We specialise in producing rigid PVC profiles, and have decades of experience in designing, making and modifying tooling that meets its purpose exactly. In addition, we own hundreds of existing plastic extrusion tools, which can sometimes be used or enhanced to eliminate or reduce tooling costs for our customers.
EXTRUSION TOOLING PRICING
We have a guide price for simple PVC extrusion tooling starting at £600 + vat. This figure will increase for larger and more complex profiles, but we pride ourselves on using our expertise to provide tooling that is always competitively priced. Please contact us for a confirmed PVC extrusion tooling quote.
Tooling for thermoplastics other than PVC and uPVC tends to be more complex, a higher price and on a longer lead time. For all such enquiries Tubeway will confirm full details at time of quoting.
FROM DESIGN to PRODUCTION
Once a drawing has been approved and an order received our in-house tooling generally takes 5 to 10 working days to produce, depending on the size and complexity. Tooling that cannot be completed by us can take longer to produce, typically 4-6 weeks, although this, and all other relevant considerations will be confirmed as part of our quote to you. Tooling samples are produced to “prove” the die, and we can run a prototype quantity at this stage, if required, for a £120 plus UK Carriage + Vat charge. Production of the order will usually be within 5 working days thereafter. We will do our best to improve upon these times where possible. Should you wish to modify the profile before bulk production, this can usually be achieved, often in-house.
There are some basic considerations that affect all plastic extrusions:
PLASTIC EXTRUSION DESIGN CRITERIA
- Drawing down - This is a technique where profile dimensions can be reduced in proportion by up to 10% during production. This can enable us to provide a profile slightly smaller than one in our stock range without additional tooling costs
- Even wall thickness - an even thickness throughout will generally produce the best results, as material flows better through the tool during production. It also helps prevent cooling at different rates within the finished profile, which can lead to bowing
- Detailing - tiny or unnecessary detail can slow down production and add to tooling and production costs
- Mating parts - where your profile is designed to mate with other products, these should be provided to help the drawing and tooling process. This will also allow testing during production
- Profile Size - we are limited by the size of our extrusion machinery to producing profiles up to about 70mm along the largest dimension
- Length tolerances - if possible, allow for some tolerance in the length of your extrusion. Cutting to a perfect length during extrusion can be difficult as PVC expands and contracts at different temperatures. Offline cutting is more accurate, but creates swarf and adds cost. Typical tolerance for a 1m length is +/- 1mm, and the maximum cut length is generally 4m
Whatever your requirement, we may already have or may be able to make the ideal extrusion solution - the first step is to browse the Production Tooling which is listed below Stock on each product page, and then contact our Sales team. We are always happy to discuss your ideas and advise on the feasibility of extruding them - never from the point of view of knowing your business better than you, but our experience may allow us to add value to your design.