CUSTOM
MOULD MAKING
We have been undertaking the manufacturing
of an increasing number of custom moulds for soaps,
chocolates, candles, plaster and concrete.
We are now in a position to quote
on individual custom mould work. Our main difficulty
up to date has been in convincing people that the
master moulds from which we make, say our $5.95
range of vacuum formed plaster moulds, costs our
company an estimated average price of $250.00 to
$300.00 to produce. We have to amortise this cost
into a pay back from sales over many years before
we turn a profit.
For the simpler type of latex or plaster
mould it is not economic to have us make your moulds
unless you can work this kind of cost into your
sales program. Better for us to provide you with
the knowledge on how to make your own moulds and
use your own free labour. Of course not every type
of production mould can be made this way and this
is where we can help with our computer programs
and computer aided machinery.
We are now in a position to offer
good prices on custom made silicone, polyurethane
and vacuum formed plastic moulds.
MOULD MANUFACTURING METHODS
There are many ways to make a mould
and largely it depends on what the finished product
is like, which mould type and casting method is
used.
If the original was a sculpt in clay
to make a delicate figurine we may use the destructive
plaster technique to make a polyurethane or silicone
mould and so it goes on. This makes it very difficult
to give a ball park figure for mould making.
Moulds using company logos usually
start with a drawing or sketch or sometimes with
finished artwork that we can use by vectorising.
We then make a computer generated 3D version to
use for the mould master after machining.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO HAVE
A MOULD MADE ?
Please send us details of what you
require and we will give you an estimate followed
by a firm quote once we have received all the material.
As every job is different all we can
do is give you some indication of what we charge
for different types of moulds. A flat backed vacuum
formed mould of an original 30cm figurine resized
to 20cm but not altered in any way cost $235.00
plus GST for total computer and CNC machining time
for production of the master mould. Each mould cost
$5.95 from then on. A 250gm Chocolate Bar devided
with 4 logos had a master mould that cost $350.00
for computer & machining time due to the fine
nature of the lettering.
Working from design drawings for our
own moulds at least an additional hours computer
work would have had to be added to cater for our
internal specifications.
We calculate custom mould making costs
on a time basis; Computer time $100.00/hour, CNC
machine time $60.00/hour, Laser Engraving $60.00/hour
and Sandblasting $60.00/hour plus the cost of materials.
If the mould was required to be made
in silicone the cost of the set up time to pour
the silicone and the cost of the silicone would
need to be added..
A straightforward flat backed silicone
mould of an original say 10cm diameter would require
say 15 minutes set up time and the cost of the silicone
required. Total $45.00 plus GST. A 4 cake silicone
hand soap work mould was recently costed at $85.00
+ GST.
REORDERS
We retain all production materials,
master moulds and computer files in case additional
working moulds are required, which are charged out
at the same rate as our stock mould series. For
plastic hobby vacuum formed moulds charges are $5.95,$8.95
and $10.95. For pavers, prices start at $15.00 depending
on size and plastic type and thickness used. ABS
plastic moulds would start at $35.00 for a 400x400x40mm
mould.
All custom mould orders require a
50% deposit with the balance payable prior to dispatch.
Delivery is usually from 2-3 weeks for the finished
work mould.
