The pricing for each job we complete can vary significantly because we are a full-service plastic injection molding company that manufactures molds from concept to completion. Our experience has shown, however, that accurate injection molding cost estimates are critical to a successfully completed project. In order to assist you in planning your mold budget, we've put together the following price guide. Rapid prototyping, insert tooling, and high-production tooling are the types of injection molding cost examples that are broken down by degree of difficulty (basic, intermediate, and advanced).
In most cases, a small, single cavity plastic injection mold costs between $1,000 and $5,000. It is possible to spend as much as $80,000 or more on a large or complex mold. The average cost of a mold is $12,000 on a national level. It's similar to asking, "How much does a car cost," when it comes to asking how much plastic injection molds cost. Will it be a Pinto or a Porsche that you choose as your mold? Not to mention that the price of a mold is only the beginning of the cost of the product. When calculating the total cost of a plastic injection molding project, you must take into account the raw material costs, as well as the costs of operation and repair later on.
It is a combination of part size, complexity, material, and anticipated quantities that determines how much it will cost to build your custom mold. In the case of a single cavity mold, which produces one washer per machine cycle, we would recommend it if you needed to produce 1,000 washers per year. Mold costs between $1,000 and $2,000 in this situation. A completely different story is the requirement for 100,000 Xbox controllers every month. This requirement would necessitate the construction of a hardened "family" mold with 12 cavities, each of which would produce four Fronts, four Back, and four Button Trees on a per-cycle basisThere is a cost associated with this type of mold, no doubt. To make a successful investment, you'll need at least $60-$80,000. These are extreme examples, but they serve to illustrate the range of costs that should be expected. In all likelihood, your particular part will fall somewhere in the middle of that range. Molds cost an average of $12,000 at Rex Plastics Inc.
Injection molding is considered to be inexpensive.
Considering the cost per unit, plastic injection molding is one of the most affordable and cost-effective manufacturing processes available today;Whenever you are working with injection molding, it is important to remember that the greater the number of units produced by your mold, the lower the cost per unit becomes over time. However, while the start-up costs for a large run can be high, the price for the project becomes increasingly favorable as production continues.
Another factor to consider when determining how much plastic injection molds cost is the type of material being used. The wear and tear on most common molds will be accelerated by any plastic product made from fiberglass-filled material, for instance. When it comes to injection molding with fiberglass-filled material, only a mold made of hardened tool steel will do.
You should inform your mold builder if you have a specific price in mind for your parts. To achieve that price, they can design the mold appropriately and plan for the appropriate number of cavities. As the number of cavities (or parts produced per cycle) increases, the cost of the parts decreases, allowing for greater output.
It's never a bad idea to be prepared, even if you don't need to know everything about the different types of molds available. Your mold builder will be able to create the best tool possible if you provide them with the necessary information. We recommend that you find a mold maker who is also capable of producing the final product you require. They will not want to build a mold that is insufficient because they know they will have to use it in the future.
When considering whether to outsource your mold-making, keep in mind all of the factors that go into bringing a mold up to optimal production standards, as outlined in this article by the American Mold Builders Association:When you learn the true cost of offshoring, you might be surprised!
