Plastic Injection Moulding: The Key Variables that Determine the Cost of a Mould

Are you looking for a plastic injection moulder for your plastic manufacturing project? One of the questions that you may have in mind is "How much will the injection mould cost?" The injection mould accounts for one of the greatest expenses in upfront manufacturing costs; therefore, it is essential to understand the factors that go into determining the cost. This way, you can easily compare the quotes from different injection moulders and choose the most appropriate for your budget. Here are some of the key variables that will affect the cost of a plastic injection mould.

Cost of mould base

The mould base is a general name for the case that holds the mould cavities, inserts and other components together. It also has the role of directly injecting the mould into the plastic injection moulding machine. The mould bases come in standard sizes and are custom machined according to the specifications of your project. The cost of the base will be determined by the size of the mould and the type of steel used. For this reason, it is difficult to control the cost of the mould base. However, you can compare the quotes from different injection moulders and settle on the most reasonable price.

Number of cavities

The number of cavitations made on the mould contributes to the overall cost of the plastic injection mould Ideally, fewer cavities will require less machining work, and this will translates into fewer costs. If the project requires more cavities on the mould, you will end up paying more. However, more cavitations are likely to maintain a high level of productivity in production; therefore, it is worth the cost in the long term.

Choose an injection moulder who creates one mould for every part as opposed to a family mould Family moulds are moulds that are made with various cavities for an assortment of plastic parts. They often produce low-quality parts and can lead to increased production downtime due to maintenance problems.

Core machining tool

The type of steel used in machining is critical to determining the quality of the part. It will also impact the cost of production. The most common types of steel are hardened and pre-hardened steel. Moulds made from hardened steel last longest and have a long production life. However, they are more expensive to machine as compared pre-hardened steel moulds Choosing the wrong steel tool can cause the core or cavity to wear out prematurely; therefore, it is worth going for hardened steel which promises quality and durability.

By understanding these factors that determine the cost of an injection mould, you can be able to compare quotes from various companies for your future plastic manufacturing projects.

 


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