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Fictiv has built a connected digital supply chain for custom manufacturing that networks highly-vetted manufacturing partners around the globe, managed by in-region Fictiv experts at our four global Supply Chain Centers of Excellence in the U.S., Mexico, India, and China. Our engineering and supply chain teams have streamlined access to resilient supply chain for custom mechanicals, complete with digital tools for online quoting, design for manufacturability (DfM) feedback, and project management, to accelerate time-to-market, de-risk their global supply chains, and scale as their business grows.
Now more than ever, the flexibility and regional optionality that Fictiv offers your manufacturing programs is critical. Today’s manufacturing environment is constantly stressed by global disruptions like tariffs, extreme weather events, labor shortages, logistics bottlenecks, and trade conflicts. Add to this the desire for many organizations to build products domestically to support sustainability initiatives and achieve proximity to customers, and you’ll find many that are looking for alternatives and a way to make their supply chain more resilient.
Fictiv has always supported injection molding in three of our regions, but recently made our North American offering even stronger to mitigate supply chain and geopolitical disruptions. . We continue to offer many options overseas and tailor solutions that meet your needs for each project. Nearshoring or re-shoring may be the solution, but also a lower landed cost from China might still be the best option. Get a quote today, and let us help you design the right solution for your organization.
Options for Injection Molding in North America
Traditional Injection Mold Options in the U.S.
Fictiv has a strong network of partners in our U.S. region that support both prototype aluminum and low-volume steel production tooling. Using traditional molding approaches, we can provide these tools to make thousands to hundreds of thousands of parts for your next injection molding program. The standard lead time for these tools is 10 to 20 business days to ship T1 samples. Complexity and tight tolerances are a couple of the areas that our meticulous focus on details and quality allows. Add to that no minimum order quantities to help with projects of any size, no matter the complexity or volume.
Innovative Solutions for Molding Improvement
Along with our tool creation offerings in the U.S., Fictiv partners with shops that use Mantle – an automated toolmaking system. The system combines CNC machining, 3D printing, and industry-standard tool steels to rapidly fabricate injection molding inserts. The process runs lights-out to automate up to 90% of the toolmaking process and optimizes time- and cost-savings over traditional tooling methods. The process is best for small parts that are under 5” x 5” x 4” in general, but larger parts can be completed in sections if needed. The Mantle system allows for precision tooling with exceptional speed and at a globally competitive price.
“Fictiv helps customers meet the growing demand for more agile and cost-effective injection molding supply chains,” commented Ethan Rejto, Mantle’s Director of Marketing. “We are proud to support Fictiv’s manufacturing partners with our automated toolmaking system, which gives Fictiv customers access to steel tooling that is produced quickly at a globally-competitive price.”
Fictiv has also developed a new tooling solution, GlobalFlex. With this tooling type, tooling inserts are created in China that fit into our proprietary mold frames at our facilities in China, the U.S., and Mexico. This enables overseas speed and cost advantages, but if volumes increase or tariffs change we can easily relocate the inserts to be run in other regions. Since these are specially designed modular tooling solutions, Fictiv has the ability to provide cooling and complexity with slides and lifters for undercuts. This is truly the most versatile way to prepare and service your customers for the rapidly changing global trade environment.
Lastly, Fictiv offers our production injection molding import program. We build full production molding based on the quantities that you need in our facilities in China but designed to run in either our U.S. or Mexico partner network. These tools can be either multi-cavity or family, depending on your need, and usually work best for larger parts and higher quantities. Once the tooling is made in China (4-8 weeks), we sample and ensure we are producing the parts that you need before the tooling is shipped to its final manufacturing location.
All of our solutions are designed with the flexibility today’s manufacturing environment requires.. It can be difficult to determine which plan is right for your project, so we are here to discuss your program, understand your needs, and provide options for you to choose from rather than forcing your project into our requirements. We look forward to working with you and providing the best-in-class instant DFM with some of the fastest quotes available. Utilizing our digital platform and supply chain experts, we also provide formal quotes and thorough DFM throughout the process to support you in making your parts in the tolerance and time that you need them.
Get your injection molding quote today and see how our resilient supply chain network can revolutionize your manufacturing programs!