The first move in bringing your plastic product to life is to get a quote for its manufacturing. This can have a massive impact on your costs and profitability, so it is crucial to get the best quote. Plastic injection molding is a very specific process and influenced by many factors, from the design to the materials used. Even though an experienced manufacturer such as Plastinternational can ensure your product meets your expectations, a clear picture of what you need will make the quoting process much more effective.
A good quote for plastic injection molding comes down five steps. If you cover these, you can ensure the best value and performance for your money:
CAD designs and samples
Before there can be a molding process, there needs to be a mold – and a mold comes from a CAD design. If you do not have such a design, one can be developed using Plastinternational’s design services. Even if you already have a mold, a CAD design can give the molder a good sense of what the final product will be. If you have samples of the product, it will help as well. These indicate the complexity of the parts, which can cause challenges in the molding process. The more your molding partner knows, the better they can anticipate the process, and quote accurately.
The state of the mold
You may have a mold already – perhaps you are manufacturing a new batch of a tried-and-tested product. But molds wear and can create problems that will affect the quality and appeal of the plastic product. A worn mold cannot be wished away. Present the mold for the quote and be willing to get honest feedback, such as requiring the tooling of a new mold.
Visit our blog 4 Common Injection Moulding Defects and How To Remedy Them for more on common injection molding flaws.
Product volumes
Do you need one or two products? Do you need thousands? How soon do you need them? Plastic injection molding can scale, but not without sufficient planning. The number of products you want can have a positive effect on material costs, but a negative impact on mold lifespans. Without sufficient planning around the volumes and timelines, unexpected costs can creep in. It is possible to scale the manufacturing process later in the project, but this might raise prices in ways that could have been avoided.
The right resin
Resin is the key ingredient for plastic. The choice of resin will have the greatest impact on your product’s basic properties. This can be a confusing topic, as a given resin be used for many different applications, from plastic bags to long-lasting parts in cars to high-pressure taps. Those properties are determined during the molding process, of which the base resin has the biggest influence and should be investigated thoroughly. Don’t hesitate to ask the injection supplier questions about resin choices.
Visit our blog What is Plastic Resin? for more on resins.
Requirements for the product
In addition to the resin, plastics can be given other properties that further distinguish your product. These include chemical or UV resistance, fire retardation, brittleness and more. Such requirements are usually met through additives, added to the resin prior to the injection process. To avoid surprises, know what you want the product to do and not do. For example, making a material fireproof when it doesn’t need to be will just be an unnecessary cost. But neglecting to put UV protection in a product that lives outdoors might result in unhappy customers down the line.
Visit our blog What are resin additives? for more on additives.
