Susan….go to www.ThomasNet.com Look up for plastics manufacturers near you. they are all over and because of automation we are getting more competitive with China on plastics.

Mark R. on here should be able to set you up too. I am sure he knows how you can sometimes make deals with who pays for the mold. If they want another good product to make….sometimes you can make them throw in something too like a short run to start or a mold or split costs etc.

If you need a mold…yours is quite simple you need to consider aluminum or steel. Steel costs about double but lasts much much longer as it resists warping more.

Then you need to consider how many ports or parts per pour you want. Single port mold will cost alot per part but it may be a start. You can go 2 port, 4 port, 16 port. Molds may be up to 50% cheaper made in China which many are unfortunately.

Sometimes people start with a cheaper low port aluminum mold with all intentions of replacing with a higher port steel mold when all gets going with sales.

If you can’t find a plastics manufacturer let me know…I have a few…but since there are many I think one in your area is best so you can visit and work a deal.

Just work all kinds of angles. Most don’t try…but if you ask a manufacturer to help and invest a little…you might get a pleasant ok

Mark R. should know much more about this.

susan, i’m sure as you know by now, that ron is “the man” and knows his stuff!!! i’m glad he wrote it all down to help you and others needing injection molding advice

Susan, one of my customers has been using Addicks Engineering in Bell Gardens for at least 25 years. I have not personally, but I would offer it as a suggestion, having seen the final products.

http://www.addicks.com/addicks.cfm?pid=Domestic_Manufacturing

The plastics engineer that produced by CAD drawings and prototype estimated that my two part molds would cost $15,000 in steel (My invention has two individual pieces to it). That sounds like quite a lot. I’m hoping he’s wrong!

I like your suggestion of going with a less expensive, aluminum mold to start, Ron. This would at least lower the start-up costs.

This week I was going to start shopping my invention for a licensing deal. After giving things much thought, I decided to meet with a plastics manufacturer so I can determine if this is something I could bring to market on my own. I don’t have any capital behind me, though, so I could only pull it off if the manufacturer invested a little, or a bank gave me a loan based on a purchase agreement.

I found a manufacturer just a few miles from me on thomasnet.com. The manufacturer Mark mentioned in Bell Gardens, CA, is not too far from my parents’ home.

Paul…thanks for the compliment…just being grateful…and help others in this field to show that I truly am greatful. I believe if your not your luck will run out. I am lucky. Lucky to have enough brain cells to know this stuff. That is what it comes down to.

Susan…$15,000 for two molds in steel is right in the ballpark.

If you are going to do this you must find the money or it will just be too tough. You can check prices on aluminum too.

The manufacturer may put up cash for the mold for exclusive manufacturing rights but you must discuss rights to the mold…meaning they cannot make for anyone else…now or later.

I don’t like angel investors because I gotta be king or nothing and have a too strong head.

Don’t forget to check there. Many angel organizations and meeting places in California. Tough to get in…but you can try. you will need an executive summary, the first part of the business plan to even get a look.

The SBA gives good free help with business plans. that is the only thing I think they are really good for.

Many angel investors have turned to online. Try www.go4funding.com I had interest immediately there….good place…and recommended by the Wall Street Jornal.

Been through this plastics stuff because of my next invention. I also have a 50 year experienced plastics engineer if anyone needs. First advice would be free. He is in my inventor’s group.

Aluminum molds don’t cost less because the aluminum cost less. Aluminum can be machined at much faster feed rates and polishing is much easier. It’s the machine hourly rates and labor that end up reducing the price. If the mold is small enough, it won’t make too much of a difference. If it is larger (all relative, obviously) it will take much longer in steel and end up being more expensive. Our prices for the same block of material is pretty close between high grade steel and high grade aluminum. It normally takes 2 to 3 times longer to machine a steel mold for the products we work on. The drawback with aluminum is it has much lower wear resistance, is more easily scratched or damaged, and the coefficient of thermal expansion is much higher.

I have a meeting tomorrow with a local manufacturer. I’ll ask for the cost to have the molds produced in steel and aluminum.

After my meeting, I should have an understanding about how much it will cost to produce my product and how long the turnaround should take. Once I have this information, I’ll have to figure out where to go from there.

The thought of having an angel investor doesn’t thrill me. I don’t want to give up too much control. At the same time, my only other options would be winning the lottery or trying to sell my existing, online business which is paying the bills.

A part of me was hoping I could get the wheels moving if I had an order commitment from a large company. Thinking about it, some large companies aren’t paying their bills to begin with.

Susan…you want a steel mold…it will last longer and be more efficient for sure in the long run…if there is a long run expected.

Then again you must consider the ports. Big productions you will want maybe 16 port in steel eventually. You can’t afford that now.

you get the picture…cheaper is not always better…but if you are unsure and need something temporary…until you get all straight as you want…then aluminum may be for you.

OK… I’m just back from my meeting with a manufacturer. I’m not at all familiar with plastics manufacturing, so they gave me the nickel tour and showed me how the injection molding machines worked. It was great!

This manufacturer produces their own aluminum molds in-house which will cost about $3,000 each (yielding four pieces per ‘strike’). My invention has two separate parts, so I’m looing at $6,000 for two molds.

The owner of the company is going to give me a call next week to provide me with some production costs. Hopefully they’ll be lower than I’m expecting.

Sounds very good. You are really going at this thing and tackling it.

Some inventors just sit there and dream, you are getting off your ass and making things happen. You are one of the ones to watch.

Nice price on a 4 port mold!

I’m actually one of those inventors who has sat on my ass far too long. I filed my Provisional Patent Application in July 2007. My Patent Application followed exactly a year later. I figured it was time to step up to the plate.

I was wondering if anyone could answer a Patent-related question for me. I’ll try to word it as simply as possible. My invention includes a face plate and a back plate that snap together (both pieces would be injection molded). The face plate could be used on its own, as the back plate is mostly for protective reasons. If I decide to replace the injection molded back plate with a piece of die-cut foam to lower manufacturing costs, will my Patent still protect the function of the face plate on its own?

I hope this question makes sense.

For anyone thinking about following through on injection molding, take a minute to think about this:

E. Joseph Cossman, who made millions on new products he introduced to the public, said that you may have the greatest product in the world on your hands, but before you make molds, make the product, and fill a warehouse full of product, and have trucks loaded with your product, remember this:
YOU ARE ONLY 10% TOWARDS YOUR GOAL AT THAT POINT—

ALSO, YOU ONLY NEED ONE PROFESSIONAL SALES SAMPLE TO SHOW BUYERS. THEY ARE SOPHISTICATED AND ASTUTE INDIVIDUALS, AND CAN TELL YOU IF YOU HAVE A “PRODUCT” OR NOT.

MANY TIMES A PRODUCT GOES THROUGH MANY CHANGES (with buyers input, etc) BEFORE IT REACHES STORE SHELVES, SO DON’T CARVE INTO ALUMINUM OR STEEL UNTIL YOU ARE REALLY READY.

Here’s some info. on the late, great Mr. Cossman:

E Joseph Cossman
ENTREPRENEUR WITH A MISSION

Experience, and the ability to apply so many diverse experiences, enabled E Joseph Cossman to become a millionaire many times over. Perhaps you haven’t heard of “The Messiah of the free enterprise system” (Wall Street Journal) because he has not specialized in one single product or specialty throughout his life. His specialty is MARKETING.

Since emerging as a soldier in the Second World War, Joe has proven that taking calculated risks is fun and profitable. He didn’t have a fancy college marketing degree, in fact he started into business with his high school degree from Braddock, PA and his experiences growing up in his father’s neighborhood grocery store. Three years in the army in Europe was another kind of experience that led him to think about exporting as his first entrepreneurial opportunity.

His first “risky venture” resulted from reading in a classified ad in the newspaper that soap powder was available in quantity. He knew that this was valuable to postwar Europe and other countries, so he made contact with people he had met and ended up with an order for $180,000…and no soap. His efforts to make this sale work demonstrate his ability to make things happen, a story in itself, but the net result was he did it, and netted $30,000 at a time when he was earning $35/week at his regular job.

Mail-order is the field that is most closely aligned with this entrepreneurial thinker. When he started his business in 1947 there was very little activity in the mail order field. But soon it was growing fast because it met a definite need of people who were hungry for scarce products. When he began there were no credit cards or 800 numbers or computers, and people read the newspapers for mail-order product availability.

Cossman moved to California and set up his office on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood with the dream of working for himself and becoming a “millionaire”. His philosophy “There are many ways of taking a product, and by giving it a twist you can turn it into a money-maker” is demonstrated in the 20+ products that he took to market and sold at least a million of each. He was the first to market 14 balloons for $1.00, not as balloons but as 5 giant animals…an idea with a “twist”. You may remember the Plastic Ant Farm, the Spud Gun, Fly Cake, etc. Each product has its own story and experiences that helped develop my personal “philosophy of business”.

Each year he sought out a new product to introduce at the national trade fairs as an innovative toy or aid to your lifestyle. Some didn’t do so well. For example, he bought the entire inventory of 4 million high quality prints of 48 of the world’s greatest paintings that had been sitting in a warehouse since 1937. And although he offered them for only $.50 each it took a number of years to find a market. At the same time he found phenomenal success with selling plastic Shrunken Heads for $2.98. The ideas that did succeed far outweighed the losses. And the experience was the real teacher.

One story he tells is about the billboard he set up outside his office on Sunset Boulevard. There he put out a new message every week that demonstrated his humor and salesmanship, an image that he encouraged. Whenever big company executives came to visit, they were publicly welcomed on the sign. Many of his sayings have become famous and can be found on the Internet when you search his name. For example

“Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal”

“Love is a friendship set to music”

“Middle age is when your broad mind and narrow waist begin to change places”

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”
“To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness”

Cossman believes that “ideas are a person’s greatest asset”. He quotes Harvey Firestone, the great industrialist who said,

“Capital Isn’t So Important In Business. Experience Isn’t So Important. You Can Get Both Of Those Things. What Is Important Is Ideas. If You Have Ideas, You Have The Main Asset You Need, And There Isn’t Any Limit To What You Can Do With Your Business And Your Life. They Are Any Persons Greatest Asset- Ideas.”

Cossman says “Most of our products are the result of our own ideas. In the long run, you’re on your own, so let your judgment be your guide. But keep this in mind..a new idea is a delicate thing. It can be killed by a sneer or worried to death with a frown. Treat your own ideas like children – coddle them, keep them away from the chill of adverse criticism, have faith in them – and they’ll grow up into strong, mature products to support you in your old age.”

Sharing his marketing ideas is the “mission” he has demonstrated through so many of his actions in later life. Joe decided to retire from his search for products that built his entrepreneurial empire when he was only 50. But it didn’t take long to learn that sitting in the sun is no way of life for an entrepreneurial mind.

So he wrote two books to share his experiencesand in promoting the books learned that others wanted him to share his experiences personally. Thus started his first seminar in 1963 that had standing room only…in fact people were backed up in the hallways. And this new career resulted in presenting live seminars to over 50,000 people all over the US and selling the course for home study purposes.

Leading universities offered Cossman’s “10 Step Entrepreneur Program” to their students. At the same time Joe decided to fulfill his lifelong dream of going to college.

Showing their respect for his expertise, Pepperdine University gave him credit for his years of experience, and enrolled him in a masters degree program. Joe conducted a research study of program graduates at Pepperdine to see if his course had made any difference in the success of these students.

Graduates of his programs like to share the motivation and creative ideas they discovered in his courses. Joe’s students are the success stories that he enjoys telling now. Since he “retired” in 1963 Joe has taught and advised thousands of today’s entrepreneurs. He created the Future Millionaires Club in a number of cities to bring his graduates together on a regular basis to support each other.

He has published several books including "How I Made $1.000.000 in Mail Order (And You Can Too), a real recipe for success. (Published by Fireside, Simon and Schuster)

Paul, thank you for that great story. I also
agree with you about just making a master
prototype for now and seeing how it goes.

Thanks Toni- I’m happy to pass on good / informative info. to all fellow EN’ers : )

Mr. Cossman told lots of fascinating stories at his seminars…
Here’s one that shows his marketing genius:

One winter day, when Mr. Cossman was visiting NYC, he called THE TONIGHT SHOW (with Johnny Carson) to promote his hit product ANT FARM and asked if they had any last minute cancellations- … they said YES!!

He was able to get on the show that night and talk with Johnny, show his ANT FARM, and get hundreds of thousands of dollars in exposure for a phone call! (He had to rent a helicopter to fly in some live ants from Florida for the show- because he had no luck digging any up in frozen Central Park with a knife from his hotel)

Here’s another Cossman gem:

Cossman was offered tooling for making the “spud gun,” a toy pistol that fires pieces of potato, for $500 by a toy maker who had made 100,000 but sold only 10,000.

Cossman bought the spud gun-making machinery and solicited potatoes from growers, promising the toy would solve their economic problems. He had more than five tons of spuds delivered to him in New York City, dumped them on a sidewalk and got arrested. Predictably, the publicity got him on the morning network television talk shows, where he gleefully discussed his potato-firing pistol.

He sold 2 million of those, too – in six months.

Great stories Paul, I love stories of success, it’s good for the soul. lol

I am communicating with Sling Shot out of Atlanta. They are extremely professional and will connect.
My rep’s name is Gina Frazier.

Google them… they are worth it.