Injection mold tooling cost is driven by seven decisions, and only one of them is the price of steel. Cavitation, steel grade, complexity, runner type, surface finish, tolerance and lead time make up almost the whole number. Two suppliers quoting the same part at double and half the price are usually describing two different tools, not two different margins.
Resin Drying for Injection Molding: Temperature and Time
Drying plastic resin before molding is not optional for hygroscopic materials, and it cannot be judged by eye. Moisture absorbed into the pellets turns to steam inside the barrel, and the same moisture breaks the polymer chains. Splay at the gate is the visible symptom; lost impact strength is the expensive one.