WHY ARE INJECTION MOLDS SO EXPENSIVE?

First-time product designers, we understand that the first look you get at how much your new product’s injection mold is going to cost can be… impactful. After all, the injection mold is the most expensive element of any new product launch. But why? Why are injection molds so dang expensive?

INJECTION MOLD DESIGN AND TOOLING

For starters, let’s look at what goes into creating an injection mold in the first place. Injection molds need engineering design to take your initial product design and turn it into a manufacturable product. This is an absolutely critical step in the injection mold process; often, your engineering partner will find changes that can be made that will make the part easier to manufacture and therefore less costly to produce. You want a reputable, experienced engineering team to help you with this.

INJECTION MOLD DURABILITY

It’s also important to note what conditions the injection mold operates in. Plastic injection molding requires an incredible amount of force to push resin into a mold’s cavity, literally thousands of pounds of pressure. The injection mold, therefore, must be tooled using very strong materials to withstand this pressure for what, if you’re lucky and your products are successful, will be thousands of production runs. The materials that can withstand these types of conditions, generally steel or aluminum, aren’t cheap.

PRODUCT DESIGN CHALLENGES

Finally, design complexity matters. The more complex your products, the more complex the injection mold. A single cavity injection mold, for instance, will be far less costly to produce than a mold with multiple cavities.

EARLY SUPPLIER INVOLVEMENT

So what can you do about it? A few things. For starters, KASO offers Early Supplier Involvement. The ESI process can really help you save over the lifetime of your project. This brings your team together with our expert engineers early in the design phase of the project. KASO’s team is highly skilled at taking your initial design and providing suggestions for design and tooling that will help you meet your manufacturing budgets. The later these changes are made, the more they will cost you.

Proper materials selection is another process that will help you keep your manufacturing costs reasonable. Based on the unique properties of selected materials, your design guidelines may change. You’ll need to consider your products’ needs for strength, flexibility, and functionality to make sure the materials selected can meet them. Our engineers will work closely with you to ensure you get the right materials for the job, at the most affordable prices.

Have questions about the costs associated with injection mold creation? Contact the expert engineers at KASO Plastics to learn more.