Should You Waste Money On Injection Mold Components

Plastic Injection mold components are an important, but often overlooked part of the injection mold making process. These would include things such as: mold bases, ejector pins, core pins, leader pins, leader pin bushings, pillar supports, rest buttons, interlocks, slide units, lifters, wear plates, pressure transducers, collapsible cores, 3-plate mold locks, etc.

The details tend to get missed when focusing on the big picture, but it is the details that make the big picture. The chain is also only as strong as it’s weakest link, so don’t cut corners when it comes to standard injection mold components.

This is especially if you are outsourcing the mold making to overseas suppliers, such as China. Trust, but verify. Things are not always as they appear and some mold makers knowingly try deceive with inferior components and steel

There is very little reason anyone would make most of the injection mold components used in their mold. Proprietary reasons or custom designs are two exceptions.

Why are quality injection mold components important?

Cost  it is nearly always cheaper to purchase a custom mold base and the accompanying components. Why waste your time on the “grunt” work, when the profits are in the mold making? Of course, there are certainly exceptions, but generally, it is more profitable to purchase a standard mold base and the related components.

Consistency  Since a good supplier will guarantee close tolerances, you can focus your attention on the cores and cavities, instead of more general machining. The profit is in the cores and cavities, so why spend time making something that can be purchased cheaper and made just as well, or perhaps better? Even if it costs a bit more, it still makes good business sense most of the time.

Delivery a good supplier will deliver just what you want, on time. Plus, you don’t have to pay for the scrapped parts he made while filling your order. This is especially true if you need more than one or two pieces.

Find good injection mold component suppliers and develop a working relationship, it will save the day sometime.

Injection Mold Component Suppliers

DME	Progressive	Cumsa	DMS	PCS	IMS
Dayton Pins	Extreme	Hasc	Kistler	RJG	Superior

Flexibility and innovation companies are constantly searching for new and better ways to make components and improve their applications. Think about lifters, for example: there are numerous clever ways of making lifters, each one better than the rest! Take advantage of this collective inventiveness instead of relying on what worked 20 years ago.

Good communication using standardized plastic injection mold components is often a selling point. Some companies have “favorite” suppliers for their hot-runner system, for example. This also can make communication easier, since the features and sizes are catalogued and common.

There is simply no way that to justify making things such as ejector pins, mold base bushings and leader pins. However, there are always special cases where it is practical to custom manufacture components. Special ejector sleeves, custom core pins, custom lifters or unique slides would certainly fall under this category, otherwise it just makes sense to use available industrial supplies. 

Learn more:

• What You Don’t Know About Injection Mold Interlocks
• Pressure Transducers Suppliers For Injection Mold Making
• The Benefits Of Hot Runner Systems Can Make You Money
• How To Choose The Right Tool Steel For Injection Molds

Injection Mold Base Suppliers

Omni	Hasco	DME	DMS
PCS	National	MBI	Target