Three Types of Molds
A Comparison of Three Types of Plastic Injection Molds
Injection molding is a manufacturing process used to create plastic parts and components. At the heart of the process is the mold or tooling. The mold quality and construction will determine the consistency and quality of the parts being manufactured. There are three types of molds; low volume, production, and export. The type of mold used for each project will be determined by several factors, including production numbers, project deadlines, and budget.
ICOMold by Fathom has a team of experts ready to tackle your next injection-molding project.
Prototype / Low-Volume:
As the name implies, this type of mold is best for prototypes and low volume part production. This type of mold can be made of plastic. Plastic molds or 3D printed molds can be made quickly for little expense. These molds may last up to 100 cycles depending on part specifications. This type of mold is ideal for creating advance products for marketing, capital venture funding, and for testing form, fit, and function.
Production:
Production molds are used for projects requiring a high-volume of parts. Injection molding, as a manufacturing process, is ideally suited for producing large amounts of the same part or part sets. Production molds can cost several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars. The high upfront cost of this type of mold should be weighed against the amount of parts being made. Spreading the cost of the mold over hundreds of thousands of parts will significantly reduce the price per part.
Export:
ICOMold by Fathom can machine and deliver export molds. This type of mold is made in our facility and then sent elsewhere by the customer to complete the injection molding process. ICOMold has access to machining facilities in the United State and China. Our Chinese connections can produce molds at a reduced cost. In this case, we will make the mold according to USA/Western standards and ship it to the customer. Optionally, we can also run as many parts as needed with the export mold before shipping it to the customer or their company of choice.
