We cut aluminum and steel molds for bridge and pilot production. Send a STEP file and get a quote with DFM feedback in 12 hours, then molded samples to check fit and wall thickness.
Each one costs days, and usually a second tool modification.
Shrinkage was estimated from a data sheet rather than measured on the actual grade. Warpage appears after the first shots, and the rib or boss that carries the screw no longer lines up. Fixing it means welding steel or cutting a new insert.
A pilot build is blocked while three suppliers sit on the CAD file. Every day before kickoff is a day added to the launch. Sub-suppliers raise prices in the meantime, and the schedule absorbs the difference.
Hardened H13 works for a million shots. For a bridge order of a few hundred parts, it adds weeks of EDM and polishing. The tool outlives the program, and the cost lands on the prototype budget.
A visible Class A surface cannot come off a mold cut with a 6 mm ball nose and no polish step. Sink marks and weld lines show through paint. Rework means pulling the insert out and starting the polish sequence again.
One team owns the CAD, the toolpath, and the molding trial.
Send the native file or a STEP. Our engineers check draft, wall thickness, gate location, and parting line against the material you plan to run. You get the quote and the DFM notes together in 12 hours.
Most changes are small: a 0.5° draft added to a boss, a rib thinned from 1.2 mm to 0.9 mm, a gate moved off a visible face. Catching them now costs nothing. Catching them after the mold is cut costs an insert.
Aluminum molds (6061, 7075, ADC12) cut in days. They handle low-volume runs and let you test a design with real molded parts instead of machined look-alikes. Cycle counts stay modest, and that is usually the right trade for a pilot build.
When the program needs tens of thousands of shots, we move to 4130, 4140, or tool steel with hardened inserts. Both routes run on the same 127 CNC machines, with 16 simultaneous 5-axis centers for deep ribs and contoured cores.
Numbers below are what we build to, not a general industry rule.
| Factor | Aluminum tooling | Steel tooling |
|---|---|---|
| Typical shot volume | Hundreds to a few thousand | Tens of thousands and up |
| Lead time driver | CNC cutting only | CNC plus EDM and heat treat |
| Mold material | 6061, 7075, ADC12 | 4130, 4140, tool steel |
| Best fit | Bridge runs, design validation | Production tooling, abrasive resins |
| Surface as cut | Ra 1.6–3.2 μm | Ra 0.8–1.6 μm before polish |
| Wear behavior | Softer, edges round over | Holds gate and shut-off detail |
Aluminum and steel molds cut on 5-axis centers, with inserts, slides, and lifters where the geometry needs them.
First-shot trials on the tool we cut, so sample parts come from the same cavity that will run your pilot build.
Mold bases, cores, and electrodes, plus machined parts when a molded sample is not the right test.
Silicone tools for a handful of parts when a machined mold is more than the batch needs.
SLA and similar processes for fit checks and fixtures, before committing to a cut mold.
Polishing, bead blasting, texture, anodizing, and plating to bring the tool and the part to spec.
| Item | What we deliver | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Part size | Up to 4,000 mm processing size | Larger parts split across inserts |
| Mold tolerance | ±0.005 mm on critical mold dimensions | Confirmed against the drawing |
| Mold materials | 6061, 7075, ADC12, 4130, 4140, tool steel | Chosen by shot count |
| Resins | ABS, PC, PMMA, POM, PA, PEEK, PP, HDPE | Carbon-filled grades on request |
| Inspection | Raw material, in-process, and final check | Reports on request |
| Confidentiality | Secure uploads, NDA available | Design files stay with the project |
Send a STEP file and get pricing plus design feedback in one reply, not two rounds.
Once the design is fixed, cutting starts the next working day.
Molded samples leave the plant in 3–5 days after the trial run is approved.
Held on critical mold dimensions and verified before the trial.
100% inspection before shipment, with reports on request.
One prototype or a 10,000+ part run, on the same process.
Housings and brackets that must pass IATF 16949 process control.
Joint covers and gearbox housings where wall thickness drives stiffness.
Bridge runs that keep a line supplied while the hard tool is being cut.
Enclosures and device housings held to ISO 13485 and ISO 27001 handling.
Below roughly 50 parts, machining or vacuum casting is usually cheaper and faster. Between a few hundred and a few thousand parts, an aluminum mold starts to pay off because the cycle time per part drops.
Above that, steel is the better choice. The tool costs more up front, but it holds gate detail and shut-off surfaces through long runs.
Pick aluminum when the part design may still change and you need molded samples quickly. It cuts in days and the tool can be modified or replaced without a large loss.
Pick steel when the resin is abrasive, the cosmetic surface is critical, or the run will exceed tens of thousands of shots. Hardened inserts hold the edge detail that aluminum loses.
We apply a shrinkage allowance per material grade and wall thickness, then check the first shots against the drawing. If dimensions drift, we correct the mold before the pilot run rather than adjusting the part print.
For glass-filled or carbon-filled grades, the allowance differs by flow direction. Tell us the exact grade and we will factor the anisotropy in.
Yes, but it costs tool complexity. Undercuts need slides or lifters, and internal threads need a rotating core or a hand-loaded insert. Both add machining steps.
If the undercut is small and the resin is flexible, we sometimes strip the part off a straight core instead. We will tell you which route is cheaper for your geometry.
STEP, STP, IGES, X_T, SAT, SLDPRT, IPT, PRT, CATPART, OBJ, and STL. STEP is the safest for mold work because it carries the solid geometry without translation loss.
Send the native CAD file when you have it. It makes DFM faster and lets us check feature history if a surface is ambiguous.
Uploads are handled as confidential. We can sign an NDA before you send files, and the design stays with the project team.
ISO 27001:2022 certification covers how we handle information internally, not just the mold itself.
We measure the samples, compare them to the print, and identify whether the cause is shrinkage, warpage, or a mold dimension. Then we correct the tool and run again.
Corrections found during the trial are part of the tool build. We do not ship samples that fail the critical dimensions.
Yes. The same tool that produced the samples can run the bridge order, so the parts your team approves are the parts you receive.
There is no minimum order quantity. A run can be one part or 10,000+, and we machine a second steel tool in parallel if the volume grows.
Quote and DFM feedback in 12 hours, no minimum order quantity, 100% inspection before shipment.
12-hour quoteNo MOQ100% inspectionNDA on request
Trusted by engineers and manufacturers worldwide
Upload your 3D model or 2D drawing and get a quotation with a free DFM analysis. Maximum processing size 4,000 mm.
CNC Metals 13 grades
CNC Plastics 10 grades
Machines & processes 12 options
Surface & post-processing 10 options
Material: not selected Machine: not selected Post-process: not selected
