Precision metal and engineering plastic parts from prototype through repeat production.
Tooling development, molded parts and production support for repeat plastic manufacturing.
Functional prototypes, complex geometry and low-volume parts without conventional tooling.
Explore 3D PrintingStart with geometry, material, quantity and critical requirements before selecting the route.
Request Engineering ReviewSend your CAD, drawing, material and quantity for an initial manufacturing review.
Request Engineering ReviewUse the checklist that matches the decision your project needs to make now—from RFQ and DFM through steel release, mold trial, dimensional approval, PPAP, and tool handover. This hub helps engineers and buyers choose the correct review document without turning one generic checklist into every stage of the molding program.
Quick Selection
Start with the current project gate. Each checklist below has a separate job; the detailed inspection items, evidence requirements, and acceptance rules remain on the dedicated checklist page.
Confirm that the supplier has the minimum information needed to quote the mold and molding program.
Use the RFQ Checklist 02Review part moldability and unresolved design risks before tooling details are finalized.
Use the DFM Checklist 03Verify that critical tooling decisions are sufficiently frozen before irreversible mold manufacturing begins.
Use the Steel-Cut Checklist 04Record trial conditions, part findings, open actions, and evidence needed for the next review gate.
Use the Mold Trial Checklist 05Confirm dimensional evidence and inspection status before part or tool acceptance progresses.
Review FAI Requirements 06Verify that the mold, records, documentation, and remaining actions are controlled before transfer.
Use the Handover ChecklistStage 01 · RFQ / Project Kickoff
At the RFQ stage, the goal is not to complete the full DFM or approve the mold design. The goal is to give the supplier a stable enough project definition to quote tooling, molding scope, lead time, and key assumptions without filling major gaps with guesswork.
Minimum RFQ Definition
Use the current drawing and 3D model revision so the quote is tied to one defined geometry.
State the specified resin or the material family that the supplier must evaluate.
Give enough volume and program context to avoid quoting the wrong tooling or production assumption.
Identify the dimensions, appearance requirements, or customer conditions that can materially affect the quotation.
Need the full RFQ field list? Use the dedicated checklist rather than expanding those requirements on this Hub.
Open the Injection Mold RFQ ChecklistStages 02–03 · DFM to Steel Release
DFM and steel release happen close together, but they do not answer the same question. DFM tests whether the part and molding concept are manufacturable; the pre-steel-cut review confirms that the remaining tooling decisions are controlled enough to begin irreversible mold manufacturing.
Use the DFM gate while geometry and molding assumptions can still be corrected without changing hardened tooling.
Passing DFM does not automatically mean the mold is ready for steel cut. Tooling-specific decisions must also be frozen or formally controlled.
DFM closed means the known part and molding risks have been reviewed. Steel-cut release means the tooling definition is sufficiently frozen to accept the cost and change risk of machining. Do not treat one approval as a substitute for the other.
Stages 04–06 · Trial to Formal Approval
Trial, FAI, and PPAP are related, but they are not interchangeable. Mold trial records how the tool and process behave, FAI verifies the manufactured part against defined dimensions, and PPAP organizes the wider approval evidence required by the program. Use the checklist that matches the approval gate you are actually trying to close.
Use the trial checklist to control the sampling objective, molding conditions, visible defects, dimensional findings, open actions, and the evidence needed for the next trial or review gate.
Open the Mold Trial ChecklistMove to FAI when representative molded parts are ready for dimensional verification. The inspection result confirms whether the specified characteristics meet the approved drawing and measurement requirements; it does not replace process or tooling validation.
Review the Injection Part FAI ReportUse the PPAP checklist when the customer or program requires a structured submission package. The required level and evidence should follow the project requirement rather than assuming every mold program needs the same submission set.
Open the PPAP Documents ChecklistUse one document for one decision: mold trial records process and tool behavior; FAI verifies defined part characteristics; PPAP packages the broader evidence required for formal customer or program approval.
Stages 07–09 · Handover to Lifecycle Control
Approval does not end document control. Once a mold is transferred or enters production, handover records establish the baseline, engineering-change control governs approved modifications, and the tool history record preserves what physically changed over the mold’s life.
Use the handover checklist when responsibility for the mold, documents, spare items, open actions, or production support is moving between supplier, customer, or molding location.
Open the Tool Handover ChecklistWhen geometry, mold components, steel, process assumptions, or customer requirements change after release, use formal change control to assess impact, obtain approval, verify the result, and release the revised condition.
Review the Injection Molding ECN FormUse the tool history record to maintain a durable chronology of repairs, approved revisions, component replacement, and significant mold events. It records what changed; it is not the same as the preventive-maintenance schedule that defines when routine service should occur.
Open the Tool History CardLifecycle rule: handover establishes the controlled baseline, ECN manages an approved change, and the tool history record preserves the resulting physical change over time. Do not use one document as a substitute for all three.
Escalation Gate · Engineering Review
A checklist works well when the project assumptions are already clear. Escalate to engineering review when the decision depends on interacting geometry, material, tooling, process, or acceptance risks that cannot be resolved by marking standard review items complete.
Critical dimensions, GD&T, assembly relationships, or measurement assumptions create risk that must be reviewed together rather than as isolated checklist items.
Thin walls, long flow lengths, asymmetric geometry, or dimensional stability concerns require part-specific review before tooling decisions are frozen.
Optical, appearance-critical, texture-sensitive, or visible Class-A surfaces often require coordinated gate, venting, polishing, and process decisions.
When filling behavior, thermal balance, cycle assumptions, or tool layout remains uncertain, a generic checklist should not be used as release evidence.
Shrinkage, fiber orientation, moisture sensitivity, chemical exposure, or other resin-specific effects may require a project-specific review.
Automotive, regulated, or customer-controlled programs may require additional validation evidence beyond the standard project-stage checklist.
Escalation rule: if an unresolved issue can change the part design, mold architecture, validation route, or acceptance decision, stop treating it as a checklist completion task and move it into an engineering review.
Request a Free DFM ReviewFAQ · Checklist Selection
Use these answers to choose the correct checklist without confusing quotation, engineering review, mold release, validation, and lifecycle documentation.
Start with the checklist that matches your current project gate. Use the RFQ checklist before quotation, then move to DFM and pre-steel-cut review as the design becomes more defined.
No. The RFQ checklist checks whether the supplier has enough project information to prepare a meaningful quotation. The DFM checklist evaluates part moldability and unresolved engineering risks before tooling is released.
Use the dedicated pre-steel-cut risk checklist after DFM actions are sufficiently closed. It confirms whether the tooling definition and remaining release conditions are controlled before irreversible mold machining begins.
FAI is used to verify defined part characteristics against the released requirements. PPAP is used when the customer or program requires a broader, structured approval package. The required evidence should follow the actual project requirement.
