6 Questions To Ask Before Buying A Mold In China

09 Sep.,2024

 

6 Questions To Ask Before Buying A Mold In China

What are some questions to ask before buying a mold in China?

Goto WIT MOLD to know more.


  1. Can you make a product that can meet my production requirements?

  2. Can you achieve tight tolerances?

  3. How many machines do you have?

  4. Are you working with an experienced and professional team?

  5. Do you provide prototyping services?

  6. Do you have high-cavitation molds?

Whether you&#;re a private individual running a startup or a large industry dependent on OEM plastic injection-molded tools, you need to make sure that you&#;re partnering with the right molding company in China. There are certain questions to ask before buying a mold in China that can help you identify if you&#;re collaborating with the right company. 

One thing you should prioritize is that you should be able to choose a company that can meet a number of your requirements. Not only will they help in providing you a mold that achieves tight tolerances, but they can also bring you the best outcomes when it comes to operational efficiency, practicality, and high-volume needs.

With all of these in mind, you have to know what you&#;re looking for in a plastic injection company. Before buying a mold, understand if that company is capable of meeting your production requirements, has the right machinery to perform the job, provides a range of prototyping services, and the like. Continue reading to learn more. 

Can You Make A Product That Can Meet Your Production Requirements?

The first question you should ask before you choose a company that can supply you with an injection mold is if they have the capabilities to meet your production volume requirements. 

Of course, you&#;ll get different answers depending on the industry you belong to. If your business is focused on the distribution of consumer goods, such as beverages or packed cosmetics, you need a reliable mold manufacturer that can perform production levels that reach a billion metric tons or more, each year.

Alternatively, if your business is involved in the manufacture of larger equipment, such as automotive parts or heavy machinery, see to it that your mold-maker in China can consistently dedicate their efforts to producing high-quality molds of these products.

Can You Achieve Tight Tolerances?

When you have already conceptualized your mold, you&#;ll likely have an idea of the dimensions of each part and component. As much as possible, when you have your idea actualized into a plastic injection-molded product, you want the final outcome to be as close to the prototype, or the concept, as possible.

To make sure that you buy a mold that has all of these standards, ask your molding company if they can achieve tight tolerances in their manufacturing processes. Typical injection molding companies usually set a threshold of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) tolerance of +/&#; 0.005 inches. Likewise, they should also be able to accommodate tighter tolerances, as specified by your molding requirements. 

How Many Machines Do You Have?

The quality and type of equipment that your chosen mold manufacturer has, are just as important as their experience in the industry. As such, you have to choose a company that uses different types of equipment at varying capacities. 

One of the factors affecting the size of injection molded parts is the platen size. Ask if your company&#;s machines can support different mold thicknesses, fast injection molding rate, resin variety, and heavy plastic weight. 

To know the best machines available for your mold needs, choose a company that houses multiple units of equipment. For example, they may have a single unit for their -TON equipment, but for smaller molds, their facility may also house 8 units of a 150-TON machine, 6 units of a 90-TON machine, and the like. 

Are You Working With An Experienced And Professional Team?

Years of experience and professionalism are two other things to look for in your mold supplier. As much as possible, you&#;ll want to choose a company that has more than a decade of experience behind them. They should have adequate knowledge not just when it comes to injection molding, but also in prototyping and manufacturing of different products. Every tool and equipment used in their production processes should be constantly maintained, updated for new developments, and quality-assured to come up with high-grade injection mold products.

Do You Provide Prototyping Services?

If you&#;re conceptualizing the next big plastic product in the market, you want to make sure that it functions according to your intentions. This is why many mold-making companies also invest in rapid prototyping, wherein the customer will get a concrete mold of the product, make refinements or modify it to correct any defects.

Ask if your mold manufacturer also conducts rapid prototyping for their injection mold processes. Prototyping is a low-cost and practical alternative compared to tool-making because the materials are relatively available. You can also request your manufacturer to have a similar end-product reverse-engineered to see what you can learn from your competitors in improving your mold design. 

Are you interested in learning more about china mold design suppliers? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

Do You Have High-Cavitation Molds?

Although injection molding is a simple process, the lead time may vary on the type of mold. If your business values efficiency, especially in the production of multiple molds in a single-shot, then you need to ask your mold maker if their machines have support for high-cavitation molds.

High-cavitation molds are ideal if you belong to healthcare, biopharmaceutical, food & beverage, or any industry that relies on high-precision production of multiple molds all at once. Ensure that your mold maker can guarantee quality even in single-shot moldings. 

Key Takeaway

In this guide, we&#;ve outlined six questions to ask before buying a mold in China. You have to find out if your mold manufacturer can supply you with high-quality molds at a short turnaround time. 

More than just that, they should be implementing all the latest equipment and technology to achieve high-precision products, no matter for low-cavity or high-cavity molds. Finally, with an available prototyping service, your molding company in China can guarantee that the product you&#;ll end up with is suitable to be distributed to the wider market and end-users.

Looking for a high-quality mold maker in China? Richfields Plastic has answers to all of your questions. Click here to view a list of their products and services. You may also contact them to request a quote or to find more information about mold making.

Domestic Service with Benefits of Mold Makers in China

 

If you are tasked with finding off-shore injection mold makers in Chinathere are many points to consider for a successful program launch.  Michiana Global Mold is a custom precision injection mold supplier that has been providing quality Class A steel molds for production in various industries since .   We have a partnership with Modular Mold, our China mold maker, and can assist you with all considerations so that you can focus on your project requirements.

You will not have to worry about the initial research and travel involved with utilizing an off-shore mold making company.  We have also removed the language barrier, and can assure that your tool will be produced with quality steel and craftsmanship, meeting or exceeding your specifications.

Initial Research and Travel

When first beginning your search for an offshore injection mold maker, it may seem that the travel and research required make it cost prohibitive.   That may be the case if you had to go it alone, but fortunately Michiana Global Mold has performed all travel and research for you and can offer you our expertise from our domestic location in northern Indiana, United Sta We make several trips per year to our partner Modular Mold in China, and maintain constant communication on all project builds.

Qualifications and Quality of Mold Makers China

You will also want to know the quality of steel and complexity of molds produced by the China source you are considering.   Some injection mold makers in China produce sub-standard molds due to poor steel quality.  All of our molds are produced using only North American or German steels.  With our experience and constant communication with our China plant, you can rest assured that your mold will be produced of the top grade of steel to last longer than your project needs.

Language Barrier

One of the biggest drawbacks to searching for an off-shore mold supplier from China is the language barrier.  In order to be sure you are getting the quality and precision that your project requires, you must be able to communicate clearly to whomever is constructing your tool.  Typically, these projects cost several thousand dollars, and you surely do not want to leave anything to chance.   Language barrier is not an issue for Michiana Global Mold, as we are in constant contact and communication with our China partner, Modular Mold.   Your main point of contact will be our project management team in the US thus eliminating this potential obstacle.

Quality of Steel and Craftsmanship

Our mold building facility in China follows the same strict guidelines for quality steel, using certified German and North American Steel grades.  decades of experience constructing quality custom injection molds, Michiana Global Mold has vast knowledge of the quality of steel required for a quality tool.

Reverse Engineering & Analysis

When you need a complex quality tool, you cannot afford to find problematic areas after mold construction.  Michiana Global Mold can provide you with several value-added services for our domestic and offshore molds.  With the ability to produce 2D and 3D drawings utilizing Solid Works and Unigraphics software, we can identify critical dimensions early in the design phase.

Mold Flow Analysis is another available tool for properly identifying material flow to critical areas.  Reverse Engineering is available from our master design engineers, utilizing the latest in technological advancements.

Lead Times

The lead time is always an important factor when deciding on a mold supplier, and when waiting on your tool to ship from overseas any delay can make you nervous.  Because our facility in China is over 40,000 square feet with more than 75 employees, we have the capacity and the manpower to complete your project within your lead times.  Project management is coordinated from our United States location, maintaining constant communication, and tool status reports are available to keep you abreast of project completion.

Testing and Inspection

All Final Inspection is performed in the United States.  Both our Northern Indiana plant and our location in China are registered to ISO: and ISO: respectively.  We adhere to all policies and procedures, practicing continual improvement projects at both locations to share in cost saving efforts.

Shipping

Shipping is coordinated in order to meet your desired lead times, while allowing for testing and final inspection.  We have the ability to run sample parts of tools constructed.  You will be in the loop with communication during and after mold construction.

Partial or Full Mold Construction

Utilizing our injection mold making facility in China, it is possible to coordinate  semi-finished or fully-finished offshore molds at an economical price with up to 40% cost savings.  All mold types are available including Prototype, Production, Insert, Cold or Hot Runner Molds, Shuttle Molds, Collapsible Unscrewing Molds and Three-Plate Molds.

Michiana Global Mold Provides Custom Solutions

With our vast experience and technology, we can create a custom solution for you based on your project requirements.  Our knowledgeable engineers are part of a highly functional team with the tools ready to assist you with from the beginning of your project needs.

We can provide domestic communication, quality and lead times, with the economical option of utilizing injection mold makers in China.  If you are searching for a one-stop shop to make your task easier, contact Michiana Global Mold for the answers to your questions.

Michiana Global Mold has been a superior supplier of high quality plastic injection molds for various industries including automotive, consumer electronics, medical and defense, for over 50 years.   We strive to maintain high customer satisfaction through continual product and process improvement at both our United States and China location

 

Contact us to discuss your requirements of automotive injection mold in china. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.