktops, workshops, and classrooms. The company says that, until now, soft plastic fabrication has been limited to unsafe DIY setups or expensive industrial systems. Saltgator aims to combine professional performance, compact design, and safe operation into one simple-to-use device, and it looks impressive.
The Saltgator heats, mixes, injects, and even recycles soft plastics using an enclosed, cool-touch design. The entire process, from heating to demolding, takes less than 15 minutes, with no exposed heat sources, fumes, or special ventilation required — the fumes are a big one. The company says that its device has a sealed heating system and advanced insulation to ensure user safety.
The idea began with a DIY fail. They wanted to make homemade fishing lures, and they #nailedit. One overheated microwave experiment and a melted plastic disaster later, the team realized there was no safe or efficient solution for making soft plastic parts at home.
The small team of engineers, from Texas and Hong Kong, started building a prototype that would become Saltgator. While it sounds like Hollywood schlock, I actually Googled it to make sure it wasn't some direct-to-streaming disaster; the team named it "Saltgator" after seeing a gator effortlessly cut through salt and freshwater. Company co-founder Alex Kwok saw it as a symbol of power, adaptability, and precision.
Smaller than your coffee maker, it's about 325 mm x 156 mm x 140 mm (12.8" x 6.14" x 5.51"). It takes 10 minutes to heat the material, BASF-certified, EU- and U.S.-compliant plasticizers, and 3 minutes to solidify in a 3D-printed mold. Users can even remelt and reuse leftover or damaged materials to prevent waste.
The company believes Saltgator could redefine accessibility in soft plastic molding, and nearly 1,200 backers agree with them, or are at least willing to find out.
Saltgator will retail for $399, but as of press time, the company is still offering a host of early adoptor rates.
One industry observer said, "Neat tech. Worth a scratch at that price if you had a 3D printer and knew how to design the molds."
Let's just hope it doesn't become the next Tiko 3D printer or Zano drone.
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