6 Ways to Reduce Your Injection Molding Costs

 

Injection moulding is a manufacturing process used universally to manufacture various everyday goods. The majority of mass-produced products contain plastic injection moulded components including furniture fixings, plastic cutlery, CCTV cameras, games consoles, toasters, and vacuum cleaners.

 

How much does plastic injection moulding cost?

First of all, a basic question, what is the cost of mold. Many people think that cost of the mold is mold material fee + processing fee + tax, of course, labor and design fees, but we can think that labor cost includes in processing fee.

 

How to reduce the cost of mold?

 

The price of injection moulding varies with every project. Due to the initial upfront cost of the mould and tooling, the greater the number of parts being produced, the lower the overall unit costs. This is because tooling costs can be absorbed across more parts. Mass-produced parts often use injection moulding as it is the most economical and timely way to produce plastic parts at high volumes.

 

 

From a narrow point of view, this answer is good, but if it is only this, then in addition to cutting corners and tax evasion, is there any way to control or reduce costs?

 

Ways to reduce costs in injection moulding

 

There are several main cost drivers with injection moulding projects. Consequently, there are methods and best practices you can apply to reduce the costs of injection moulding for a more cost-effective solution whilst still providing excellent results.

 

Larger production runs can be beneficial in that they can benefit from economies of scale which reduce unit costs. However, depending on budgets and requirements, larger production runs may not be suitable as they often result in surplus stock and waste. If you are looking for further ways to reduce costs in your injection moulding project, this guide analyses injection moulding costs and offers solutions and ways to save money throughout the injection moulding process.

 

Injection moulding costs are determined by various factors, including:

 

 

Mold Designs

product design

Modify Molds

Material selection

Multi-Cavity Mold

Cycle Time

 

Below are some of the easiest ways to reduce costs in injection moulding.

 

Crafty & Intelligent Mold Designs

Injection molding costs accumulate based on the different parts and materials needed for a plastic design and the injection molding cost per part plays a major role in your product’s budget. In order to cut down on injection molding costs, it is important to come up with crafty and intelligent designs for your plastic products. Factors such as part positioning further optimize the design so the mold fits perfectly and there will be fewer scraps out of the molding process.

 

Intelligent designs will also remove the need for sprue and runners due to right part positioning. You can shed out excess material simply because of an intelligent mold design which leads to reduced injection molding costs. Another smart thing to do is to make sure everything remains intact during the ejection process and that there would be no damage to the end product or mold design whatsoever.

Optimize product design

 

The mould design and product design are also vital areas in which the costs of injection moulding can be reduced. Every injection moulding tool is custom made. So there are opportunities to reduce the cost and initial lead time when developing the mould.

 

By optimizing the product design, you can ensure all-around efficiency, for example, part size, wall thickness, undercuts. Generally speaking, the larger the part, the higher the cost. Smaller parts will naturally take less time to cool which reduces the overall cycle time. A faster cycle time results in lower overhead costs, as well as labor costs.

 

Modify Your Molds

Instead of having to buy an entirely new mold for every revision you make, a bit of clever planning can help you reuse a mold multiple times. By designing tool inserts you can mold various versions and features. MUD tooling, another popular modification method, creates a small, 5”x8” mold that is engulfed by the existing base/body. This smaller mold is extremely helpful as it saves costs by requiring less of an investment in the tooling. These methods are much preferred to cutting multiple tools and offer significant savings.

 

Material selection

A big chunk of the plastic injection molding costs is taken up by the type of plastic resin /material being used. Each resin has a different cost associated with it.

 

Before deciding on a particular plastic resin for your product, consider the application of the plastic part. Evaluate the necessary features that you need within the part to get optimal functionality. Next, see if you can achieve it with a lower-end plastic resin. Sometimes, lower-end polymers along with some fillers and additives work equally well as a higher-end material.

 

Family or Multi-Cavity Mold

Another way to reduce costs related to tooling is designing a family or multi-cavity mold. Depending on part similarity, material selection, and processing requirements you may be able to include more than one part in your mold. This will increase the cost of the tool but it will be marginal. When compared to cutting separate tooling for each part.

 

Multi-cavity molding lends itself to high production requirements. The more cavities you have in a tool the more parts you’re able to create each cycle. While this will drive up initial costs related to tooling it will lead to lower part prices and lower cost overall in the long run.

 

Injection molding is a very straightforward process that may not seem like it has much room for cost reduction techniques. But if you ask the pros, they will tell you otherwise.

 

Lower Cycle Time

You can utilize scientific molding and DECOUPLED MOLDING® techniques to optimize clamp/eject movements, fill time, pack time, hold time, and cooling. You’re able to only use what’s needed to make good parts with a smaller buffer.

 

Properly sized mold temperature control units, or thermometers, will also help lower cycle times. 80% of the molding cycle is spent cooling the part from the melt temperature to an ejection temperature. Where the part is rigid enough to withstand the forces of ejection and retain dimensional integrity. If we don’t have enough water flow. Then the ability to cool the part to the correct temperature is compromised, and the workaround is to leave the part in the mold longer, costing more money.