RBI Hide Boxes VS Vivarium Electronics?

[Reinz]

I will tell you EXACTLYwhat they did, I make stamping dies and plastic injection molds for a living. These hide boxes are created via a plastic injection mold. As millions of parts are created and the die requires polishing several times, the mold wears out and requires a new cavity and core (which are the male and female halves of the die that create the part). The die was worn out and they remachined these halves with a closer tolerance in order to save plastic costs and prolong the life of the die.....welcome to the world of cheap, chinese mold making.

This is a section view of an injection mold



The little circular bits of plastic people are talking about are "flash" or leftover material that flows out of the gate ( they direct area where plastic flows out to create the part. Crappy tolerances and poor die building creates this.

I couldn't tell you how many Chinese molds I have worked on over the years and the build quality is amazingly poor. Tolerances and quality go out the window in order to save money. If I had the time I would make my own molds and produce hides that I guarantee would last a lifetime.

Makes sense to me Kevin!

[Reinz]

Weird part is mine dont have any flashing on them. I think Calm got ones made by drunk chinese on a friday at 4:50 PM

That same drunk made my first set of hides!

[CALM Pythons]

Wow thank everybody. Im really glad everyone responded. Sometimes Im afraid Im getting so OCD that my thoughts aren't worth a reply hahahaha. Every comment made sense and I believe RBI is going through different Chinese manufacturers or the same manufacturer was just having issues.. Bottom line on the RBI site it talks about the "New improved" injection mold hides and they are not Improved at all. The same cost but they weigh much less on the scale. Its a shame this happens in ALL business's. Im going to call today and see if there is any way to get a couple older ones. (i doubt thats possible). Id rather Pay More for older ones than get junk for the same price. Im not sure why companies dont understand this. I always offer 2 ways to do a driveway for people. The Right Way and the Cheap way.. Wish there were product choices as id always spend more to get quality.
These New Hides remind me of the New Cheap Aluminum Ford Truck Beds hahahahahahaha.



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[CALM Pythons]

This is how my old ones look. They are over 10 years old. No warping. Well made and sturdy and far more attractive then those cheap looking slick ones I've gotten recently...


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Those look Awesome Lucy!!! See why cant we have that choice to spend more for quality?


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[CALM Pythons]

Vivarium Electronics is RBI but sounds like their manufacturer in China is messing up the forming process. Not sure if Pangea is using the same factory as RBI but might want to give them a try as they are the same structure but might just now be resold by pangea so might not work.

The slickness is a non stick lubricant used in the injection molding process and the warping is due to removing the product from the form too quick and not letting the structure align properly. This is 100& due to the factory that RBI is outsourcing them from. You can report this to them if you want.

Got the stickiness off. It was like they sprayed PAM on them like you said.
I see Pangea has some on Amazon. Im thinking that they are the same. For whatever reason some are Stamped VE & some aren't. Maybe because some are meant for other distributers to sell ? Who knows. Anyways they have chinsed out on them. They're flimsy, badly molded & light as a feather. Time to look around and try something else.
I'll call today & return them depending on their Policy. Its not worth me loosing $7.99 shipping plus my cost shipping them back. If thats the case I just wont buy from them anymore.


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[CALM Pythons]

Just like Reinz said, mine got unslicked after washing them. They do warp but they dont smell like anything. And as a side note, the jumbo hides are different than the smaller ones. They are a textured plastic on the outside and smooth on the inside. Other than having the warping issue, i have never had a problem with them.

Got the sticky off with a hard scrub and diah soap.
These are all inconsistent it seams.. Also like Reinz said my new Jumbos are smooth and thin just like these new Larges. My old Jumbos are heavy with great edges. Everything I have from May 2017 and before is well made..


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[CALM Pythons]

Anyone familiar with this distributor? Its in Pakistan, these hides look Square like RBI used to be.. Square meaning strait up and down not the New wide on bottom tapering in towards the top.



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[Sauzo]

Anyone familiar with this distributor? Its in Pakistan, these hides look Square like RBI used to be.. Square meaning strait up and down not the New wide on bottom tapering in towards the top.



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Order them and let us know if they suck lol.

[CALM Pythons]

Order them and let us know if they suck lol.

Thats what I'll do. Their FB has great info also. Looks like real Herp Products and found Zoo people commenting with products they bought etc...
Heres a link. I'll order a couple and give a review. Cool colored Snake Hooks, Tongs and all.
http://www.petscrafts.com


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[Sauzo]

Haha i clicked the link and firs thing i saw was the cat pic and i thought, 'wtf they sell FT cats!!??'. Then i read 'Cat Supplies' LOL.

So either drunk arabs or drunk chinese making your hides. Next thing you know, Nike is going to start selling hide boxes for snakes from manufacturing in South America lol. Ok thats a bad joke...sorry :p