Plastic Injection Moulding Lead Times

Plastic Injection Moulding Lead Times

There are many reasons for the global success of plastic injection moulding as a high volume manufacturing process, most notably speed of production and low unit costs.

If plastic injection moulding does have an Achilles heel, then it would be the lead-time to production, and that is simply down to the time it takes to have a mould tool designed and manufactured.  With the best will in the world, production tooling takes weeks not days, and there’s been no shortage of market forces trying to speed this up over the years!

In the development and rapid prototyping stages of a project, engineers and designers are able to see the results of design changes very quickly and they refine the design.  A good prototype is an effective means to assess the form and function of a design, and to identify and correct errors.  However, there’s big difference between a prototype and the finished article produced by plastic injection moulding.

What is a typical lead-time for production injection moulding?

In a nutshell, we’ve got two options… and it really depends on what your priority is.  At Skar a large proportion of our business involves the injection moulding of medical and engineering components, which typically require complex mould tool designs to achieve the accuracy and precision required.  (Give us a call on 01473 828000 or send us an email if you’d like more information.)

We can typically get a mould tool manufactured in China in just 4 to 5 weeks, which means that a sample of your product can be in your hands within 5 to 6 weeks.  Getting the same mould tool manufactured here in the UK might take 3 or 4 weeks longer, and cost a little more.  So if your priority is cost, and/or getting a sample of the actual finished product in your hands as soon as possible, then China is the way to go.

HOWEVER… if the priority is to get into production as soon as possible, then a UK-made mould tool is the best way forward, due to the 6 weeks or so it takes to ship a tool from China to the UK following approval sign off. However it should be noted that for small injection mould tools it can often be cost effective to send them from China to the UK by carrier, which takes this shipping time out of the equation.

If there’s a modification or two to be made to the final design this can add a couple of weeks to the process too.

So in summary, here’s how the two compare

(Please note that the above times are just a guide.  Small, simple components will be quicker, and large complex ones will require more time!)

I hope this information is helpful.  If you’ve got a project in mind, or would like more information, please call now on 01473 828000 or send us an email if you’d like more information.

Thanks,

Brian