China's plastic injection molding cost is much cheaper than of the USA or Europe. Sometimes, for the same quality, the cost generally will be only 50%. Usually, the injection mold is the most expensive part of the project, and can dramatically increase costs for small part runs. With such a competitive price from China, it can totally enhance your product market competitiveness.
For more china complex injection moldsinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.
If you are looking for a China plastic injection molding manufacturer to make your plastic molding parts, your first question was likely How much does the China injection molding cost to make my product? Is there any way to lower the mold cost in China?
The larger the part size is, the larger the mold size is, and needs more mold steel, mold cost will increase significantly.
The more complex part will require a more complex mold structure, which then leads to more mold costs. Reduce needless surfaces and corners or features as much as possible, which will save huge mold costs.
The plastic mold and injection molding parts costs will directly influence whether your project goes smoothly and success or failure. When you start to design a plastic part for injection molding, many factors you should consider, such as part complexity, part size, part surface, part material, mold cavity number, and production volume, will affect the price tremendously.
One cavity mold needs less time and process than multiple cavities mold (also called family mold), which will reduce mold cost, but rise the part unit price. If your production volume is small, then one cavity mold is enough; if the volume is large, you could consider multiple cavities mold.
The material cost will vary according to the type and quality of plastic you use. For example, if you choose high-cost fiberglass filler material, the mold material needs hardened steel, which also will increase the cost.
An attractive surface finish will add more processing cost and time, if the part surface is not very critical or the plastic part is invisible in the assembly product, you can choose a lower-level finish, such as SPI Finish B-3 or lower C grade.
3. How to Reduce the Plastic Injection Molding Cost in China
The best way to reduce the plastic injection molding cost in China is to find a professional plastic injection molding manufacturer. With their help, you don't need to know so many skills to reduce the cost, they will do it for you.
However, finding a reliable plastic part supplier is not an easy thing, you can consider the following tips to reduce your plastic injection molding.
1) Save Cost From the Design
A professional plastic injection mold manufacturer knows well how to control the cost from the design stage. It is a very important skill because the design concept can determine the cost of the whole project.
The plastic injection mold manufacturer usually needs to hold a meeting in the early stage, it should consider the injection molding production, product assembly, and then find the best reasonable design. Engineers will design the mold according to this scheme, which can reduce a lot of costs.
2) One-stop Injection Molding Service
One-stop injection molding service includes mold design and manufacturing, product injection molding processing, plastic shell surface treatment (spray, screen printing, etc.), and other one-stop outsourcing services.
Why do so many plastic injection molding factories emphasize one-stop injection molding services? Because it can not only reduce the plastic injection molding cost but also save a lot of time.
One-stop injection molding service can improve production efficiency greatly. The factory with one-stop service is also very professional and has enough strength to provide you with a better service.
3) Sample Test
A sample test is a must before you start your plastic parts mass production. You should require the injection molding factory to provide the proofing services. This process can tell you whether the molding factory's production quality is good or not.
If the sample quality is poor, the next mass production goods are even worse. To avoid unnecessary loss, a sample test is the first thing you should do before you start your project.
4. Cost Estimating methods for plastic injection molding
Of course, we couldn't totally rely on the plastic injection molding manufacturer to give us the price. We can use some methods to estimate the plastic injection molding cost. Here are some common methods to estimate the plastic mold parts cost.
1) Feature-based cost estimate
This feature-based cost estimation tool is suitable for plastic molding in production quantities (more than 10,000 pieces). Since it has a smaller impact on the cost of each component, more durable and expensive tools can be used. The material costs are estimated based on the geometry of the part, and current material prices are used.
In order to reduce production costs, a compatible injection molding machine was selected from a database of more than 50 machines, and the cycle time was estimated based on the part geometry, material properties, and machine specifications.
Are you interested in learning more about auto parts type moulds? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!
For the mold cost, use the standard mold size and mold category to select the appropriate mold base, and estimate the required mold processing based on the geometry of the part and other user specifications. These three costs (materials, production, and molds) are calculated for 4 different cavity arrangements (1, 2, 4, and 8 cavities) and provide the most cost-effective option.
2) Low-volume injection molding cost estimate
This feature-based cost estimation tool is suitable for injection molding in small batches (less than 10,000 units). Because of the great impact on the cost of each part, the rapid tool method (high-speed processing of 104 molds) is used to create molds. Material costs are estimated based on the geometry of the part, and current material prices are used. In order to reduce production costs, a compatible injection molding machine was selected from a database of more than 50 machines, and the cycle time was estimated based on the part geometry, material properties, and machine specifications.
For the cost of plastic molds, use the standard mold size to select the appropriate mold base, and estimate the required mold processing based on the geometry of the part and other user specifications. These three costs (materials, production, and molds) are calculated for 4 different cavity arrangements (1, 2, 4, and 8 cavities) and provide the most cost-effective option.
3) Standard estimate
This standard injection molding cost estimator does not require any part geometry but requires more input of process parameters to calculate a more accurate estimate. Material costs are estimated based on the number of parts and runners, and an up-to-date material database containing pricing, and customizable process parameters. For production costs, cycle time, as well as machine rate and labor rate must be specified. After adding mold cost, a detailed cost breakdown of material, production and mold costs is provided.
4) Plastic mold cost estimate
This feature-based cost estimator calculates the mold cost for plastic molding. According to the geometric shape of the part and the requirements of the mold, such as the number of cavities, use the standard mold size to select the appropriate mold base. The required mold processing is for the selected SPI mold type and the rapid plastic mold method can be selected for 104 types of molds or low-volume products.
5. China Plastic Injection Molding Cost FAQ
Here are some problems that our injection mold buyers faced:
1) Is 3d printing cheaper than injection molding?
If mass production is required, traditional molding methods such as injection molding are inseparable. Just need a separate product or sample, try 3D printing.
2) Is a small injection mold cheaper than a large injection mold?
The injection mold price is not only determined by the size of the product, but also according to the complexity of the structure of the product. Small injection mold requires higher accuracy, so the cost of production may be not cheap.
3) How do you know if you have got a good price for your plastic injection molding?
Plastic injection molding is a very competitive industry, there is no standard price at present. To win the customers, some plastic injection molding factories even don't add any profits to the price, only add some processing charges.
Holly plastic has a client who needs a plastic mold for e-cigarettes, before contacting us, they worked with a plastic injection molding supplier in Dongguan. Because using poor material, their mold suction holes are easy to burst.
The price was nearly double that of the first supplier, and it really scared the customer. Because we need to use food-grade material to make this mold, this material will not deform at a temperature of 80 degrees, and it is a special non-toxic material. The client finally agreed to our offer, we finish this project together successfully. So you see, the price is not the only thing we need to consider!
4) Can I choose a small plastic injection molding factory in China as my partner?
In China, especially in Guangdong and Zhejiang, there are many small plastic injection molding factories, some of which can not only give you a great price but also guarantee quality. However, small may not mean cheap, it also means poor quality. Scientific team management can help small plastic mold factories lower the cost and improve the quality, if you find a professional engineering team, a small factory will help you save a lot of money and time.
Maybe you're designing a snap-together case for some medical components, or two interlocking halves of a portable radio. Why build two mating parts when you can make one? Redesign the snaps so that the halves can be fit together from either direction, thus building a so-called 'universal' part. Only one mold is needed, saving production expenses up front. And you can now mold twice as many of one part, instead of half the quantities of two.
It is relatively easy to remove metal from an existing metal mold. Adding metal, on the other hand, can be difficult or, for all practical purposes, impossible with rapid injection molding. To look at this from the part perspective, you can add plastic, but you can't take it away. Designing with this in mind is called 'metal safe.'
Some injection-molded parts go through multiple iterations until a final, workable design emerges. Instead of purchasing a new mold for every revision, a little clever planning will allow the same mold to be used multiple times. Starting with the smallest, most basic part design, mold as many pieces as needed, then re-machine the mold to include additional part features, or a larger, taller version of the same part, and mold again. This is not an exact science, but given the right part, this re-use approach can save dollars on tooling development.
Every quote for an injection-molded part at Protolabs is accompanied by a free design for manufacturability (DFM) analysis. This identifies potential problem areas, or opportunities for design improvement. Insufficient draft angles, 'un-machinable' features, impossible geometries'these are just a few examples in which part designs can and should be improved before clicking the 'accept' button. Be sure to review these suggestions thoroughly, and contact an applications engineer at Protolabs with any design-related questions.
Maybe you are after a higher volume of parts? You can still achieve high volumes using aluminum tooling with two-, four-, or eight-cavity molds depending on size and part geometry that can reduce your piece part price, although this would impact your tooling costs.
Got a family of parts that all fit together? How about multiple molding projects at one time? There's no reason to build a mold for each individual part, provided A) everything is made of the same plastic, B) each part is roughly the same size (e.g., have similar processing times), and C) can all be squeezed into the same cavity, while still allowing for proper mold functioning.
In addition, maybe you can join some of those parts with a living hinge? This method is a great way, for example, to mold two halves of a clamshell-style container. These parts would otherwise need a pin-type assembly to open and close. The only caveat here is that a flexible and tough material must be used, such as polypropylene (PP).
Still another way to reduce molding costs, depending on your part volumes, is to consider on-demand manufacturing. At Protolabs, two injection molding service options are available (see table below). One is best suited for those who need smaller part quantities, usually associated with prototyping. The other option, Protolabs calls it on-demand manufacturing, is a good fit for those who require slightly larger part quantities, typically up to 10,000-plus parts from aluminum molds. On-demand production can be a great option to manage demand volatility of your parts, reduce total cost of ownership, and leverage cost-efficient bridge tooling.
The company is the world’s best china tooling mold supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.