Practical reference material written from the questions we are actually asked — with the answers we give, including the parts where the honest answer is "it depends" or "you probably don't need that".
The calculation behind a quotation you can check yourself, with a worked example. Covers clamp force from projected area, shrinkage correction, injection unit sizing by shot weight, and the three sizing mistakes that cost money.
Read the guide →When to replace and when not to. Realistic service life by resin and duty cycle, the three warning signals in order of reliability, how to measure actual wear, and how to specify nitrided vs bimetallic vs chrome-plated.
Read the guide →What to inspect on a used machine across electrical, hydraulic and mechanical systems. The six risks that catch buyers out, what to demand before paying the balance, and an honest comparison of when used beats new.
Read the guide →Identify defects by appearance — short shots, weld lines, flow marks, jetting, bubbles, silver streaks, black spots, sink marks, burn marks, warpage, flash and dimensional drift — with what actually causes each and what genuinely fixes it.
Read the guide →Drying temperatures and times by resin, why dew point matters more than temperature, and how under-drying produces defects that look exactly like machine faults. Includes the POM hopper warning.
Read the guide →The five factors that actually move a mould quotation, realistic price and lead time ranges, the cavity count calculation, and six ways to reduce cost without shortening tool life — plus which two areas not to cut.
Read the guide →Send it. If it is a good question we will answer it and probably add it to the guides — which helps you and helps the next buyer.