One of the best things a plastic injection molding company can offer is a way for potential clients to request a quote easily. The last year of business has been very hands-off and remote due to COVID-19, which means online discussions and requests for quotes has been handled less and less in person. In order to request a quote, a client must have certain pieces of information readily available. If you think you’re ready to request a quote, check what you have against this list of essential project details to ensure you receive accurate quote:
Is Your Finalized Design Really Ready for Production?
Tooling development is a large investment and heading to production without being ready is going to cost time and money you may not be ready to spend. The first stage of the development has to do with the design itself, and what form it is in. Is it just a hand sketch with rough dimensions, or is it a 3D model in a common software package? How detailed is the design? Does it include radii on corners and edges to ensure release from an injection mold, or is everything perfectly square on the edges? Little details such as wall thickness and surface textures can also change how well a design can be produced. If you’re not ready to create 2D prints from the design that incorporates all the pertinent details, your designer or tool manufacturer may need to spend more time filling in the details.
What Environment Will Your Product Be Used In?
One of the most often overlooked areas of design is how and where the end-user will use the product. We have seen it time and time again that the designer planned for only certain environments and usages, and the product line is expanded into a failure scenario. The customer continually damages the product with a different usage than expected, and costly redesigns must be instituted to ensure durability in all scenarios. It happens more than you think. Have you identified all potential environments that your product will endure? Hot, cold, exposed to corrosive chemicals or electrification? Any other liquids that would be a concern? All of these conditions will drive what material you need to select to have the perfect product.
Have You Selected the Right Material to Injection Mold?
Once you know how your customers will really use your product, and you’ve designed durability in, it’s time to select the perfect resin material. There are thousands of resins available for injection molding. Many engineered resins will withstand extreme temperatures, corrosive environments, electrification, have better recyclability, and more characteristics. The key will be to work with your designer and molding partner to pick the rest that best suits. Otherwise you may spend hours trying to find the best fit, and still not select the best for your application.
Do I Need a Hundred or a Million Parts?
Quantity matters in injection molding. The injection molds can be made of different materials to endure the molding operation for a limited amount or a large amount. Knowing a rough quantity of parts to be molded is an essential part of an accurate quote. Beyond the initial number, you my want to have a discussion on various scenarios involving a fluctuating volume. If your product flops, what would happen to the molding operations? If your product really takes off, can the injection molds handle a certain amount of extra parts being made? Can your molding partner accommodate a larger volume, or do they have a cut-off point before you need to seek another partner? Having frank discussion upfront may alleviate some of the what-if scenarios that may happen in the future.
Does Your Product Need Secondary Operations?
You may find that your product is an assembly that needs secondary operations before it can be shipped for distribution. Some assembly may be required, extra packaging completed, laser engraving or extra markings, the options can be hard to choose from. That may be where looking for a molding partner that can accommodate all the extras your product needs is the right solution. Finding one company that can handle everything for you will be faster and cheaper overall than spending your time searching for a separate business partner for each step of the process. One company can probably injection mold, add secondary operations, then package and distribute your product.
Bringing products to a global market is a complex process involving many factors. The global economy is fast-paced, and doing everything yourself is most likely not the best usage of your time and money. Requesting an accurate quote will require essential details to be known upfront, and then you can search for the right partner to ensure your vision is brought to market. SEA-LECT Plastics is a turn-key supplier that can handle the intricate details, and is a leader in plastic injection molding with options for assembly and logistics. We can aid with resin selection on a new product, offer turn-key assembly options, and program management to see the complete development cycle through with success. Give us a call at (425) 339-0288 or email us at mattp@sealectplastics.mystagingwebsite.com. We can offer you advice on the best technology to use, the best materials to meet your product demands, and how to navigate through each development stage. At SEA-LECT Plastics, we specialize in military product applications, outdoor adventure gear, musical instruments, supporting the medical parts manufacturing and all kinds of consumer product industries. Our goal is to make your project efficient and cost-effective to manufacture, assemble, and ship no matter how complicated you
Matthias Poischbeg was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany. Matt moved to Everett, Wash., after finishing his bachelor’s degree in business in 1995 to work for Sea-Dog Corporation, a manufacturer, and distributor of marine and rigging hardware established in 1923.
In 1999, Matt took over the reins at Sea-Lect Plastics Corporation, a sister company of Sea-Dog and a manufacturer of plastic injection molded products with an in-house tool & die shop. Matthias Poischbeg is also a contributor to Grit Daily.