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Global Competition 36 MoldMaking Technology January 2015 Avoiding the Pitfalls of Overseas Tooling By Andy Molodetz and John Cavagnaro F or buyers of injection-molded or blow-molded parts, the decision whether to use tooling based overseas or in the United States can be complicated. It's true that molds made in the U.S. are generally higher quality. It's also true that governmental regulations sometimes require that the tool- ing be designed and built in the U.S. Other times the decision related to the tooling source is based on personal beliefs. Most often, it comes down to balancing cost, speed and quality. At CY Plastics, we create molds for our own injection and blow-molding operations in western New York. We also source molds from qualified tool shops, both in the U.S. and overseas. We strive to choose the right approach for the situation and to manage the process to meet the cus- tomer's needs using any one of these approaches. When Offshore Tooling Makes Sense The simplest molds are the best candi- dates for overseas tooling, especially if they are large or feature multi-cavity layouts. With more challenging molds, the benefits of offshore tooling are not as clear. Some characteristics that make a mold "challenging" include: • Moveable mold components (slide action) • Multiple cavities • Thin walls or fine details in the part • Complex textured parts • Complex geometry such as compound angles and threaded features • Gating restrictions due to part geometry • Tight dimensional tolerances on the part. There are overseas moldmakers capable of making more challenging molds, however, it takes time to identify and develop these partners. The more expensive the mold, the more dramatic the cost savings if it is built overseas. For example, a large, multi-cavity mold with slide action might cost around $75,000 if it is manu- factured in the U.S. versus about $30,000 plus some $10,000 in air freight if built in China. A savings of $35,000 is hard to ignore. Offshore tooling becomes even more attractive with short lead-time requirements. For example, the Chinese tooling The keys to managing offshore tooling are solid communication, an onshore team of mold experts, part samples before mold shipment and onshore molding. Images courtesy of CY Plastics. Here is an example of a high-quality, multi-cavity mold with slide action that was sourced overseas. This produces a precision sporting goods component that is molded at CY Plastics in Honeoye, New York.