Injection vs. Compression Molding: Balancing Cost and Precision for Custom Rubber Parts
When procurement teams search for a "custom rubber parts manufacturer," they are often confused by the massive price differences in quotes. Why does the same part vary so much in mold fees and unit price?
This usually comes down to the manufacturing process: Compression Molding vs. Injection Molding. Understanding the difference can save you thousands in development costs.
Compression Molding: The Low-Cost Entry This is the traditional method—placing a pre-weighed piece of rubber into a heated mold cavity and applying pressure.
Deep Dive: The advantage is low tooling cost, making it ideal for "low-volume rubber production" or large, simple gaskets. The downside is more "flash" (excess material) and slightly looser tolerance control compared to injection.
Injection Molding: The High-Precision Scaler Rubber is pre-heated and injected under high pressure into a closed mold.
Deep Dive: This process is essential for "precision rubber sealing components" and complex "wire harness boots." While the tooling is expensive, the cycle time is fast, and it requires no manual trimming. For high-volume production, the unit cost is significantly lower, and dimensional consistency (Cpk) is superior.
Conclusion: Not sure which process to use? At Fuqiang, we possess capabilities for both. We help you calculate the break-even point to provide the optimal solution, from prototyping to mass production.