An update from this week's work. I spent the week contacting RIM (reaction injection molding) shops. After reviewing 20 shops, only finding 7 suitable to contact, hearing back from 5; 3 of them confirmed my suspicion that RIM molding was not for this project.

RIM uses urethane as a material. Some say it comes in translucent, some said it didn't. But either way, the polycarbonate offered by injection molders is apparently much more suitable for the project.

A real bummer, because the RIM process seemed less expensive than injection molding. Unfortunately, it seemed to be more widely used for large flat-ish components like car details and ATM machine enclosures.

Next week as the injection molding quotes roll in, I'll be contacting shops that offer Rapid Prototyping and give hand casters another try. Might as well make a tool that's only good for a few thousand sets if that's all that will be made.