We cast the parts, you buy finished pieces
Not every project needs a mould delivered. Sometimes, you need the finished parts instead. We use the tooling we've made, run it here, finish the pieces and send you a box of them. This is labour-intensive by definition, so it suits some jobs better than others.
The four patterns
People come to us for different reasons, and we handle each enquiry in the way that best suits its needs.
If you want the finished item but casting is not your business, you are in good company. This is common for designers, brands and retailers with a product but no workshop. We hold the tooling, run the casting process and ship the parts.
If you need a run for a show, a launch, a Christmas range or a promotion, hard tooling would never pay back. Soft tooling plus labour is the honest answer, even though the unit cost is higher.
If your production tool is still on its way, you may need parts sooner. We can provide the same tooling and parts as an interim arrangement. See prototype and bridge tooling.
The main programme has ended, but you still need to supply replacement parts to your customers. We can produce small, repeat quantities from a retained mould, ordered whenever you need them.
The cost shape
The cost of casting work has a simple structure, and it is helpful to understand it before asking for a price. Tooling is paid for once. Every part then includes a person's time, from mixing and pouring to demoulding, trimming, checking and packing.
The saving does not increase as much as you might expect. Doubling the order does not halve the unit cost, because the labour needed for each piece stays nearly the same. What a larger quantity can do is spread the tooling cost across more parts and use more cavities in the mould, so each pour produces more pieces. That is where multi-cavity tooling earns its money on this route.
That is the crossover point. Below it, casting by hand is cheaper overall because you do not pay for hard tooling. Above it, the labour involved in making each piece becomes the main cost, so a pressed or injected part is cheaper even after the tool has been paid for. We will show you which side of that line your job sits on. We quote a cost per part, rather than a total, so you can see the comparison for yourself.
If your quantities are growing, let us know early. Moving from casting to compression moulding is a normal progression, and the design work can carry across when the geometry is considered properly from the start.
Being straight with you
We are a workshop in Bidford-on-Avon, rather than a factory floor with rows of automated cells. That shapes what this service is best suited to, and what it is not.
This works well for small repeating quantities, jobs where every piece needs judgement, and awkward shapes where a person's eye can spot a problem that a sensor might miss. Colour changes, variants, one-off adjustments and hand finishing all fit comfortably within this approach.
Where we are not the best fit is very large quantities, work that needs to scale suddenly, or programmes where the price has to keep falling year on year. If your forecast is heading in that direction, the sensible conversation is about hard tooling rather than simply adding people.
We prefer to turn down a run we cannot serve properly rather than take it on and let you down mid-programme. If the quantity is beyond what this route should carry, we will tell you and show you the alternative.
To quote it
Need one run, or the same run repeated? A repeating order can be planned around and usually prices better than the same total arriving unexpectedly.
Tell us the date you actually need the parts in hand, and what happens if they are not. We will give you a clear answer on whether that date is workable before you build your plan around it.
Your castings can be trimmed only, or sanded, painted, assembled, labelled and boxed for retail. Finishing involves labour, and it often makes up more of the unit cost than the casting itself.
Let's agree what counts as acceptable and what would be rejected before the first run, rather than during the first delivery.
Send us your part and quantity
At a glance
Which route suits your quantity
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From idea to finished mould
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Ready to start?
Send us a drawing, photograph or sample. We'll come back with a mould strategy, a material recommendation and a price.
Real people, a real workshop
No call centre and no middlemen. When you contact TCI Mouldings, you speak to the team who design, build and check your mould.
Thomas LaneManaging Director
George PrestonDesign & Project Manager
Kelly BallingerHead of Partnerships
Jim AndertonProduction Manager
TheodoreEmployee Welfare