Originally Posted by
Rockthecatbox21
I noticed the mt-4 drop down is available only in aluminum. The price does not matter to me, but i could see $70-80 being intimidating for some buyers. I think a delrin option would be a great idea. I know delrin can be machined like alumium, but the benefits i could see are: less cost, lighter weight, and more sales due to lower cost. I think you should still offer an aluminum option on both drop downs, but i think a delrin option would be a very nice alternative. It could also be had for around $40-50 i'm guessing. Either way, i would still buy it, delrin or not. Just something to think about.
We have more people question why we don't inject in plastic instead of expensive cnc machining it. Well you can.
It will cost you as low as $0.06 for each 4PL drop down plastic injected.
You can have a mold made up (@$15,000) which the cost will need to be divided up among the customers. For example, 12 customers, each drop down will cost $1,250.00 each. As you inject more drop downs, your investment in the mold comes down to the point where you can start to break even.
Also keep in mind you can not inject one at a time as needed because you will incur set up and injection costs. Most injection companies requires a minimum run before a job will happen, some as little as 1000 units and other 10,000 units. The lower the units, the higher the cost per unit.
Unless the product has high volumes which the drop down certainly are not, a mold will cost more.