About how to solve the cost of injection mold

Date: 2022-9-15

Factors affecting the cost of injection molds:

tool material

The manufacture of custom injection molds can sometimes be very expensive, and one of the key points is the choice of tool material. The simple fact is that high-end steel can be dozens of times more expensive than regular steel, which is more than double the price of aluminum. This is due to the much slower machining process required for steel and the slower manual table machining process that completes the mold before forming. Tool steel is often required for high-volume projects (millions of components) because of its wear resistance, which explains why higher-priced molds cost more production cycles.

But that doesn’t mean steel is always better. Given the advancements in aluminum alloys, higher grades of aluminum such as QC-7, QC-10 or aircraft-grade aluminum close the gap between the durability of steel and aluminum, while retaining the cost and machinability advantages of aluminum. Today, aluminum molds can produce hundreds of thousands of parts while maintaining precision and surface finish. Additionally, aluminum tools can be coated or designed with steel inserts for high wear areas of the tool when the molded part requires a highly abrasive material.

In terms of the molding process itself, aluminum tooling can provide faster molding cycles because it dissipates heat better, reducing the longest portion of the molding cycle. Shorter cycle times equate to lower part prices.

Cavities – Annual production will determine the number of cavities in the mold. Generally speaking, the cost of multi-cavity molds is several times that of single-cavity molds. At the same time, the additional cost of these tools will be offset by higher productivity and lower unit product prices. Our term is to help you find the best tooling solution, and our quotes usually include several options for you to decide.

Undercuts – While we can use various techniques to avoid undercuts, these make the mold more complex and more expensive. So sometimes, if there are no special cosmetic needs, our engineering team will evaluate and provide you with the most economical solution.

Insert and Overmolding – Insert Injection molding is the process of forming plastic parts around a different type of material, be it metal or just another plastic. This is usually done using simple metal objects such as nuts or threaded rods. It’s a day job at FutureMold, not to mention the dozens of sensor molds we’ve made for BOSCH for over 10 years. It is important to discuss project goals with our sales engineers to ensure that we consider the needs of the end application when producing parts with these capabilities, whether prototype or production, to minimize cost impact, especially when larger batches are required. case.

Finishes – FutureMold offers a variety of finishes from mirror polished to fine textured. In general, finer finishes are more expensive because of the extra labor and time required to get the best finish, but fine finishes are all worth it. Textures are also a great way to cover up the huge flaws of some special designs.