Cost Structure & Sourcing Guide: Injection Molding & Custom Products & Product Sourcing
At FMS, we leverage a transparent, data-driven cost-analysis framework aligned with Western procurement standards (Total Cost of Ownership – TCO). Whether you are sourcing a new custom program, transferring existing tooling, or benchmarking, this guide outlines how we calculate value and optimize costs for your project.
1. Tooling (Injection Mold) Cost Analysis
We break down tool costs using standard Value Engineering (VE) metrics to ensure long-term ROI based on your SPI Class requirements.
Total Tooling Cost =Material & Components + Engineering & Design + Machining & Labor + Validation (Tryouts) + Margin + Export Logistics
Typical Tooling Cost Allocation:
• Materials & Standard Components (15% – 30%): Includes mold base (e.g., LKM) and premium core/cavity steel (e.g., ASSAB, Finkl, Schmiedewerke Gröditz) based on volume requirements (SPI Class 101/102). Standard components utilize global brands (e.g., DME, HASCO, YUDO, Mastip).
• Machining, Processing & Overhead (30% – 50%): Precision CNC, EDM, wire cutting, and skilled toolmaker labor.
• Engineering & Mold Design (10% – 15%): DFM (Design for Manufacturability), Mold flow analysis, and 3D CAD modeling.
• Mold Validation & Tryouts (3% – 5%): T0 to T2 sampling, CMM dimensional inspection, and scientific molding validation.
• Packaging & Export Logistics (approx. 3%): ISPM-15 compliant sea/air-worthy wooden crating and anti-rust treatment.
• Note on Taxes: For direct export, Pricing is provided on an FOB, FCA, or DDP basis excluding domestic VAT.
To accelerate your program’s Time-to-Market (TTM) and secure the most competitive, accurate quotation, please provide the following variables in your RFQ:
A. Technical & Data Requirements
• 3D CAD Data: Preferred formats: .STEP, .IGS, .X_T. 2D control drawings (.PDF, .DWG) indicating critical-to-quality (CTQ) dimensions and tolerances.
• Resin Specifications: Exact grade/brand (e.g., Sabic Lexan Polycarbonate) or performance equivalent requests (UL94 flame rating, UV stabilization, FDA compliance).
B. Life-Cycle Volume & Supply Chain Strategy
• EAU (Estimated Annual Volume): This dictates whether we propose a single-cavity prototype tool (aluminum soft steel) or a high-cavity, fully hardened hot-runner production tool (SPI Class 101) to lower your piece-part cost.
• Release Quantities (MOQ): Do you pull in batches of 5,000, or the full 20,000 at once? Batch sizes impact setup amortization and material purchasing power.
C. Program Timeline & Milestones
• T1 Sample Approval Date: When do your design and quality teams need parts for fit/form/function testing?
• SOP (Start of Production): Target date for commercial volume shipments.
D. Aesthetic & Functional Criteria
• Surface Finish: SPI/MT (Mold-Tech) textures, high-gloss polishing, or specific color matching (Pantone/RAL).
• Gate & Parting Line Restrictions: Advise on non-cosmetic zones to ensure gate locations do not interfere with assembly or industrial design.
To streamline the injection molding cost calculation process, manufacturers can leverage various tools and resources. These tools help in estimating costs accurately and exploring cost-saving opportunities.
Injection Molding Cost Calculators: Online cost calculators, such as the one offered by Phasio, provide a user-friendly interface to input project parameters and obtain cost estimates. These calculators consider factors such as part geometry, material choice, and production volume to generate accurate cost projections.
Material Databases: Comprehensive material databases provide information on the properties, pricing, and availability of different plastic resins. These databases assist in selecting the most suitable and cost-effective material for the specific application.
Design for Manufacturing (DFM) Tools: DFM tools analyze part designs and provide recommendations for optimizing manufacturability and reducing costs. These tools help identify design features that may increase production complexity or require additional tooling, allowing manufacturers to make informed design decisions.
For enterprises with the equipment and tools for injection molding, choosing to create molds in-house could be the least expensive option if the technical know-how is also available. If the tools needed for injection molding are not readily available, then outsourcing reduces the cost associated with developing a mold.
Simple low-volume 3D printed molds can be produced on an (SLA) resin 3D printer for as little as $100. An aluminum mold for a mid-volume production run of approximately 1,000-5,000 units falls within the range of $2,000 to $5,000. For molds with more complex geometries and primed for larger production runs of approximately 10,000+ units, the cost of mold can range from $5,000 to $100,000.
Injected Material Cost
A wide variety of plastics can be used for injection molding depending on the requirements of the final parts, including ABS, PS, PE, PC, PP, or TPU.
The cost of purchasing materials for molds differs according to the material chosen. Thermoplastic pellets cost approximately $1 to $5 per kg.
Material cost is defined by a model’s design, the material chosen, and the amount of material used to execute the injection molding process.
Labor or Service Costs
The equipment associated with injection molding is generally self-regulating and relies on automation to get the job done. CNC machines, EDM machines, and industrial 3D printers rely on the specifications of the CAD design to produce a mold. The injection molding machine also relies on automation to inject materials into the mold, and industrial IM machines often cool and eject the finished item autonomously.
Labor costs include:
Setup/configuration cost: The setup labor focuses on the time taken to configure the utilized equipment to produce the mold and the finished product.
Repair cost: Repair and maintenance tasks involve the replacement of defective parts and the use of tools to execute the maintenance process.
Monitoring costs: Despite the reliance on automation, equipment operators are expected to monitor the progress of the injection molding process. Operator wages accrued during the process are added to the total cost of injection molding.
When producing in-house, these costs are calculated into the labor costs. When a business outsources injection molding, the labor and the markup of the service provider are added to the service cost.
Equipment Costs
Special-purpose machines are used for injection molding that can range from smaller desktop injection molding machines that businesses can use in-house to large industrial injection molding machines that are mostly operated by service providers, contract manufacturers, and large manufacturers.
Producing low volumes of parts with injection molding is the most cost-effective with smaller desktop injection molding machines and 3D printed molds. If you are new to injection molding and are looking into testing it with limited investment, using a benchtop manual injection molding machine could be a good option. Automated small-scale injection molding equipment are good alternatives for medium-series production of small parts.
Large industrial injection molding machines can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000+. These machines also come with more stringent facility requirements and require skilled labor for operation, maintenance, and monitoring. As a result, unless injection molding is a core competence, most enterprises outsource mass production to service providers and contract manufacturers, in which case the equipment costs are included in the service costs.
Variables that impact the injection molding process and directly relate to the injection mold costs include:
Part size: The larger the item or part to be molded, the larger its mold will be to accommodate the part. Larger parts tend to require more injected materials to complete production cycles. Larger mold designs usually come at an increased cost compared to fabricating the same design but with smaller dimensions.
Part design: Complex part designs with intricate geometries require complex molds to execute the project. Mold designs usually have 2 sides: sides A and B. Side A, also known as the cosmetic side, is usually the side seen by the user. Side A is expected to be smooth and aesthetically pleasing. Side B contains the hidden structures that support the usage of the part. Side B structure may include ribs, bosses, etc., and its finish is usually much rougher than that of Side A. Molds with complex Side A and Side B designs are generally more expensive to fabricate compared to simpler molds. Complex designs that feature undercuts might also require sliding side-actions and cores, increasing the cost of the mold.
Production volume: The number of items to be produced using injection molding determines the production technology and the quality of material to use when creating the mold. Low volume projects might require 3D printed or lower-grade machined aluminum molds, while large production volumes will require high-grade steel molds or even multiple molds to manage the process without wear and tear affecting the quality of produced items. This affects the cost of the mold, but of course, the increased cost of high volume molds is distributed among more parts, which normally leads to a lower per part cost.
Part volume and cavities: Part volume refers to the cavity size of a mold. The more cavities or cavity volume a mold requires the longer the press time. Increased press time slows down the production process which leads to increased cost.
Other variables that impact the injection molding process and directly relate to the injection mold costs include:
Part size: The larger the item or part to be molded, the larger its mold will be to accommodate the part. Larger parts tend to require more injected materials to complete production cycles. Larger mold designs usually come at an increased cost compared to fabricating the same design but with smaller dimensions.
Part design: Complex part designs with intricate geometries require complex molds to execute the project. Mold designs usually have 2 sides: sides A and B. Side A, also known as the cosmetic side, is usually the side seen by the user. Side A is expected to be smooth and aesthetically pleasing. Side B contains the hidden structures that support the usage of the part. Side B structure may include ribs, bosses, etc., and its finish is usually much rougher than that of Side A. Molds with complex Side A and Side B designs are generally more expensive to fabricate compared to simpler molds. Complex designs that feature undercuts might also require sliding side-actions and cores, increasing the cost of the mold.
Production volume: The number of items to be produced using injection molding determines the production technology and the quality of material to use when creating the mold. Low volume projects might require 3D printed or lower-grade machined aluminum molds, while large production volumes will require high-grade steel molds or even multiple molds to manage the process without wear and tear affecting the quality of produced items. This affects the cost of the mold, but of course, the increased cost of high volume molds is distributed among more parts, which normally leads to a lower per part cost.
Part volume and cavities: Part volume refers to the cavity size of a mold. The more cavities or cavity volume a mold requires the longer the press time. Increased press time slows down the production process which leads to increased cost.
While injection molding may seem costly compared to processes like CNC machining and 3D printing, the ability to scale and manufacture thousands of parts makes it a cost-effective solution for mass production. Determining the cost of injection molding is a combination of several factors. The main determinant of molding cost is the amount of time it takes to produce the tooling. This means, the more complex the part’s geometry, the higher your manufacturing costs will be. Simple parts, without undercuts or more advanced surface finishes, will be the most affordable.
Undercuts can complicate and, in some cases, prevent part ejection, so eliminate them if possible.
In addition to per-unit costs, consider the material. Many plastics overlap in strength and functionality, but some are inherently easier to mold, driving down part costs. You can experiment with different materials in the interactive quote you receive when you upload your design to Protolabs.
Here are 11 injection molding design considerations to stretch your manufacturing dollar:
1. Eliminate undercuts 2. Get rid of unnecessary features 3. Use a core cavity approach 4. Reduce cosmetic finishes and appearances 5. Design self-mating parts 6. Modify and reuse molds
7. Pay attention to DFM analysis 8. Use a multi-cavity or family mold 9. Choose on-demand production option 10. Consider part size 11. Use overmolding
Injection molding is one of the leading processes for manufacturing plastics. It is widely used for mass-producing identical parts with tight tolerances. It is a cost-effective and extremely repeatable technology that yields high-quality parts for large series production.
It is a fast, intensive process where high heat and pressure are involved to inject molten material inside a mold. The molten material depends on the scope of the manufacturing project. The most popular materials are various thermoplastics, such as ABS, PS, PE, PC, PP, or TPU, but metals and ceramics can be injection molded as well. The mold consists of a cavity that accommodates the injected molten material and is designed to closely mirror the final features of a part.
Normally, the main cost driver in injection molding is the cost of the mold, also known as the tooling cost. The cost of designing and building a mold depends on the required production volume, the complexity of the part design, mold material, and the process used to create the mold.
Simple low-volume 3D printed molds can cost as little as $100, while the cost of designing and manufacturing complex molds for high-volume production may hit the $100,000 mark. Despite the considerable fixed start-up costs, the injection molding process has low variable costs due to the inexpensive thermoplastics materials, short cycle times, and the labor needs decrease progressively due to automation and economies of scale. This means that the variable costs of production are low and the process becomes more efficient and the cost per part decreases at higher volumes as the costs get distributed among hundreds or thousands of parts
First, it’s important for you to know that the various costs involved in plastic injection molding can be broken down into two categories: 1) the one-time cost for injection mold tooling and 2) the cost of manufacturing your production parts.
Factor #1: Part Complexity
The most significant factor that determines the initial mold tooling cost is the complexity of the part that is being produced. Plastic injection molded parts with a lot of sharp corners, thin ribs, or undercut features will generally be more expensive to make tooling for.
If the locations of sharp corners prevent the use of a round cutter for machining the mold features, they will require a secondary machining process called EDM machining (electrical discharge machining). Likewise, rib features that require machining deeper than 1/2 inch and thinner than 1/16 inch into the mold can also require secondary EDM machining.
Undercut features on plastic part designs will always increase the cost of the plastic injection molds. Undercuts force costs into the mold design time and machining time. They can also sometimes require the molds overall size to become larger to accommodate the space needed for the “side actions” (moving parts) that form the undercut features.
Factor #2: Mold Construction
There is a wide variety of injection mold construction methods for different part shapes, and many different reasons why they all have a place at the table in the injection molding industry. But, you can simplify these methods into two groups: “Insert molds” and “free standing molds”. Click here to learn more about each type.
From a general cost point of view, insert style molds will cost significantly less than free standing molds.
how much does injection molding cost
Within a mold’s construction, there are many different styles of side actions that are used to release plastic parts with undercuts during the part ejection process. The lowest cost side action method, and used by many of our competitors, is frequently called a “hand load” in our industry. Hand loads are loose parts of the mold that get ejected from the mold along with the part, are manually removed from the part, then re-inserted into the mold every molding cycle.
Hand loads are a low-cost tooling option to deal with undercut part features in the mold, but they increase part cost and can lead to inconsistent part quality. At MSI. we prefer to use “automatic” side actions in our molds because they allow for a faster and more consistent injection molding process, which then gives our customers better parts for a lower cost.
Injection molds with automatic side actions do carry a higher cost to make than hand load molds, but for any production quantities higher than a few hundred pieces. the payback in part cost savings will generally wash out the added overhead cost.
Factor #3: Number of Part Cavities
The number of part cavities within the mold will directly affect the price of the mold. Parts that only require a low quantity of parts per customer order will be constructed as a one cavity mold to produce only one part per machine cycle, and parts with a high quantity of parts per customer order might be constructed as a two, four, or eight cavity mold producing several parts per machine cycle.
Multi-cavity molds will certainly cost more than single cavity molds, however, keep in mind that part pricing will have an inverse relationship to mold cost when considering mold cavitation and a projects total overall cost.
Factor #4: Part Size
The size of a plastic part is directly related to the mold size that is required to produce the component. Larger molds require larger amounts of building space, larger and more expensive CNC machinery and equipment to work on them, etc.
However, in some cases there can be some crossover of the cost-to-size relationship. For example, a small injection mold with a very complex design can sometimes cost more than a larger injection mold with a very simple design.
Summing Up Tooling Costs
So, when estimating the total tooling cost, keep in mind: the complexity of the part you want to create, whether you want an insert mold or free standing mold, how many cavities you need, and the size of your part. Please keep in mind that this is just one cost. As previously mentioned, there are two costs associated with plastic injection molding: the tooling cost and the actual production cost.
Production Costs
Now that you better understand tooling costs, let’s break down what’s involved in producing your component after the mold has been made.
Factor #1: Material Choice & Part Weight
The plastic material selection you make for your plastic part is not only critical to the part’s function, but also plays a huge role in its cost to manufacture. Raw plastic material cost can range in price from $1 per pound to $25 per pound. So, care should be taken in plastic part design to minimize weight when possible.
Choosing the correct plastic type can also help you achieve faster cycle times or production rates of your parts. For small parts, the cost of the material has a small effect on the unit price and the production rate has a large effect. On larger, heavier parts, the cost of the material has a large effect on the unit price along with the production rate.
When estimating this cost, keep this equation in mind:
Material Part Cost = Plastic Material Price x Part Weight (lbs)
Factor #2: Cycle Time & Mold Cavities
“Cycle time” is a term used in our industry for both injection molding and CNC machining. In simple terms, it is the amount of time required for a machine to complete one production cycle. The total injection molding cycle time is made up of the following steps:
Mold closing time
Injection fill time
Injection pack/hold time
Cooling time
Mold opening time
Part ejection or take out time
Re-cycle time (which would only apply when parts must be ran in a semi-automatic mode with a machine operator)
Factor #3: Non-Material Related Costs
Let’s start with the machinery and equipment. Today’s high-tech servo driven injection molding machinery is very expensive. The tonnage size rating of the machine and its surrounding support equipment will determine the overall capital investment required to run production. Small tonnage machine sizes are used for running small molds and small parts, and large tonnage machines are needed to run large molds with large parts.
Even a small injection molding machine along with its support equipment will cost near $100,000 and very large machines will cost millions of dollars. It also follows that the machinery has a finite effective lifecycle because it wears out and also loses its advantage to newer technology over time. Knowing the cost being the capital investment in machinery divided by its effective lifecycle, it’s easy to understand that translates into an hourly operational cost of ownership of the equipment.
Secondary to the capital equipment costs discussed above would be a combination of fixed and variable costs, including the rent on manufacturing space, electrical power usage, etc. Through simple math, these costs are also very easy to drill down into an hourly operational cost.
The sum of all non-material related hourly costs combined and calculated out with a profit margin will become what is known as “machine rate” in our industry.
Finally, here is how the simple non-material related cost of an injection molded part is determined by cycle time:
The number of units produced per hour = (3600 sec / cycle time sec) x number of mold cavities
Non-Material Part Cost = Machine Rate per hour / # of units produced per hour
Since machine rates are all very competitive across the injection molding industry, cycle time and number of cavities in the mold are two significant determining factors in the total cost of a plastic molded part.
Factor #4: Packaging & Extras
Commonly requested items like the following can increase the cost of injection molded parts:
Layer Packing / Cell Packing / Poly Bagging / Retail Packaging / Plating / Painting / Pad Printing / Secondary Machining / Summing Up Production Costs
To better estimate the total production costs, you must first understand what type of material you’re using and how much (in pounds) you need to produce your part. Next, you’ll need to factor in the cycle time, equipment costs, facility rental fees, electricity, and post-production packaging.
As your product moves into production, injection molding costs can start to feel like they’re adding up at a rapid pace. Especially if you were prudent in the prototyping stage, drawing on rapid prototyping and 3D printing to manage your costs, it’s natural to feel a bit of “sticker shock” once those production quotes start to surface. From tooling creation to machine setup and production time, the remaining steps in bringing your product to market are likely to represent a large portion of your overall investment.
This is not to say that there aren’t ways to reduce injection molding costs, however. In fact, a number of best practices and tips are available to help you manage your costs with no sacrifice in quality. What’s more, many of these efficiencies dovetail or overlap with design best practices, resulting in a better overall product.
As you look into ways to reduce your injection molding costs, keep a few items in mind:
Not all of the below will necessarily apply to your project, and other best practices may also be available that aren’t listed here.
There are two main areas where costs can be reduced: investment costs (such as the production of your mold), and per-part costs.
Design for efficiency. In this case, we’re talking about production efficiency: making your part as easy as possible to produce, package and fulfill — while minimizing errors. This means following design best practices such as adding appropriate draft (or angle taper) to your parts for easier ejection, rounding corners, keeping walls sufficiently thick, and generally designing your product to take advantage of how the molding process works. With efficient design, your overall cycle times will be shorter, reducing the machine time for which you pay, and your number of discarded parts due to production or ejection error will be lower, saving you wasted time and material.
Analyze the structural requirements. Before moving to production, it can pay dividends to closely analyze the structure of your part to determine which areas are most critical to its function and quality. When you take this in-depth look, you may find areas where a gusset or a rib provides the strength you need, rather than a completely solid area. These types of design modifications, taken as a whole, can improve the structural integrity of your part while making it easier to produce. Plus, with lower part weights, your finished product will be more cost-efficient to ship, store and fulfill.
Reduce solid part areas. To further expand on the above concept, reducing solid part areas in favor of more hollow sections with carefully planned and placed supporting elements can yield big dividends to your bottom line. Designing a gusset instead of a solid inner wall, for instance, uses a significantly less amount of resin, adding up to big savings in your upfront material investment. Just be sure that you aren’t sacrificing quality in the interest of material efficiency, or else any potential savings will be wiped out by part failures.
Use core cavities when possible. When designing hollow box- or cylinder-shaped pieces, mold design and configuration can make a big difference in the efficiency and cost of both mold production and your part production process. For those types of hollow shapes, “core cavity” design provides a smart solution. “Core cavity” means that, instead of creating a mold half with deep, narrow walls to create the hollow portion, the tool is machined around the cavity shape. It’s a much less intricate design with less margin for error, and material flow will be significantly easier during the production process.
Suit the material to your part needs. Unless you’re designing a part for use in harsh environments such as extreme hot or cold, or for special-grade uses such as medical or food, material choice is often interchangeable. Rarely will you need to select a “Cadillac”-grade resin for a general-use part; and picking a lower cost material that can still suit your needs is an easy and effective way to lower your overall costs. A simple analysis of use cases for your product, along with quality requirements and your target market, can help you choose the right material for your price point.
Simplify as much as possible. We mentioned design for production efficiency above, and this is a similar yet distinct point. When simplifying your product design, eliminating any unnecessary elements, you can start to see savings in tooling costs, setup and production efficiency. Embellishments such as engraved or embossed company logos, built-in textures and finishes, and unnecessary design flourishes or elements may appear to make your part stand out, but it’s worth it to question whether the additional production costs are worth it. Especially for commodities, it’s much wiser to focus on quality and efficiency to provide a well-made yet cost-effective product for buyers, rather than attempting to differentiate yourself with design elements that don’t impact part performance.
Only add processes when needed. Much as textured or otherwise customized part finishes shouldn’t be designed into the mold unless necessary, other finishing processes should also be avoided unless they are integral to the function and purpose of your product. For instance, many resins do not possess an attractive finished color, so you may be tempted to paint or otherwise “dress up” the finished product. Unless aesthetic appearance is a critical quality for your end user, however, the time and cost of this added process is often not worth the investment. The same goes for processes such as sandblasting or other appearance-focused methods.
Get as many pieces as you can from your tool. Here, we’re talking about lowering your per-part costs, which can help you amortize the cost of your mold across a greater quantity, while driving down your overall investment by creating efficiencies in the production process. When you’re able to create, for instance, a mold with six shots instead of just two shots, you increase your production speed exponentially, create less wear and tear on your mold, and are able to get to market more quickly. In some cases, you may even be able to lower your tooling cost by choosing a more inexpensive material, since with more shots, the mold is undergoing fewer cycles to produce the same quantity of parts.
Making an injection mold is all about machining the raw metal blanks into components with desired precision, and putting them together to form a complete mold. Some mold components are moveable so in the manufacturing process, the plastic parts can be formed, cooled, solidified, and then get ejected from the mold.
With that being said, we can break down the mold cost like follows:
Mold design: A proper mold design plays an important role. In order to avoid possible molding flaws, the designer needs to have experience in manufacturing similar parts, and the knowledge of versatile plastic materials. For more demanding or complicated plastic parts, a mold flow analysis will be done for the fine tune of the mold design., although the computer-aided mold flow analysis is not necessarily more powerful than human experience. A mold design fee usually ranges from one hundred to several thousand dollars
Material: This is the most important part of total mold cost. The final mold price will usually be 3 to 5 times the material cost.
The injection mold mainly consists of several metal pieces. The material costs will be the sum of material price ($/kg) multiply their weights (kg).
The material costs should also include the electrode for EDM and accessories like eject pins, cylinders, cooling pipes and connectors.
Different mold steel varies much in price. This choice is based on production volume, the chosen plastic material, surface quality requirement, and of course, the budget limitations.
It is a bit difficult for you to calculate the material cost by yourself. You may ask 2 of your suppliers to send the cost breakdown for cross-reference, and use the mold design drawing for self-checking.
Machining: This is usually the biggest portion of the total costs. 2 typical machining processes are CNC machining and electrical discharging (EDM). The machining cost is calculated by the hourly rate to multiply the machining time (For example, 15 hours of CNC milling x $8/hour = $120.).
Assembly: The machined components are not ready for proper functioning in the mold yet, they need to be hand-worked, like filing, polishing, grinding, any kind of fine-tuning of dimensions and geometry for an ideal fit. The assembly process will usually take days or weeks. The assembly cost is also calculated by the hourly rate to multiply the total hours used for the assembly work. (In the below table, it is 10 hours of assembly x $8/hour = $80)
Tax and profit: Except for the tax and other overhead fees, a reasonable profit margin should be around 15-30%. Sometimes it may be a little higher for more challenging jobs, the extra profit is for the risk (uncertainty) the mold maker is going to take. Remember the mold manufacturer is responsible for delivering the final result, which is the injection mold that can smoothly produce the plastic parts with good quality, but not merely making a mold that ends up with any sort of molding flaws.
No two custom injection molding projects are the same, so working with someone that understands all the aspects of part design and manufacturing is important. the breakdown of injection molding cost:
Prototyping
You might want to test your concept with a prototype to make sure that it fits and functions well. The cost of a prototype for injection molding depends on two things: the completeness of the design and the size of the part being designed.
If a design is flawless, it will likely be easy to get a prototype 3D-printed. On the other hand, if a lot of design work is needed before it can be printed, designing could be the most expensive part of the process. Here are a few scenarios that illustrate this:
For a small part (1” square) with a good design, the prototype can be done for under $100.
A concept for that same part but with no design could cost around $2,000 for design work and under $100 for the prototype.
For a large part (24” square) with a good design, the prototype could cost around $2,000.
A concept for that same part but with no design could get up to $10,000 for design work and $2,000 for the prototype.
Mold & Size
When the part is ready for the manufacturing process, the plastic mold needs to be built. One of the biggest drivers of cost is the size of the part. If a part is bigger, it’s going to require more material, tooling, and time to build the injection mold.
In looking at parts with simple designs, a small part with simple design could have an injection mold cost between $10,000 – $20,000. A small part with no design work could have the same mold cost with $2,000 added for design.
For large parts with a simple design, the mold could cost between $30,000 – $100,000. If the part is large but has no design work, it will have an additional $10,000 added for design.
Complexity
Similarly, the more complex the part is, the more time it takes to make the plastic injection mold – and, well, time is money. Some parts may require cams, lifts, or core pins, which are additions to the custom injection mold that help achieve certain features a part may require. If the part has a higher volume, the mold would require more cavitation (parts molded per cycle) which adds to the molding cost and parts handling equipment (conveyors, chutes, bowl feeders, robots, etc.).
In addition, if the demand for a part is very high (hundreds of thousands of pieces), a multi-cavity tool may be required which also increases the cost.
In looking at parts with complex designs, a small part with complex design could have a mold cost between $20,000 – $40,000 . A small part with no design work could have the same mold cost with $2,000 added for design.
Resin
With over 100 different varieties of resin, it can be difficult to determine which one is best for your plastic part. Once we understand the characteristics that the part requires and the end use of the part, we can help you narrow down choices and choose the ideal plastic material for it.
Durable against high temperatures or low temperatures
Commodity grade resins are typically less expensive than engineering grade resins. However, engineering grade resins will likely be able to withstand extreme temperatures and friction better than commodity resins. Understanding the purpose and function of the part will ultimately determine the best material for it.
Additional Services
There are services that you might want in addition to the creation of the mold and the part.
In-mold decorating allows for colorization, stylization, and other effects to be added during the molding process.
Pad printing allows for two-dimensional images to adhere to three-dimensional molded part.
Plastic packaging can be designed and created specifically for your product.
Assembly can be conducted for complex parts.
Turnkey Plastic Injection Molding
A turnkey injection molder, like Pioneer Plastics, are full-service manufacturers who build the mold and handle the injection molding process. Keeping the part in-house from beginning to end makes the process more time-efficient and cost-efficient.
There are several main cost drivers with injection moulding projects. Consequently, you can apply general best practices to reduce the costs of injection moulding projects whilst still producing high-quality parts.
Larger production runs benefit from economies of scale which reduces unit costs. However, larger production runs may not be suitable depending on budgets and requirements as they often result in surplus stock and waste. This guide analyses the key influencers that affect the cost of injection moulding projects and offers cost-saving solutions throughout the injection moulding process.
Injection moulding machine costs are determined by various factors, including:
Complexity of design / Material type / Part size / Cycle time / Surface finishes and tolerances of the finished product / Shipping and logistics