What Decides the Cost of an Injection Mould?
The cost of an injection mould is not a catalogue figure. This page explains each factor and what we need from you to quote it.
What decides the cost of an injection mould? The cost of an injection mould is mainly decided by the number of cavities, the runner system (hot or cold), the complexity of the part, the cooling design, the fit to your injection machine, the tryout and acceptance work, and the spares quoted with it. Each mould is quoted to your part, and the quotation is itemised.
Key takeaways
- Cavities come first: the same cap at eight cavities and at sixteen are two different tools and two different prices.
- The runner is a choice: a small tool is usually cold runner; eight cavities and up usually goes hot runner, and the choice is stated in the quotation.
- Part complexity changes the tool: a hinge, a thread that has to be unscrewed, or two colours in two shots each need something extra in the mould.
- The mould must fit your machine: platen, tie bars, ejector stroke and, for a hot runner, the electrical side are checked before any steel is ordered.
- Tryout, spares and warranty are quoted with the tool: the trial parts ship with the mould, and wear parts can be packed with it.
The seven factors
1. Cavities come first, and they are worked backwards from your output. A hinged cap at eight cavities and the same cap at sixteen are two different tools and two different prices. The number of cavities is worked out from the caps (or preforms) per hour you need and from what your machine can hold, not taken from a catalogue; common commercial PET preform moulds run 16, 24, 32, 48 or 72 cavities. A 20 L pail body mould is one cavity on a hot runner — see the 20–25 L bucket mould and machine.
2. Hot runner or cold runner is stated in the quotation. A flip top in a small cavitation tool is usually cold runner; eight cavities and up, where the hinge has to fill the same way in every cavity, usually goes hot. A hot runner keeps the melt heated all the way to the cavities, so it reaches them evenly and there is no cold-runner scrap. High-cavity preform moulds use a hot-runner system with valve gates, with the balance designed into the manifold at drawing stage. The choice is made on your part weight and cavity count.
3. Part complexity changes the tool. A flip top's hinge is formed by the tool, so the section across the hinge and the shut-off faces either side of it are cut to the drawing, and flip tops come off on a stripper plate so the hinge is never pushed by a pin. A thread that cannot be jumped is unscrewed instead. A two colour cap needs the two halves of the job cut as one set, so the two shots meet exactly where the drawing says. Each of these is a different mould from a plain cap. For example, we have drawn an 8-cavity flip top tool for a 200 ml bottle.
4. The cooling design is part of the tool. On a flip top the hinge sets the cooling, so the cycle is worked from the cap weight and the hinge section. On a preform mould the cavities, cores and neck inserts are all water-channelled, and the post-mould cooling is laid out around the take-out plate you actually run. Before the cooling circuits are drawn we ask what your chiller and your water can really deliver.
5. The mould has to fit your machine. Send the make, model and tonnage of your injection machine. The platen, tie bars and ejector stroke are checked against it before the mould is designed; for a preform mould, the checks also include shut height, the locating ring, the nozzle and the electrical side of the hot runner. If something does not line up, you hear it at quotation stage together with what the adaptation involves.
6. Tryout and acceptance are done before the tool ships. We cut it, run it and check the sample before the mould leaves us, and the trial parts ship with it. For a flip top, we open and close the sample hinge before the mould leaves, and a hinge life test you give us goes on the acceptance list.
Watch: the process running
What you will see: a row of white flip top caps on the in-line closing station, the lids being closed, and the caps moving on to the green conveyor.
7. Spares and warranty are quoted with the tool. Cavities, cores and hinge inserts can be cut later from the same drawings, and you tell us at quotation time which wear parts to pack with the tool; for a preform mould we quote a spare neck insert set as a matter of course. The warranty terms are in the quotation for that tool.
What changes with each choice
| Choice | The two options | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Runner | Cold runner vs hot runner | Cold runner leaves a runner of scrap; hot runner keeps the melt heated to the cavities and is usual from eight cavities up |
| Cavities | Fewer vs more | A different tool: the plate, the runner and the cooling are laid out for the number |
| Colours | One colour vs two colour | Two shots, with the two halves of the job cut as one set so they register exactly |
| Thread | No thread vs a thread that cannot be jumped | The cap is unscrewed from the core instead of being pushed off |
| Machine | Your machine vs a new one | The mould is checked against your platen, tie bars and ejector stroke; with a new cap or preform machine from us, the two ship as one tested set |
| Delivery | Spares packed or not | You choose which wear parts ship with the tool |
What we need to quote your mould
To quote an injection mould we need the part drawing, a 3D file or clear photos of the part from every side; the neck size or thread it has to fit; the material; your output target (parts per hour, or the cavities you want); and the make, model and tonnage of the injection machine it will run on. Anything you do not know, say so plainly: we would rather close the gaps with you before quoting. Then you get an exact quote within 24–48 hours, and injection moulds are delivered in 40–60 days from approved drawings.
FAQ
What decides the cost of an injection mould?
The cost of an injection mould is mainly decided by seven things: the number of cavities, the runner system (hot or cold), the complexity of the part, the cooling design, the fit to your machine, the tryout and acceptance work, and the spares quoted with it. Each mould is quoted to your part, and the quotation is itemised. Send us your part drawing and we quote it.
Injection mold cost: how do cavities change it?
The number of cavities changes the tool itself: a hinged cap at eight cavities and the same cap at sixteen are two different tools and two different prices. We work the cavity count out from the parts per hour you need and from your machine's clamping force, and put the workable options on the quotation. Tell us your output and machine and we calculate it.
Hot runner vs cold runner: what changes in the mould?
A cold-runner mould leaves a runner of scrap with every shot; a hot-runner mould keeps the melt heated all the way to the cavities, so it arrives evenly and there is no cold-runner scrap. A small flip top tool is usually cold runner; eight cavities and up usually goes hot. We state the choice in the quotation, based on your part weight and cavity count.
Why is a two colour cap mould a different tool?
A two colour cap needs two shots, and the two materials have to meet exactly where the drawing says, shot after shot. That is a registration problem, and it is solved in the tool, which is why we cut the two halves of the job as one set. A plain one-colour cap needs only one shot, so it is a different mould. Send your cap drawing and tell us the colours.
Does the mould have to fit my injection machine?
Yes, the mould has to agree with the press it is bolted into. Send the make, model and tonnage of your machine, and we check the platen, tie bars and ejector stroke against it before the mould is designed. We cut moulds for presses we did not supply. If something does not line up, you hear it at quotation stage, together with what the adaptation involves.
Injection mould cost: why is there no price list?
There is no price list because each mould is cut for your part: the cavities, the runner, the cooling and the fit to your machine all change the tool, so a catalogue figure would not describe your mould. Send your part drawing and you get an exact quote within 24–48 hours; the quotation is itemised for your part.
How long does an injection mould take?
Injection moulds are delivered in 40–60 days from approved drawings, and an exact date is confirmed in the quotation. The time starts from approved drawings, so sending a drawing or a sample of the part, with the neck size, material and output target, is the quickest way to begin.
What do you need to quote an injection mould?
We need the part drawing or a sample, the neck size or thread it has to fit, the material, your output target, and the make, model and tonnage of the injection machine it will run on. Send what you have and you get an exact quote within 24–48 hours.
Related: cap moulds · flip top cap moulds · PET preform moulds · two colour cap moulds · how an injection molding machine works
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