T1 from the new tool
First parts off the mold with a full dimension report. We mark every dimension at risk before you measure anything, so the review is a comparison, not a discovery.
Day 30 after drawing approval
Services · Quoted by scope, not by the hour
Five levels of change
From a colour change to a new tool
Most projects do not need a new mold. They need a colour, a logo, a flange moved 2 mm. The level decides the tooling, the MOQ and the date — so we quote the level, not an hourly rate.
Tell us the level you think you need. If a lower level gets the same part, we will say so.
01 — The ladder
Five levels, each with its own tooling answer
Read down the left column until you find the smallest level that produces your part. Every level above L2.5 carries tooling; every level below it does not. That single line decides whether a project is a three-day change or a thirty-day build.
LevelWhat changesToolingMOQLead time
L0 · StandardNothing. Catalogue geometry, catalogue compound.None300 pcs10 working days
L1 · ColourCompound matched to a Pantone reference, same tool, same geometry.None300 pcs+3 days
L2 · MarkDebossed or printed logo; retail packaging; kit configuration.None300 pcs+3 days
L2.5 · FitPlatform part adapted inside the existing mold family: length, flange, durometer.Insert change500 pcsQuoted per part
L3 · New geometryYour drawing or 3D file. New tool, new first article, new golden sample.New mold300 pcsT1 in 30 days
L4 · AssemblyBonding, sub-assembly, kitting, bagging and labelling under your SKU.JigsQuotedQuoted
Where a number says quoted, it is because the answer depends on the part — we will not print a range wide enough to be meaningless. You get the number with the DFM note.
02 — Included at every level
Six things you get whether you order 300 or 30,000
These are not services to be added to a quotation. They are the reason a lot can be traced back to a date, a compound batch and a measurement.
- 01DFM note before tooling. What will not mold, which tolerance is at risk, where the gate sits.
- 02First-article dimension report. Every critical dimension, measured, with the instrument named.
- 03Golden sample held against every lot. Signed and dated; the next lot is compared to it, not to a memory.
- 04Lot traceability. Compound batch, press, date and operator on the bag and on the carton.
- 05Packing spec in writing. Bag count, label position, carton weight — agreed before the first carton, not after.
- 06A named person. One contact who answers within 24 hours, including when the answer is no.
03 · Tooling
The mold is a line item, not a hostage
Tooling is quoted as a separate, itemised cost: cavity count, steel, runner type, ejection, surface finish. Once it is paid for, the tool belongs to you — and it can leave with you.
- OwnershipPaid in full, titled to you. Written into the quotation, not into a side letter.
- MaintenanceRoutine maintenance is ours for the life of the tool, at our cost, on our schedule.
- TransferOn request the tool is crated and released, with its drawings and its maintenance log.
- ChangesEngineering changes are quoted as insert work first. A new mold is the last option, not the first.
04 · Sampling
Three checkpoints before a production lot
Sample rounds are not a formality. Each one has a decision attached, and each one can stop the project at the cheapest possible moment.
T2 after correction
Steel changes, gate adjustment, compound or cure profile. T2 is where cosmetic defects and sink marks are closed, not deferred to mass production.
Typically 10–15 days after T1 feedback
Golden sample signed
You approve one part. It is sealed, dated and kept here; every subsequent lot is judged against it, including colour under the same light.
Then production, per the quoted lead time
05 · Documentation
Paperwork that survives an audit
Food-contact and medical-adjacent buyers are audited on documents, not on promises. These are issued per lot, on request, in the language of the standard.
DocumentCoversWhenFormat
Material certificateCompound grade, batch, Shore A, cure system, supplier lot.Every lotPDF, signed
FDA 21 CFR 177.2600Rubber articles for repeated food contact.On requestDeclaration + test
EU 1935/2004Food-contact framework, with 10/2011 where plastics are involved.On requestDeclaration of compliance
REACH SVHCCurrent candidate list against the compound as supplied.On requestDeclaration
Dimensional reportCritical dimensions, instrument, sample size, pass/fail per feature.First article + per lotPDF with data table
Not sure which level
Send the part, we name the level
Most buyers over-specify by one level. Send a photo or a drawing and we will tell you the smallest change that works.
Ask for a level review →
Ready for tooling
New geometry, 30 days to T1
DFM in 48 hours, fixed tooling price, T1 with a dimension report. The tool is yours once paid.
Start a DFM review →