What is the injection mold cost?
It is the cost that you pay to design and make an injection mold, above of all, the injection mold is able to run well for manufacturing your plastic parts, but this is not enough for a smart mold buyer. If you are the one to buy plastic injection mold from China, you might be interested to read the buyers guide so that you can estimate your budget. The injection mold includes the costs of mold design, mold manufacture, mold test and shipping if buy from China.
Injection mold cost estimation
- Part size – large parts require larger mold size, so injection mold steel cost is higher.
- Part design – complicated part designs will require complicated mold structure, for example, undercuts will require special mechanism like sliders, lifters, cylinders etc. So, listen to your mold maker and see where you can adjust on part design which can save you a lot on injection mold cost.
- Part material – the part material selection also influence the injection mold cost , if the plastic is corrosive such as PVC then stainless steel will be required to avoid the cavity from damage, and the price is high.
- Part finish requirement – if the part have high gloss surface requirement, take the auto light cover for example, S136 steel and careful polish technical is required, injection mold will be expensive.
- Production volume – high volumes will require multiple cavities so the mold size is bigger. High volume requires a mold that run in a long term, so high quality steel are required which increases the injection mold cost.
- Country of manufacture – labor cost is different in different counties, countries with lower labor cost are able to make an injection mold at lower cost, injection mold price in China is about 60% of the price in western countries.
Some of the buyers who buy the mold from China might only be interested on the price offered by the mold suppliers, but l have to tell you it’s not wise enough to make any buying decisions base on a simple price. A injection mold offer should include information that influence the injection mold price, ensure you get information: mold size, gating way, runner design, cavity steel, number of the cavity, mold accessories brand, estimate cycle time, guaranteed cycle, by these information, you can calculate the costs and see why some companies’ prices are lower and the others are higher.
