Injection Moulding Products Manufacturers: The Cost Break Down

When you place an order with injection moulding products manufacturers, understanding the cost calculating factor can be a daunting task. After all, there are several factors that contribute to calculating the accurate cost per part.

The specifications and the speeds of the parts or the components tend to define the price. These attributes would help you calculate the price per part of the injection moulding technique. It may sound simple here, but it is a bit challenging.

Therefore, in this blog post, we will make things easier for you. We will provide you with a complete break down of all the factors that affect the cost factor in injection molding. So, without any further delay, let us get started!

If you are interested in learning more about Injection Molding, check out our article: 10 Steps to Plastic Mold Design.

The Break down of Cost Via Injection Moulding Products Manufacturers

Injection Mold Price

Before we get down to the factorizing the plastics that we plan to create, we first need to focus on the cost of creating an injection mold. Remember, the process of creating an error-free mold requires experience and skill.

The correct mold shape is imperative. After all, it would define the shape of your future parts. The price of the mold greatly depends upon its complexity. It can run anywhere from $1000 to 10 of thousands of dollars.

However, if you require a single cavity mold, you would not have to spend a lot. In case, your objective is to achieve a multi-cavity tool as the part that you plan to the manufacturer is complex, you would have to keep your pockets open.

Furthermore, if you require complex and large tools, along with consistent machine maintenance and thick walls, the price per cost is bound to go open.

Polymer Resin Cost

The thermoplastic that you use for the manufacturing of the parts or components would have a direct impact on the price. It will be one of the biggest indicators of price per part. So, be wise about it.

For instance, if you with an engineering resin instead of the commodity resin, it would cost you a few cents extra. But then it would offer strength and robustness. So, if your part needs to be of high quality, you should pay the few extra cents and go with the engineering resins.

Another way to cut down resin cost is to use the ones that are created from recycled plastics. You would have to check with the injection moulding products manufacturers if they offer that kind of resins for component creation.

Injection Molding Labor

One of the greatest things about the injection molding technique is that it has low labor costs. The reason being, most of the procedure is automated. Most of the machines are either self-equipped or they are automatic.

Once the process starts, there are little or almost no input from a human. The lack of human interface decreases the cost significantly. Nonetheless, there still is labor, and below are the factors that are important when calculating the labor cost of the injection moulding process.

Location

Sometimes, manufacturers turn to offshore tooling. Since several developing countries offer extremely cheap labor. However, these labor rates are subject to an increase in the growing economy of the country.

Likewise, the shipping rates can be high in some countries in comparison to others. You need to consider all these aspects as well.

Equipment Type

Since every injection moulding machine is not the same, thus it requires a different type of maintenance. For instance, the electric hybrid machines require less maintenance in comparison to the hydraulic machines.

Additional Services

In case, your parts require tool relocation, or you need the injection moulding products manufacturers to create a prototype before getting down the to mass production. This will increase the initial labor cost.

Machine Time Required

From a manufacturer’s point of view, time is money. So, if a machine cycle takes long, it means the manufacturer would spend more time on its maintenance. In addition, the machine would consume more energy.

All this would eventually have an impact on the price of every part. Therefore, you need to understand all the factors that would influence the time required for the machine to complete your order.

Type of Mold

The type of mold you choose would have an impact of the machine time. For instance, if you go with a single part mold, it would cost you less initially. However, it would take more time for the parts that you make per cycle.

However, with multi-part mold, you would pay the extra upfront cost, but it would decrease the overall time required to complete one machine cycle, thus reducing the cost in general.

Part Complexity

The complexity of the part also has an impact on the machine cycle. A dense part that requires thick walls and has complex geometry would take more time instead of a less complex and think component.

Setup Time

It is the time that you would need to mold the mould into the machine. There would be an increase in cost per pat if there is precycling the process.

Injection Moulding Products Manufacturers Cost Calculation: Example

Let us take an example to make things easier for you. Before that, focus on the following aspects.

Hourly costs include the facility location as well as the part’s size.

For larger parts, higher injection molding is required, and vice versa. Higher pressure means an expensive machine.

So, now let’s see how the cost is calculated!

Below are the part measurements.

Weight = 50 grams

Part Size= 200 x 200 x 4 (Everything is in millimeter)

We are imaging the part of a large one. Thus, you would need an expensive molding machine.  You would be paying more for the Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene or the High-density Polyethylene pellets. In the case of material, we would be using the common standard material.

To calculate the Cost, follow the steps below.

1. Take the tooling costs plus the material cost.
2. Now divide the value from above by hourly cost plus the number of parts.
3. Divide the answer by the production time.

Now add the values in the above pseudo-code.

Mold Cost = $30, 000

Cycle Time = 80 seconds

Pellet Cost = $10/kg

Parts Manufactured = 45 per hour

Machine labor and usage = $30 per hour.

Volumes affect Production Cost

There is an effective way to reduce the cost per part while using injection molding: mass production. For instance, if you require more than 20,000 units, each unit would cost you less. Instead of costing you $30, it would cost you $2.

However, keeping all the specifications the same, but reducing the unit number, let’s say 1,000 units would cost you around $30 each.

Injection Moulding Products Manufacturers offer Additional Benefits

When it comes to injection molding, you can enjoy the following benefits.

• Variety in terms of material
• You can customize the design of the parts to ensure that they meet your product requirement.
• The process offers a fast production cycle. Most cycles are less than 60 seconds.
• Though the smart up cost is high for small scale production, but for mass production, it is the most inexpensive molding technique.
• It has a good turn around time even for complex parts or components.

Injection Moulding Products Manufacturers Overview

It is important to take your time when calculating the cost of injection molding. Another thing to remember is that service charges vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Therefore, always ask the injection molding products manufacturers before you sit down to calculate the price.

Moreover, you need to review your design. Try eliminating unwanted complexities as that would increase the price per unit. A simple design would cost you less.

In case, you are not able to calculate the price or you an easy way out. Not a problem, allow us, Kaito Mould, to provide you with a quote. You can let us know your specification and we will provide you with the complete on how much it would cost you.