Injection Molding Minimum Order Quantity Explained
MOQ is not a policy anyone invented to be difficult. It is the point where the fixed cost of setting up a press becomes a small enough share of each piece that the price makes sense. We publish how that number behaves, where it can be lowered, and where lowering it costs more than it saves.
Free Consultation24h
Rapid Quote
100 pcs
Molding MOQ
25 pcs
Soft Tooling Starts
2 to 3 weeks
Tooling Lead Time
Materials
| Grade | Properties | Typical Applications |
|---|---|---|
| ABS (Standard and Natural) | Consistent flow, forgiving across a wide processing window, takes colour well, and the grades are held in stock which removes a minimum purchase obstacle on short runs | Housings, brackets, covers, general purpose parts for pilot and bridge production |
| PP (Homopolymer and Copolymer) | Low cost per kilogram, low density so shot weight is favourable, and usually available from stock in natural and black without a special colour run | Containers, clips, living hinge parts, chemical resistant components |
| PC and PC ABS | High impact and higher heat capability, hygroscopic so it must be dried before running, which adds setup time and material handling on a short run | Clear covers, lenses, structural parts needing impact strength at temperature |
| PA66 and Glass Filled Grades | High strength and stiffness, more expensive per kilogram and more abrasive to tooling, often a special order quantity rather than a stock item | Load bearing brackets, replace-metal parts, under-hood and high temperature components |
| Colour Masterbatch and Special Colour Matching | Standard colours are carried in stock, while a matched colour usually carries a minimum batch from the colour house and a slightly higher unit cost on short runs | Retail parts, branded housings, parts that have to match an existing assembly |
| Engineering and Flame Retardant Grades | Narrow processing windows and often a supplier minimum order quantity per lot, so the resin itself becomes a constraint on how small a run can economically be | Electrical enclosures, regulated applications, high temperature parts |
Process Parameters
| Parameter | Standard Range |
|---|---|
| Standard Molding MOQ | 100 pieces |
| Minimum with Aluminium Soft Tooling | 25 pieces |
| CNC Machined Alternative (no tooling) | 1 to 10 pieces |
| Aluminium Tool Life | 500 to 5,000 shots depending on resin and part complexity |
| Aluminium Tooling Lead Time | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Steel Production Tooling Lead Time | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Colour Matching Lead Time | 3 to 5 days for a matched shade, nil for stock black and natural |
| Drying Requirement by Resin | PC 3 to 4 hours at 120 degree C, PA 4 to 6 hours at 80 degree C, PP and ABS require no drying |
| Typical Setup and Verification Window | 30 minutes for an existing tool and stock colour, up to several hours for a new colour or hygroscopic resin |
| Part Tolerance | plus or minus 0.05 mm standard, tighter by agreement |
Surface Finishes
As Moulded
The part as it leaves the cavity, with no secondary operation. For a short run this is usually the correct choice because every additional process carries its own setup and handling cost, and on 100 pieces those fixed costs dominate the piece price more than the material does.
VDI 3400 Texture
Applied to the cavity rather than to the part, so the cost is in the tooling and not in the piece. That makes texture unusually well suited to low volumes, since once the cavity is etched the running cost is effectively nil regardless of whether you order 25 pieces or 5,000.
Polish and Gloss
Also a cavity treatment, so the same logic applies. Worth knowing that a polished cavity is softer than a textured one in terms of wear, and on a long programme it will need maintenance before a textured cavity does.
Painting
The opposite case. Painting has a setup cost per colour per run, including masking, mixing and booth cleaning, so on a low quantity it can cost more than the moulded parts themselves. Where appearance requires it on a small volume, moulded-in colour is normally the cheaper answer.
Pad Printing and Laser Marking
Marking has its own setup in the form of artwork, cliché or fixture, and on a small run that setup is the dominant cost. For fewer than a few hundred pieces it is often better to simplify the marking or defer it to a later batch.
Assembly and Secondary Operations
Every time a part is handled again the cost is essentially fixed per unit, so these operations do not benefit much from volume. They are quoted per piece and they tend to be the reason a low volume assembly looks expensive rather than the moulding itself.
Design for Manufacturing (DFM)
- Order in natural or stock black for the first batch if colour is not yet decided, which removes both a colour matching charge and a delay
- Accept the drawings later if the part can be simplified for the first run, since a removed feature is often worth more than a removed piece
- Keep the part single cavity for the first order, because additional cavities in the tool only pay back at volume
- Check whether the resin is hygroscopic before you plan the schedule, because drying adds hours to the start of a run and cannot be skipped
- Consolidate several part numbers into one order where you can, as the setup is shared and the price per part number falls sharply
- Ask for the setup cost separately from the piece cost, so you can see how much of your total is fixed and how much scales
- Choose CNC machining below roughly 10 pieces, because without tooling it avoids the whole question and it is faster
- Plan the second order while the tool is still set up where practical, since repeat quantities avoid a setup entirely
- Hold off on secondary operations for pilot volumes, since they add more cost than value until geometry is frozen
- Upload STEP, IGES or DXF files and get a free DFM review plus a quantity versus price table within 24h
Tooling & Capacity
| Type | Lead Time | Suitable For |
|---|---|---|
| CNC Machining (No Tooling) | 3 to 5 days | 1 to 10 pieces, prototypes, bench testing and dimensional validation before any tooling exists |
| Aluminium Soft Tooling | 2 to 3 weeks | 25 to 500 pieces, the standard low volume route, design freeze batches, market testing and pilot runs |
| Steel Bridge Tooling | 3 to 4 weeks | 500 to 5,000 pieces, scaling past what an aluminium tool will comfortably run |
| Production Steel Tooling | 4 to 6 weeks | Above roughly 20,000 pieces per year for a single part number, where tooling cost amortises properly |
Quality Assurance
- Same dimensional standard on a 25 piece pilot as on a 5,000 piece production run, because the criteria do not change with the order size
- First article inspection on every order regardless of quantity, with the report issued before the balance is run
- Resin lot recorded per production run, even on a pilot quantity, so traceability starts from the first part
- Colour verified against your reference, or against the stock standard if no reference exists, and reported
- Process parameters from the trial retained and reloaded for repeat orders, which is what makes the second batch match the first
- Short shot and full shot verification at production settings before parts are collected
- Cosmetic criteria agreed before the run on low volume cosmetic parts, since "acceptable" is easy to disagree about afterwards
- A dimensional report and material certificate ship with every lot, together with the Certificate of Origin
- Tool maintained and stored between orders, retained for your programme rather than scrapped after one run
- We arrange SGS, Bureau Veritas or TUV inspection at any stage on request for low-volume moulding orders
Applications
- Startups validating a first production batch
- Bridge production while hard tooling is being built
- Spare and service parts with unpredictable demand
- Niche and aftermarket parts in small volumes
- Crowdfunding fulfilment and market testing batches
- Regional variants of an existing product
- Colour or material trials on a real tool
- Pilot runs supporting a design freeze decision
- Replacement parts for products already out of warranty
Why Choose FHY Precision
The MOQ is explained rather than asserted, so you can see which costs are fixed and which actually scale with quantity
Aluminium soft tooling from 25 pieces in 2 to 3 weeks, which is usually the right first step before committing to steel
A quantity versus price table returned with the quote, showing breaks rather than a single number
Process parameters retained for repeat orders, so the tenth batch matches the first
Tool stored and maintained between orders, meaning repeat quantities avoid tooling cost entirely
Resin lot traceability starts from the first piece, and SGS, Bureau Veritas or TUV inspection is available on request
Factory-direct pricing out of China with one purchase order covering tooling, trials and parts
Honest advice on when ordering less is genuinely the wrong decision, including when CNC machining beats tooling
FAQ
1. Why is the minimum 100 pieces rather than 10?
Because most of the cost of running an injection order does not depend on quantity. Installing the tool, bringing the machine to temperature, blending colour, purging the barrel, running the first shots and inspecting the first article cost the same whether you take 20 pieces or 200. Spread over 100 pieces each carries a modest share. Spread over 10, each carries more than the part is worth.
2. Can I order fewer than 100 pieces?
Yes, down to 25 with aluminium soft tooling, and we will quote it. What we will also tell you is that the price per piece rises steeply below about 100, because the fixed costs have fewer pieces to spread across. Below roughly 10 pieces CNC machining is normally both cheaper and faster, since it avoids tooling altogether.
3. What actually drives the price difference between 100 and 1,000 pieces?
Three things. Setup and colour carried across more units, better resin pricing above the supplier lot threshold, and longer uninterrupted running where the machine reaches a stable thermal state. The material saving is usually the smallest of the three. Ask for the quantity versus price table and the crossover becomes obvious for your own part.
4. How does aluminium tooling let you go down to 25 pieces?
Aluminium machines much faster than tool steel, so the tooling itself is cheaper and quicker to produce, and below about 500 pieces the tool life is not the limiting factor anyway. The tool has a shorter life than steel, worth perhaps 500 to 5,000 shots depending on resin and geometry, but a pilot quantity never approaches that.
5. Can I reuse the same tool for a larger order later?
Yes, and we keep it in store for exactly that reason. The parameters from the previous run are reloaded, so the second batch matches the first. If your volumes later justify production tooling, the aluminium tool stays useful as a backup and for future pilot runs rather than becoming waste.
6. Is colour matching worth it on a small order?
Only if the colour is genuinely part of the product. A matched shade carries a colour house minimum and a matching charge, and on a short run that can exceed the moulding cost. Our usual advice is to run the pilot in stock black or natural, confirm the geometry, and only then pay for the colour.
7. What if my annual demand is uncertain?
Then start with aluminium tooling and let real demand tell you what to do next. Ordering a production tool against a forecast is how people end up owning expensive tooling for a product that never scaled. We quote both routes precisely so the decision can wait until you have sold something.
8. Do you charge the same for a sample as for a production part?
The piece price is higher for a very small quantity for the reasons above, but there is no separate engineering charge. Tooling is quoted once and you own it. If you want sample parts before committing to tooling at all, send us the model and we will quote CNC machined parts, which is the cheapest way to hold a physical part early.
9. Can several part numbers share one setup?
Sometimes, where they share colour and resin. This is one of the best levers available on low volumes, because the setup cost is shared across part numbers. Tell us everything you need in one request rather than three separate ones and we will look for shared setups before quoting.
10. How long does a 100 piece order actually take?
Once the tool exists and colour is settled, running 100 pieces takes a day. The lead time is dominated by getting to that point, so 2 to 3 weeks is tooling, then production is quick. Repeat orders with an existing tool and stock colour are often counted in working days rather than weeks.
11. Do you offer rush orders?
Yes when the press schedule allows, and being honest, the constraint is usually tooling rather than machine time. Tell us the date you actually need rather than a padded date, and we will tell you what is achievable and what it would cost. Sometimes the achievable answer is a CNC machined batch first.
12. What happens if my first batch does not sell?
Nothing dramatic. The tool stays in store, you are not obliged to reorder, and the per piece result remains valid whenever demand appears. This is why we suggest aluminium tooling for uncertain programmes rather than pushing customers into production steel where the sunk cost encourages bad decisions.
13. Is there a maximum order too?
No practical upper limit for this scale of work. Above roughly 20,000 pieces a year for one part number we would normally move the conversation to production steel tooling and possibly multiple cavities, because that is where the tooling investment starts paying for itself properly.
14. Do I own the tooling?
Yes. Tooling is quoted and paid once, it is yours, and we will tell you how many shots it has run on request. We store it for you and maintain it in good condition between orders. If you ever want it transferred to another moulder it can be, and we will release it with its maintenance record.
15. What documents do I get with a small order?
The same as with a large one. A first article inspection report, a dimensional report against the drawing, the resin lot traceability record, and a Certificate of Origin with the shipment. Small orders are where documentation discipline tends to slip, and it is exactly where the recording matters most for later comparison.
16. What do you need to quote a low volume order?
A 3D model in STEP or IGES, the target quantity, the material if it matters, whether colour must be matched, and honestly, how likely you think a repeat order is. That last one changes our recommendation, because it decides whether aluminium tooling is a sensible bridge or a wasted step.