Want to save time & money on your injection molding project? Do this
Even with the emergence of 3D printing as a viable production quantity solution, for most parts once you get up to certain quantity or if you need repeat-ability because of regulatory or other concerns then you are probably still going to look at injection molding.
Injection molding still has the edge where repeat-ability and larger quantities are concerned. Injection molding has the largest selection of materials available and offers the widest choice in terms of colour and surface finish. For most things made out of plastic the initial investment of the tooling quickly pays for itself once you get up in to the hundreds. There are also industries and applications where injection molding is still the only option due to the requirements of the project materials.
One of the major factors in any injection molding project is the tooling or molds it takes to make the parts. This initial investment is often a substantial part of the cost of any project, especially if you have many different parts all of which need tools.
So what can you do to make sure you are getting the best possible lead time and prices for your tooling?
Aside from negotiating with your supplier and shopping around there are a number of product based decisions or changes which can impact the cost of your mold tool.
Tolerances – only tolerance the features where it is absolutely essential and then try to keep them as relaxed as possible
Undercuts - get rid of them if you can, they make your tool more complicated and with complication comes added time and costs
Material – choose less abrasive materials like PP or ABS where possible
Look at China – even with increasing costs of living China is still a fast and inexpensive option for good quality tooling and parts
Surface finish – the higher quality surface finish you need the longer and more expensive the tool is going to be to produce
Family molds – if possible design parts to be made out of the same materials, this means they can be done in family tools, which could also help keep costs down
CNC vs EDM - if you can design the part so the corresponding mold does not need excessive EDM and can be majority CNC machined, this will also keep costs and time down
If you want a free project review and DFM for your injection molding project get in touch with us [email protected]
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