If you work with an injection mold company regularly, you know how difficult it can be to perfect and speed up the development cycle. While the process does take time, there are things you can do to reduce how long it takes from the start to the end product. With the right approach, you can speed up the development cycle.
Getting a Quick Quote
An injection mold company that has both knowledge and experience will not require a great deal of time to return a quote that will be close to the final cost, providing all required information and specifications are provided up front. The company will need to analyze the specifications and information to determine what is necessary before issuing the quote. This should not take weeks or even several days to accomplish. If the injection mold company really knows the process, the quote should be turned around quickly, typically in a few days. This will not only help get your development project moving forward, it will help you establish a reasonable budget.
What are the Company’s Established Processes
The injection mold process has a relatively long history, which means that there could be a manufacturing process already established that could help your project. You can ask your chosen injection mold company if they already have established processes that can help speed up the development and reduce the amount of time required for designing or redesigning the mold. They may have already built molds for similar products in the same industry.
Is Management of the Process Domestic?
You may think that you can get a better deal by using an international supplier or having your mold design and build managed off-shore, but ultimately it can end up costing you time in the development process, and may not end up saving you money. By working with a domestic injection mold company, you get a company that already understands the work ethic, typical needs for molds, standards, and communication is unlikely to be an issue. It helps that they will also be closer, so in-person meetings are an option. Also, they will have the same (or similar) work hours since domestic companies are no more than three time zones away. This means your questions will be answered faster and shipments will arrive faster.
The development cycle may feel like it takes forever, but there are a number of things you can do to reduce the time and potentially your costs before you have a finished project.
Topics: Injection Mold Making