Plastic parts manufacturing is a very promising business opportunity because of the ever-growing demand of plastic products. We have witnessed a lot of companies rise up from obscurity to success simply by producing top quality plastic products for their electronics, household or similar items. Still, much like in any business, there is no guarantee you will succeed by investing on some plastic business. But given the right products, hard work, bit of timing and luck, there is no reason for you not to make it big in the plastic industry.
If you happened to be one of those aspiring entrepreneurs who needs plastic parts then your biggest concern much like in any business is the major expenditure for this type of business. You have to understand how the business works and where your investment goes within the different aspects of plastic production. A big share of your production costs goes into plastic mold creation. The mold or mould is a hollowed-out tube or valve where plastic is going to be injected to create plastic parts.
You need to be aware of the costs involved in creating molds so you have an idea on how far your business can go based on your investment capital. Plastic production is only cheap once you have the molds, most especially if you are looking at a large quantity scale. By knowing the amount you need to spend for molds creation, you can easily adjust your budget and business size before plunging deep into plastic production. In this article, we will give you a brief overview on how much does a plastic mold cost.
Prices of Plastic Molds
When we speak of plastic production in a professional setting, thousands of dollars are involved in the process. You are not only paying for workers but rather experts in the field of plastic manufacturing. The bill of materials consists of all the items you need and that you have to make injection molds for. You cannot resort to DIY methods in order to cut down expenses if you intend to compete at a professional level. Simply face it, plastic manufacturing requires a decent amount of investment.
Plastic molds are usually made out of aluminum steel or stainless steel. Depending on the designs of your plastic parts, you may need a higher grade of steel if the products require minimum tolerance during plastic injection molding. Steel rarely comes cheap and you must expect to spend a larger amount of money for your plastic molds if we are looking at a high quantity manufacturing scale. However, your plastic molds are under your ownership and other manufacturers cannot use them to recreate your plastic parts and this is your big privilege.
Plastic manufacturers don’t create molds per production batch. You only need to do them once and can then continue to use them. They do not charge molds per piece since you are looking to mass manufacture and you can boost production simply by using more molds. You need to have a single cavity mold to jumpstart the manufacturing. You can hardly find factories who will create plastic parts out of a single cavity mold for large quantities, because this takes too much time. Such option can be more costly and at the same time impractical for professional plastic manufacturing. So the number of molds and cavities should reflect the desired production quantity.
Plastic molds for very simple parts at low quantities cost around $2,000 as a one-time fee while simple casings can cost around $4,000. Large plastic parts and regular sized parts with complex designs can cost around $8,000 to $12,000. The amounts mentioned above are relatively high prices which is why you if you do not have a large production quantity for such an investment then I suggest for you to go to a different route instead (only 3D printing or looking to buy parts from existing molds). Your plastic production project will simply go stale if you do not give it the right financial support. Devices that require multiple plastic parts have commonly even higher mold costs.
However, there are a few tips you can try to drag the mold creation costs without sacrificing its quality. Look out for the best injection molding companies out there who can give you a discount whenever you order in large quantities particularly when carving out the steel for the molds. If you can buy top quality steel at a cheaper rate then you right away cut mold creation costs and still enjoy the right type of steel for your plastic molds. Even a few dollars off will count big when it comes to mass manufacturing.
Another tip I can give you is to outsource your plastic production to China or some other Asian country. Western countries are not really known for their manufacturing prowess due to expensive overhead, labor and materials costs. By outsourcing plastic production, you can avail of manufacturing expertise and knowledge in exchange for cheaper workforce, professional fees and materials.
Conclusion
Plastic molds creation is not cheap but there are ways you can be able to cut down on the expenses if you are keen enough. The amounts mentioned above must not discourage you towards your plastic business as long as you are able to envision the success you can get to enjoy once your plastic products hit the market. Moreover, there are other opportunities available for you once your plastic molds are ready. Your plastic molds are already assets to begin with that you can keep using.
