Determine the price range of injection molds, which may vary greatly due to factors such as mold size, complexity, materials, and precision. Small and simple injection molds may range from thousands to tens of thousands, while large and complex molds may range from tens of thousands to millions.
The factors that affect the price should include the size and complexity of the mold, such as whether the size and shape of the product are complex, whether there are side core pulling, sliding blocks and other structures, which will increase the difficulty and time of mold processing. In terms of materials, there are significant price differences for different types of mold steel, such as steel material models and types, hardness requirements, and heat treatment that can also affect costs. If high precision is required, the processing equipment needs to be more precise, such as using CNC, EDM, slow wire cutting, etc., which increases the processing cost.
Secondly, there is the demand for product output. If customers require long-term production, molds may need to be more durable, materials and structural design will be more sophisticated, and costs will increase. Surface treatment is also a factor, such as mirror polishing, electroplating, etc., which can increase costs. The lifespan requirements of the mold, such as how many times it needs to be produced, the higher the durability, the higher the material and manufacturing requirements.
Finally, there are also design costs involved. Complex products may require more design time and experience, especially in mold runner design, cooling systems, etc., which will affect costs.
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The price of injection molds varies greatly depending on specific needs, usually ranging from several thousand USD to several million USD. The following is a detailed analysis of the price range and influencing factors:
General price range of injection molds
Small and simple molds (such as daily necessities, toy parts):
-Price: 700 to 7000 USD
-Features: The product has a small size (≤ 10cm), a simple structure (without complex buckling or side core pulling), and is mostly made of domestic mold steel (such as P20). The processing cycle is short (about 20-40 days).
Medium sized conventional molds (such as home appliance casings and automotive interior parts):
Price: 7000 to 70000 USD
Features: The product has a medium size (10-30cm), may include a simple core pulling structure, and is commonly made of high-quality domestic steel or imported pre hardened steel (such as 718H). The processing accuracy requirement is moderate (± 0.05mm), and the cycle time is about 40-80 days.
Large and complex molds (such as car bumpers, precision medical components):
WPrice: 70000 to millions USD
Features: The product has a large size (≥ 30cm), a complex structure (multiple sliders, hot runners, high-precision matching), and is made of imported high hardness steel (such as NAK80, S136). The precision requirement is high (± 0.01~0.02mm), and the cycle time is over 80~150 days.
Core factors affecting price
Mold size and structural complexity
The larger the size, the more materials are required, the higher the cost of processing equipment (such as large CNC, gantry milling), and the longer the processing time.
Structural complexity:
When including structures such as side core pulling, sliding block, inclined top, and hot runner, additional design and processing are required, resulting in a cost increase of 20% to 50%.
-Multi cavity molds (such as 1 mold with 8 cavities and 1 mold with 16 cavities) can increase design difficulty, but the cost of a single product can be amortized.
Selection of mold materials
Steel types:
(such as 45 #, P20): Low price (about 2-5 USD/kg), suitable for small batch production (lifespan ≤ 500000 times).
(such as Sweden S136, Japan NAK80): High price (8~20 USD/kg), strong corrosion resistance, good precision retention, suitable for precision parts or long-life molds (life ≥ 1 million times).
Heat treatment: processes such as quenching and tempering improve hardness, increasing costs by 10% to 30%.
Accuracy and surface requirements
Dimensional accuracy: Precision molds (such as optical lenses and medical equipment) require a tolerance of ± 0.01mm and require the use of high-precision equipment (slow wire walking, optical grinding). The processing cost is 30% to 80% higher than that of ordinary molds.
Surface treatment: mirror polishing (Ra ≤ 0.01 μ m), electroplating (corrosion prevention), leather grain/bite pattern (appearance requirements), etc., each item increases the cost by 5% to 20%.
Production and lifespan requirements
Production batch: If the expected output is large (such as more than 5 million times), it is necessary to improve the durability of the mold, upgrade the materials and processing standards, and increase the cost by 20% to 40%.
Life design: The higher the requirement for mold life (such as from 500000 to 5 million cycles), the thicker the steel and optimize the cooling system, resulting in exponential cost growth.
Injection Mold Design and process
Mold design: Complex flow channels (such as hot runner systems) and precise cooling water circuit design require the participation of senior engineers, and the design cost may account for 10% to 20% of the total cost.
Special processes: dual color injection molding, in mold labeling (IML), gas assisted molding, and other special processes that require customized structures, resulting in a cost increase of 30% to 100%.
