The process of successfully designing and manufacturing new plastic injection molding tools starts with the design of the product, and the design of the plastic injection mold. If an injection mold is correctly designed and all of the tolerances specified, as well as the materials, steel grades, hardness and surface finish requirements, then with that information the plastic injection mold can be built anywhere.
Certain companies have experienced difficulties with China mold makers, because the most important criteria when placing a mold making order is cost. In order for a plastic mold making company to quote 50% of the cost of its nearest competitor for the same plastic injection mold, they have to cut their costs to below 50% of their competitors. This is normally reflected (or not) in surface finishes, material selection, material hardness, lack of precision grinding of mating surfaces, and lack of close tolerances in wall thickness on thin wall products.
All of these problems may be avoided by the clear statement of specifications at the RFQ stage. The problem with this method of obtaining quotes from Chinese plastic injection mold companies is that when rigorous specifications are required, the price differential between quality mold makers irrespective of global location becomes minimal.
Quality costs very much the same price when it comes to plastic injection mold manufacture, irrespective of global location. The total cost of ownership of outsourced plastic injection molds should reflect all of the costs associated with trialing and accepting an injection mold manufactured in a foreign country, and the additional precautions required to ensure that no technical errors are made as a result of language barriers.
