Plastic Moulding Cost - How to get an accurate plastic moulding & mould tool quote fast !

Getting an accurate quote for a new plastic moulding can be complicated. Small changes may have a huge impact on the projected costs. For a fast and accurate plastic moulding & mould tool quote, tell your plastic moulder the following:

1. How big it is !

We quite often get drawings without sizes specified. Prevent a game of e-mail ping-pong by giving your moulder a good idea of the size of the plastic moulding - it determines:

• the cost of material for the plastic moulding tool
• the machining time & labour costs for the mould tool
• the size of the injection moulding machine required (bigger=more energy=more expensive)
• and simply the amount of plastic material required to make the product.

2. How many you need.

Doubling of the quantity does not simply mean halving the price per moulding. You might make extra savings by having a multi-impression mould tool made. This is a larger initial investment but results in large savings per part for long runs. Also, plastic material is much cheaper when bought in larger batches. Your plastic moulder needs to rework the prices for each quantity, so try to be as realistic as possible to get your quote faster.

3. The plastic material it needs to be made of.

UV resistant? Conductive? Functional at high or low temperatures? Fire retardant? A specific colour or transparency?

 

Special properties increase the material price, but they can also affect the price of the mould tool, as some materials can only be injection moulded in a steel mould tool which is - you've guessed it - more expensive than an aluminium mould tool. Have a look at our steel vs alloy comparison. Are the special properties you've specified absolutely necessary? Don't select a more complicated material than is necessary for the plastic part to do its job, as this can increase the moulding cost exponentially. Check our plastic moulding material guide.

4. Was the product designed for the injection moulding process?

The design of a plastic product is not the same as the design of a plastic mould tool. Plastic mould tool design needs draft angles and radii and it shouldn't have locked-in features. If the design isn't right, the quote may be badly wrong ! You can read up on common design pitfalls here, or make use of our excellent plastic product design service.

 

We have a lot more plastic moulding advice for you to explore, or if you're ready to work with us to get the best mouldings, just