Case Study · Automotive Exterior
Tier-1 supplier to a European luxury automaker · Family mold (1+1) · 250,000-shot production run
Drawing to DFM sign-off
Sliders + lifters
Forecast mold life (shots)
A Tier-1 supplier to a European luxury automaker required injection molds for a front and rear tow hook cover set. The parts are visible exterior trim on a premium passenger vehicle, demanding high dimensional accuracy, consistent surface finish, and reliable long-run tooling. The supplier needed a mold house that could deliver a thorough DFM review,not just tool fabrication.
Material
Shrinkage Rate
Rear Part Size
Front Part Size
Wall Thickness
Cavity Steel
Gate Type
Machine Tonnage
A full Design for Manufacturability review was conducted covering parting line definition, slider and lifter layout, core/cavity insert design for rib venting, ejector pin placement, draft angle analysis, and wall thickness uniformity.
A structural bridge in the part geometry was only 3 mm wide — too narrow to position standard ejector pins without risking stress concentration and premature mold fatigue. Rather than proceeding, we flagged the issue, proposed a geometry modification, and obtained customer sign-off before cutting steel. This single intervention meaningfully extended projected tool life.
The finished mold used 1.2343 tool steel throughout (cavity HRC 52-54, core HRC 45-52, sliders and lifters HRC 48-50) with a 600# cosmetic polish. A turnable sprue bushing was designed to allow the mold to run either part independently or as a family tool depending on production scheduling.
We review DFM thoroughly and we flag issues before they become costly.
