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4 Tips on Cheap Injection Molding

Affordable injection molding is crucial, particularly when you're working with a limited budget for a new project or require a small production volume. There's also another important scenario: when your production volume is high, but the end-users need cost-effective plastic components, such as disposable razors or plastic caps for toilet cleaners.

No matter if you’re starting with 100,000 units or just 100 units, in this post, I’ll share 4 tips to help you achieve affordable injection molding.

Tip 1: Make a simple part design

The complexity of your parts directly impacts the cost—more complicated designs mean higher expenses. Keeping part design simple is the key to achieving cost-effective injection molding. Features like undercuts can significantly increase both tooling and production costs. However, many undercuts can be eliminated through thoughtful part redesign.

Additionally, minimize the number of molding processes whenever possible. While co-molding and overmolding are effective for bonding two plastic parts together, they can be costly. An alternative is to manufacture two separate parts instead of using co-molding, which can help reduce injection molding costs. For overmolding, you might consider having end-users manually assemble the plastic parts. This approach is commonly seen in applications like fan shrouds for batteries or electronic housings.

Tip 2: Opt for standard part colors such as black whenever possible, rather than white or clear.

Black is a versatile color widely used in various plastic housings. However, if white or clear colors are required, injection molding manufacturers need to flush their machines with multiple resins to remove any residual colors. Additionally, a more clean molding environment is necessary to prevent black specks. Therefore, if your goal is cost-effective injection molding, you might need to forgo using white or clear colors.

Tip 3: Communicate Your Expected Mold Life to the Mold Maker

For some customers, determining mold life can be challenging. They might say, “Well, I don't know. It's a new product—let the market decide,” or “Just give me the price; you don't need to worry about the quantities.” However, being uncertain about plastic injection mold life can undermine the cost-effectiveness of injection molding. Why? Mold makers will err on the side of caution by designing for a longer mold life, anticipating potential future increases in production volume. In other words, an unspecified mold life defaults to a longer mold life in the eyes of injection molding manufacturers, which can drive up costs.

Tip 4: Specify Mold Life

Determining mold life can be challenging for some customers, especially with new products. However, being vague about mold life can lead to higher costs. Mold makers typically design for longer mold life to accommodate potential future increases in volume. If you provide a clear mold life (e.g., 1,000 parts per order, 50,000 parts total), manufacturers can optimize the mold design for lower costs. In China, mold makers might consider the following strategies to reduce mold costs:

• A) Multi-Cavity Molding: If you need many parts, using a multi-cavity mold can significantly lower setup and tooling costs.
• B) Non-Prehardened Mold Steel: Materials like 738H can reduce costs without compromising quality.
• C) Reusing Existing Mold Bases: Leveraging existing mold bases can save on tooling costs.
• D) Simplified Mold Design: Manual molding solutions, rather than automated ones, can reduce complexity and costs.

By following these tips, you can achieve cost-effective injection molding without sacrificing quality. Simplifying part design, opting for standard colors, choosing smaller manufacturers, and clearly specifying mold life are all practical strategies to keep your injection molding projects affordable.