4 ms·
> Casting and moulding tools cost a fortune It depends very heavily on the complexity and size of the part. Earlier in my career I worked in Medical/BioTech p
by samwillis 4y ago
> Casting and moulding tools cost a fortune
It depends very heavily on the complexity and size of the part.
Earlier in my career I worked in Medical/BioTech product development for a consultancy working with startups. We found the most cost effective route (in the UK) was to have tooling manufactured in China, but then shipped to the UK. We worked with moulding companies who had in house experience building and modifying tools, so they could make alterations to the tools on site.
Tooling for small plastic "clam shell" type products would be in the £20k-£50k region by doing it that way.
Being able to visit your manufacturing partner, as a small startup, is essential when launching a product. Too often physical product startups try to run before they can walk. You can always ship a tool back to China once you are up and running, but realistically at that point you know what v2 should be and retooling is required.