A TOOL SHOULD BE A VALUE PROPOSITION means Investment of the Tool should give the pay back Returns in a shorter duration with the Performance like Lower Cycle Time , Non Flashing, Cooling Efficiency , Finish of the cavities etc to be considered. The same has been declared as mold life (i.e.) No. of Shots the mold can perform without any major Issues with minor preventive Maintenance.

To define “Quality” of a specific molding tool you must first ask what the requirements for your production are.

• What are the capacity (weekly) requirements?
• Part Quality expectations?
• Life expectation of the tool?
• Do you have a Tooling Specification which details design and components to be used?
• Do you have a Tooling/Molding Supplier that will assist you with options for forming a specific quote on a tool that meets your requirements?
• Where are you located and where will production be?

A QUALITY mold tool would be capable of producing a part that meets all of the customers’ requirements. As to the GRADE of tool which meets certain BUILD/TOOLING SPECIFICATIONS, i e; Prototype, Limited Production, High Capacity, the customer needs to define the overall requirements for projected capacity and also the molding & tooling cost that will be considered for a specific project. Aside from the GRADE of tool, there is also a COMPLEXITY factor which has a profound effect on tooling cost and required maintenance (spare parts) during production. The MATERIAL selection for the molded part will also have bearing on the tool design and must be considered for process control and wear factors (tool life). I hope that my opinions have given you some basic issues in order to formulate a guide that you can use for your next tooling & molding purchase.