Understanding the various types of costs associated with injection molding necessitates a thorough investigation of the manufacturing process.
Injection Molding Costs Come in a Variety of Forms
Equipment Expenses
To perform injection molding, businesses employ special-purpose machines that range from small desktop injection molding machines that can be used in-house to large industrial injection molding machines that are primarily operated by service providers, contract manufacturers and large corporations. Injection molding is the most cost-effective method for producing small quantities of parts, especially with smaller desktop injection molding machines and 3D printed molds. In the case of those who are new to injection molding and want to try it out with a small investment, a benchtop manual injection molding machine such as the Holipress or the Galomb Model-B100 may be a good choice for them. When it comes to medium-series production of small parts, automated small-scale injection molding equipment, such as the desktop machine Micromolder or the hydraulic machine Babyplast 10/12, are excellent alternatives.
Large industrial injection molding machines can range in price from $50,000 to more than $200,000, depending on their features. These machines also have more stringent facility requirements, as well as a greater demand for skilled labor for their operation, maintenance, and monitoring. Therefore, unless injection molding is a core competency of an organization, most businesses outsource mass production to service providers and contract manufacturers, with the equipment costs being included in the service costs.
Molding costs (also known as tooling costs)
Mold costs, also known as tooling costs, are typically the most significant cost drivers in the injection molding industry, as we discussed in the introduction. Plastic Injection Mold for injection molding are typically created using one of three methods: injection molding, compression molding, and sand casting.
For the production of aluminum and stainless steel molds with high levels of precision, CNC machines are the most commonly used tools on the market. CNC machining is the process of removing material from a workpiece using a spinning tool and a fixed part. Machining can produce molds with highly complex cavity designs, but doing so may necessitate multiple tool changes, which slows down the process and increases costs as the complexity of the mold increases. Mold production is outsourced to service providers because CNC machines are industrial tools that require a skilled workforce and a dedicated space. As a result, many businesses outsource mold production to service providers.
When it comes to mold design, the electrical discharge machining (EDM) method is commonly used because it allows for the creation of highly complex mold designs that are difficult to replicate using standard machining methods. A workpiece and a tool electrode are used in conjunction with each other to create the desired mold shape. The tool electrode and the workpiece electrode are separated by a dielectric fluid and are subjected to voltages that cause recurrent current discharges between the two electrodes of the tool. The discharges are in charge of forming the workpiece electrode into the final mold shape that is desired. EDM is extremely accurate and does not typically necessitate the use of any additional post-processing. EDM, like CNC machining, is an industrial process that many companies outsource to machine shops, similar to how CNC machining is done.
A powerful solution for fabricating injection molds quickly and at a low cost, 3D printing is becoming increasingly popular. Moreover, because it requires minimal equipment, it frees up CNC time and skilled operators for use on other high-value tasks in the meantime. Manufacturers can take advantage of the speed and flexibility of in-house 3D printing to create molds that can be used on both desktop and industrial molding machines, reducing costs and increasing productivity. Also advantageous is the ability to iterate on the design and test the end-use material before investing in hard tooling for mass production, which can save time and money during product development. When it comes to injection molding, the stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing technology is an excellent choice. It is distinguished by a smooth surface finish and high precision that will transfer from the mold to the final part and that will also make demolding easier. Stereolithography produces 3D prints that are fully dense and isotropic because of the chemical bonding that occurs during the manufacturing process. Computer-aided design (CAD) desktop SLA printers, such as those offered by Formlabs, start at less than $5,000 and can be seamlessly integrated into any injection molding workflow due to their ease of implementation, operation, and maintenance.
The Cost of Injected Material
According to the requirements of the final parts, a wide range of plastics can be used for injection molding, including ABS, PS, PE, PC, PP, and TPU. ABS is the most commonly used plastic for injection molding. The cost of purchasing materials for molds varies depending on the type of material used to make the mold. Thermoplastic pellets are priced between $1 and $5 per kilogram of material. The design of a model, the material selected, and the amount of material used to complete the injection molding process all influence the cost of materials used in the process.
Costs of labor or services
To get the job done, the equipment associated with injection molding is generally self-regulating and relies on automation to complete the process. Molds are created using CNC machines, EDM machines, and 3D printers, which all rely on the specifications of the CAD design. The injection molding machine also relies on automation to inject materials into the mold, and industrial IM machines are frequently capable of cooling and ejecting the finished item on their own.
Installation and configuration costs: The setup labor costs are based on the time it takes to set up and configure the equipment that will be used to manufacture the mold and the finished product. Repair and maintenance tasks entail the replacement of defective parts as well as the use of tools to carry out the maintenance process. Repair and maintenance costs: Monitoring costs: Despite the reliance on automation, it is expected that equipment operators will monitor the progress of the injection molding process throughout the process. During the process, wages accrued by the operators are added to the total cost of the injection molding process. They are included in the labor costs when a company produces its own goods in-house. When a company outsources injection molding, the labor costs, as well as the markup charged by the service provider, are added to the total cost of the service.
