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8 Questions to think about when choosing your Injection ...

09 Dec.,2024

8 Questions to think about when choosing your Injection ...

Injection Molding is one of the most common ways to manufacture your product in production. The first step is choosing a tooling option that works for your project. Here are 8 questions from actual customers that will help make it a little easier to choose your Injection Mold Tooling.

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What is the scope of the project?

This is the probably the most important factor in determining which tooling method to use.

If the part is for pre-production then the answer is simple, aluminum tooling. This is common when the project requires the part to be made with the end production injection mold material. Aluminum tooling offers lower costs and faster lead times. If the material requirement is not needed see alternative options on RTV Molding and 3D Printing.

If the part is for production then there are a couple things to consider. What are the EAUs on the part? How long will the project run?

How does part size effect tooling?

Part size plays a big factor in determining tooling. Larger parts will need to be built in a standalone tool however smaller parts that fit within the size parameters may be subject to a (more efficient) cheaper alternative. Insert tools are extremely popular for smaller components. Instead of paying the full price of a standalone tool we can look to build an insert tool that fits into the (standard MUD) base unit on our press.

For example, you have a small housing that is 3&#;x 2&#;x 1/2&#; and needs to be produced via Injection Molding. Instead of building a full standalone tool for such a small part we will build an insert tool out of aluminum or steel that fits into our pre-existing bases on our press. This is an extremely economical and waste minimization method to produce smaller components. We offer insert sizes ranging from a 5&#;x 5&#; all the way up to a 11&#;x 14&#;.

How does part volumes effect tooling?

Part volumes can effect tooling especially when the volumes reach a higher level. The standard is a single cavity tool for low volumes of a couple hundred or a couple thousand parts per year, but as the part volumes grow you can look to add multiple cavities on the tool to produce parts more economically. When quantities and life of project are unknown or there is no solid forecast, single cavity tools are a good place to start. You can always look at building multi-cavity tools later on. Multiple cavity tools come with a little more upfront cost on the tool but it can significantly lower the piece price on your part.

Does part material effect tooling?

Yes, it does. The part material has direct effect on tooling for a couple of reasons. Mild injection mold resins like a Polypropylene are a lot easier on a mold therefore contributing to a longer tool life. Harsher injection mold resins like a Glass Filled Nylon wear down a tool much easier. This can be a crucial deciding factor when your part has a life of 8,000-12,000 pieces and you are deciding between aluminum or steel tooling.

Does part geometry effect tooling?

Yes, it does. We thoroughly evaluate each part before quoting. We look at part features that will effect the tool. Does it have undercuts? Cores? We also look at surface finish requirements. Will it be grained? Polished? Textured? These all effect the decision on the type of tooling used.

What is the life expectancy of a tool?

Aluminum tools are good for a lifespan of anywhere from 2,000- 10,000 parts depending on the type of aluminum used, part material and geometry.

Steel tools are good for a lifespan of 100,000 + parts depending on the material and geometry of the part. The tool may need re-worked after it has been in production for awhile.

What is the timeline to build a tool?

This changes on a part by part basis but a good rule of thumb would be:

Aluminum tools can be built in anywhere from 4-6 weeks for small parts and 6-10 weeks for larger parts while steel tools can be built in anywhere from 6-8 weeks for small parts and 8-12 weeks for larger parts.

What is the cost difference for Injection Mold Tooling?

This also changes on a part by part basis but typically a steel tool costs anywhere from 20-30% more then an aluminum tool.

You Think You Know Your Molds? Try These 10 Questions ...

A mold repair technician&#;s job has always been to make molds run&#;anyhow, any way. Intangibles such as technique, methodology, maintenance efficiency, accountability, and continuous improvement have never been much of a factor in assessing the performance of a custom repair facility, a proprietary mold repair shop, or an individual&#;s skill level. Performance was based on missed production schedules&#;period. Today, however, any company seeking to sharpen its competitive edge realizes that keeping molds production-ready and reliable is much more dependent upon proactive maintenance measures than reactive habits.

To implement an accurate, efficient repair and to optimize downtime hours, repair technicians must have access to data that lets them quickly evaluate the mechanical and performance characteristics of any mold on which they work. Repair technicians should not be expected to recall from memory data relating to specific issues of maintaining and troubleshooting a stable of expensive molds. To do the job effectively, they need to know not only the smallest details such as minuscule tolerances and stack dimensions, but also the predominant long-term issues molds suffer as a result of design or construction features that cause problems during production or maintenance.

In today&#;s economy, it is becoming more common for the customer to be asking these questions of their mold vendors, because they want to know exactly what is going on with their half-million-dollar mold and how their repair dollars are being spent.

Still, many shop supervisors feel that if nothing is broken right now&#;then all is well. But to make continuous improvements in mold maintenance and repair, the supervisor must be able to measure performance, and then set targets and goals for molds and personnel.

I am often asked what are the most important areas of mold performance and the maintenance criteria to be used by repair technicians, managers, supervisors, and customers. Here are 10 questions that will demonstrate the current level of data utilization in your company, in terms of data that is readily available for a repair technician, supervisor, manager, or engineer to use on a daily basis. The answers to the first three questions are critical for any hope of improvement and are needed to determine targets and set goals. If you can&#;t answer the first three, you needn&#;t continue on, because the following questions just drill deeper into your mold knowledge database.

1. What is your #1 reason for unscheduled mold downtime and what is the cost?

a. What is the total count and type of the most common unscheduled mold-stop reason?
b. What is the mold distribution for the #1 unscheduled mold stop reason? (Is it related to a particular mold style, product, or press?)
c. What is the time and personnel correlation with the #1 unscheduled mold stop reason?
d. What are the related corrective actions and costs (of tooling and labor) for resolving the #1 unscheduled mold-stop reason?

2. What is your #1 mold or part defect or quality issue?

a. What is the total count and type of that defect?
b. What is the mold distribution of the defect? (Mold style, product, or press related?)
c. What is the cavity I.D. or mold position of the defect? (Is it position related?)
d. What are the related corrective actions and costs (tooling and labor) for resolving the defect?

3. Which is your mold with the highest maintenance costs (per hour or cycles of run time)?

a. What is the mold description, style, and product?
b. What are the types of defects and frequencies for that mold?
c. What type of tooling is used by that mold?
d. What type of corrective actions are required for that mold (cleaning, replacement, reworking, restacking, shimming, etc.)?
e. What are the related corrective actions and costs (tooling and labor) for that mold?

Answers to the next three questions provide data for supervisors to better schedule mold repairs and match repair skills to job complexity&#;i.e., optimize downtime hours.

4. What are the average repair hours for each mold during the following:

a. Wipe-down level cleaning (level 1)?
b. General level cleaning (level II)?
c. Major level cleaning (level III)?

Are you interested in learning more about Custom Insert Molding? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

5. What is the workload of each of your mold technicians?

a. How many molds does each repair?
b. What types of molds does each repair&#;i.e., mold styles, products (a measure of repair skill)?
c. What is each technician&#;s mold-repair efficiency? Do their molds always start up with 100% efficiency and no quality or production issues?
d. What are the average corrective action costs (labor and tooling) for each technician?

6. What is the total workload and mold-repair pace of your shop?

a. What is the total count of molds repaired?
b. What types of molds are repaired (mold styles, products)?
c. What are the average labor hours per repair?
The next four questions provide supervisors and technicians the necessary data to look farther down the road to recognize and monitor trends and patterns so as to budget more wisely.

7. What are your top 10 molds with the most unscheduled downtime events?

a. What are the types and frequencies of unscheduled mold-stop reasons?
b. What is the mold distribution for the unscheduled mold-stop reasons (mold style, product, or press related)?
c. What is the time and personnel correlation with the unscheduled mold-stop reasons?
d. What are the related corrective actions and costs (tooling and labor) for resolving the unscheduled mold-stop reasons?

8. What are your top 10 mold or part defects overall?

a. What are the defect types and frequencies?
b. What is the distribution of the defects (mold style, product, or press related)?
c. What is the cavity I.D. or mold position of defects (position related)?
d. What are the related corrective actions and costs (tooling and labor) for resolving the defects?

9. What are your top 10 molds with the highest overall defect count?

a. What are the defect types and frequencies?
b. What is the mold distribution of the defects (mold style, product, or press related)?
c. What is the cavity I.D. or mold position of defects (position related)?
d. What are the related corrective actions and costs (tooling and labor) for resolving the defects?

10. What are the top 10 molds with the highest maintenance costs (per hour or cycles of run time)?

a. What are the mold descriptions, styles, and products?
b. What are the defect types and frequencies?
c. What types of tooling are used by these molds?
d. What types of corrective actions are required (cleaning, replacement, reworking, restacking, shimming, etc.)?
e. What are the related corrective actions and costs (tooling and labor)?

About the Author

Steven Johnson is the maintenance systems manager for Progressive Components and has his own business, MoldTrax, in Ashland, Ohio. He can be reached at or (419) 289-.

For more information, please visit Insert Molding Design.

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