Editable XLSX
Best for completing, reviewing and revising the specification with the buyer and mold supplier.
Download Editable XLSXUse this specification sheet to convert buyer- and toolmaker-agreed requirements into a controlled baseline before steel release. It defines approved scope, interfaces, deliverables and release responsibility.
Freeze only the requirements that must be stable before steel is committed: the released product baseline, mold construction assumptions, material and life requirements, machine and utility interfaces, required validation evidence, delivery documents, and approval status.
Drawing, CAD, resin and demand assumptions.
Construction, steel, inserts and interface requirements.
Required evidence, documents and spare-part scope.
Revision ownership, customer approval and steel-release status.
For quote and scope assumptions that should be agreed before this specification is frozen, use the injection mold quote and scope guide .
Use the editable workbook during buyer–toolmaker alignment, then issue the PDF as the controlled approval copy before steel release. Keep both versions on the same revision so the working record and signed baseline do not diverge.
Best for completing, reviewing and revising the specification with the buyer and mold supplier.
Download Editable XLSXUse the PDF for controlled review, approval and project records once the specification is ready for release.
Download Printable PDFSpecification Sheet — Controlled Fields
Before Steel ReleaseBefore mold-construction requirements are approved, the specification must identify one controlled product baseline. Buyer and toolmaker should be able to determine exactly which released part definition, material assumption and program condition the mold will be built against.
Record the program, part number, mold ID if assigned, and customer or receiving site.
Use controlled revision identifiers so the released drawing and CAD describe the same product definition.
State the approved resin family or exact grade reference used for tooling assumptions. Material selection itself belongs outside this section.
Record the annual or lifetime demand basis used when tooling scope was approved.
Identify the released drawing, CTQ list or quality document that defines the critical product requirements.
Record the plant, region or receiving site when local machine, utility or delivery standards may depend on destination.
Once the product baseline is controlled, freeze the construction scope the supplier is expected to deliver. The specification should define architecture and customer requirements clearly enough for later mold design to implement them without turning this sheet into a design manual.
Record cavity count, family-tool scope and cavity identification where traceability is required.
State the approved mold-base system, construction class or customer tooling standard.
Define whether the approved scope requires cold runner, hot runner or another agreed feed-system concept.
Record required slides, lifters, collapsible features or other architecture commitments already approved.
Identify where replaceable or serviceable inserts are required without specifying their steel or hardness here.
Capture customer-specific construction, component or maintenance standards that affect the delivered mold.
Once these requirements are frozen, they become controlled inputs to the injection mold development process .
The specification sheet should record the approved tooling-material and durability requirements that affect the mold being purchased. It should identify what has been agreed for steel, inserts, hardness, protection and expected service life without repeating the engineering process used to select those requirements.
Record the approved cavity and core material grades or the controlled customer specification that defines them.
Identify the approved material requirement for critical, replaceable or wear-sensitive inserts where separately specified.
State the required hardness range, treatment condition or approved material condition for release.
Record any approved corrosion-resistance, wear-resistance or surface-protection requirement that affects tooling scope.
Define the agreed service-life expectation or customer tooling class used when the mold scope was approved.
Specify whether steel certificates, hardness records or heat-treatment documentation must accompany the finished tool.
A completed mold can still fail at installation if the receiving press, mechanical interfaces or plant utilities were never defined. Freeze the installation conditions that the delivered tool must match before final mold dimensions and external connections are committed.
Record the machine ID, approved press family or controlling machine-interface reference.
Capture relevant platen, tie-bar, mold-height and mounting constraints that affect installation.
Define the approved locating, nozzle and sprue-side interface requirements.
Record the required ejector connection or machine-side interface without designing the ejector system here.
State approved port, connector, identification and plant utility standards.
Identify required controller, voltage, connector or auxiliary interface standards where applicable.
Before steel release, define which trial outputs, verification records, final documents and spare components are part of the agreed tooling scope. The specification should state what must be delivered later without turning this section into a trial, inspection or final-acceptance procedure.
State whether molded samples are required and identify the project stage or approved condition they must represent.
Specify whether a dimensional, FAI, CMM or CTQ report is required and which released product definition it must reference.
Identify required steel certificates, hardness records, heat-treatment records or other tooling-material evidence.
Record whether cooling-integrity, functional or run-off records are required using project-defined conditions.
Define the required BOM, as-built 2D / 3D data, cooling map, hot-runner documentation, certificates and interface records.
List required spare inserts, ejector pins, seals, heaters, thermocouples or other agreed service parts and quantities.
The specification defines what evidence must later exist; the injection mold acceptance criteria define how final evidence is evaluated.
A mold specification becomes a controlled release document only when revision identity, ownership, open items and approval authority are explicit. These fields show which baseline is active and whether steel may be released.
Assign a unique revision and date so later project records reference the correct baseline.
State what changed and which requirement, drawing or tooling scope was affected.
Identify who maintains the specification and coordinates unresolved items.
Record customer and toolmaker approval separately so agreement is traceable on both sides.
Flag unresolved requirements that could affect steel, interfaces, validation or contracted deliverables.
Identify who is authorized to approve release for tooling commitment.
Document Status
A specification can look complete while still leaving steel-release-critical assumptions unresolved. Review vague, missing or uncontrolled entries by the downstream risk they create. The goal here is not to repeat field instructions, but to identify which open items should be closed or formally dispositioned before tooling decisions become difficult to reverse.
| Missing or Vague Requirement | Typical Downstream Risk |
|---|---|
| Drawing / CAD Revision “Latest drawing” | Can leave the supplier building against the wrong product definition. |
| Resin / Shrink Basis Generic material callout | Can invalidate dimensional assumptions used for tool sizing. |
| Cavitation / Runner Scope “TBD” | Can change mold architecture, cost and schedule. |
| Steel / Component Standard “Supplier standard” | Can create durability, maintenance or interchangeability differences that were never approved. |
| Receiving Press / Utilities “Customer machine” | Can cause mold-envelope, nozzle, ejector or connector incompatibility at installation. |
| Acceptance Evidence “Final approval required” | Does not define which records must later demonstrate compliance. |
| Spare-Part / Document Scope “Standard spares” | Can leave quantities, service parts or handover documents incomplete. |
| Steel-Release Authority “TBD” | Can allow machining to start without a controlled release decision. |
It should identify the controlled project baseline, mold construction scope, tooling-material requirements, machine and utility interfaces, required evidence, documents, spare parts, revision ownership and steel-release status.
The working sheet may begin during RFQ or design discussion, but steel-release-critical requirements should be resolved, approved or formally placed on hold before irreversible tooling decisions are made.
No. The specification records what buyer and toolmaker agreed. A design checklist reviews whether the proposed engineering solution implements that approved baseline.
Do not overwrite the released record. Issue a controlled revision, identify the changed requirement and affected tooling scope, assign approval responsibility and review the impact before implementation.
Send the current drawing or CAD revision, resin basis, target press or interface information, existing specification and unresolved release-critical items.