HOW TO FIND A GOOD MOULD DESIGN COMPANY

Many plastic injection moulding facilities do not have an in-house mold designer, and thus need a good mould design company to fill the need. With so many free-lance designers and global competition, the decision making process can be rather daunting.

Here are some tried and proven ways to help choose the best mould design company for your needs.

Qualities of a good mould design company

Reputation and past performance are critical. Ask the potential designer to give references and samples. Anyone can make unfounded claims of experience, but a referral from a reputable source is most valuable. This might make it hard for a qualified engineer just starting out, but the risk is not worth taking.
Availability is paramount. Check to see if he is easy to contact. It might simply be by telephone, but, more and more, people use things like Skype, Facebook, Twitter, and, of course, old fashioned email. Do some tests to see how available he really is. You certainly do not want to be waiting around for hours or days to get a response.
Flexibility is a must. Given the fast paced environment of the plastic injection molding manufacturing process, the mould design company must be quick to adapt to changes, updates, emergencies and such.
Follow-up service can make or break a job. It is one thing to make a one-off injection mold design, quite another to be there for support when you need answers after the initial job is done.
Timeliness is extremely important, given today’s very short delivery dates. If your mold making company has 8 weeks to build a mold and 2 of them are used up in design, you might need to look for a different mould design company to do your work. Of course, complex tools take longer, but the timeliness of the project starts with the mold designer.
Ease of communication can make everyone’s life much easier. What if you cannot understand the accent, or he does not have a good command of your language? It is hard enough to communicate about slides, ejector pins, cores, cavities, shut-offs, mold flow, gates, runners and hot runner systems without having the barrier of language.
Price, ahh yes, price. The last thing you want to do is choose a mould design company based on price. There are always cheaper deals on almost everything, but you generally get what you pay for. If you want to be totally frustrated and lose money, then place your order with the lowest bidder. On the other hand, if you need a good design and not a premium product, you should not spend money unnecessarily on extras that you do not need.

Conclusion

Hiring a mould design company for your plastic injection molding or mold making operation is similar to other outsourced tasks. Keep your eyes wide open. Trust, then verify. Keep things open and professional, with the long-term relationship in mind.