How
to Find Qualified Plastic Injection Molding Companies
Selecting the best plastic injection molding
company from the suppliers out there can be a difficult task. Let's take a look
at how to find the best molding company for you budget by following these
steps.
Instructions
1
First, in order to begin
evaluating plastic injection molding companies, it is important to know what
you need them to mold for you. Specifically, you will need to have a fully
defined 3D Model and engineering drawing of the plastic component you wish to
have molded. Be sure to fully specify draft angles and surface textures in
drawing.
It is important to also specify
things like maximum allowable flash.
2
Next, it is critical to realize
that for most companies seeking an injection molding supplier, for right or
wrong, the largest factor tends to be cost. Going oversees to places like China
or Korea usually results in a lower piece cost than staying in the United
States. However, this savings in cost per molded part can be offset by delays
in getting the product to market.
Based on the project your
company is working on, determine if there are absolute restrictions on price as
this will be important to know.
3
Next, when evaluating a
potential injection molding company, it is very important to learn about the
history of the company and their capabilities. How long have they been in
business and what industries do they typically mold parts for?
If you have a part that
requires extremely tight tolerances, an injection molding company in the health
or aeronautics industry may work out better than a company that molds toys.
4
After you learn about the
background of the company, investigate their capabilities. What type of molding
capabilities do they have? Do they have any specialties such as 2-shot molding
or insert molding?
What type of presses do they use
and how old are they? Are they able to handle the volumes or quantities that
you require?
As alluded to earlier, lower
molded component cost does not always translate to an overall savings.
Depending on the quality control of the molder, their quality may be sub par
resulting in delays in the schedule or worse...returned product from the
customer.
Take some time to understand
how the plastic injection molding company monitors and ensures quality. Do they
do control charting? Are they ISO certified? Ask to see examples of quality
records/documentation for some of their recent projects.
If some unacceptable product is
found during an audit, what is their corrective action plan? Do they quarantine
the last X hours of product?
5
Lastly, the location of the supplier
can also be very important. Where are they located and how will this impact
your working relationship? Having an injection molding supplier "right in
your backyard" so to speak is great as it allows you to make day trips to
the supplier when issues arise. Contrast this to going overseas to an Asian
supplier where it will cost thousands of dollars per person per trip to visit.
China Tool Shop http://www.freetech-mould.com
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