Molds built in-house. Parts molded in-house.

Check four things: tooling and molding under one roof; a machine list you can verify (we run 36 mold-making machines and 30 presses from 20T to 300T, 18 of the machines imported); measurement evidence rather than certificates alone (we hold ±0.01 mm on mold work and inspect on a Swiss Hexagon CMM); and a named engineer who answers your DFM questions before steel is cut.

We do. CENTS designs and machines the mold, runs the first trial in-house, and produces parts on the same 30 presses from 20T to 300T. One team owns the outcome: if a dimension drifts at T1, the tool and the process are corrected together, and nothing in your schedule waits on a subcontractor.

For more than 15 years we have built lipstick tube, lip balm and cosmetic inner-tube tooling for a European cosmetics brand. Those tools were specified for 1,000,000 shots and validated at 5,000,000. Cosmetic parts are judged on surface class and fit, so cavity polishing and thread pairing are engineered together.

Working bands, not a quotation: a simple single-cavity production mold typically starts around US$4,000–9,000, while multi-cavity tools with hot runners or unscrewing action commonly run US$9,000–45,000+. Cavity count, steel grade and finish class move the price more than part size does. Send 3D data and annual volume for a fixed price.

Chinese toolmaking typically runs 15–30 days of machining after design approval, against roughly 8–20 weeks at a German mold maker. Freight adds days by air or several weeks by sea, and the tool travels with its documentation under HS 8480.71.

Match the steel to volume and resin: P20 for low-volume tooling and simple parts; 718H for general production; NAK80 or S136 when you need a polished, stain-resistant cavity; hardened H13 or SKD61 for abrasive glass-filled resins. Tell us the annual volume and the resin, and we will recommend one choice and justify it.

We hold ±0.01 mm on mold work. On molded parts, ±0.05 mm is realistic for most dimensions and ±0.02 mm on critical features when geometry, cooling and material allow it. Beyond that, the part design decides the outcome more than the mold does.

Fix the specification before the price: steel grades, cavity count, runner type, standard components and the documentation package. Pay against milestones — design approval, T1 samples, final sign-off. Require a dimensional report with the T1 samples and a spare-part set at shipment, and confirm in writing that the tool is your property.

Build to your standard — DME, HASCO, Meusburger or your internal tooling specification — using recognised standard components so spares stay available. Expect 2D and 3D drawings, steel and component certificates, a CMM dimensional report at T1, a molding parameter sheet and a spare-part set. We do not claim certifications we do not hold; ask us for measurement evidence instead.