Why can plastic tool case supplier quotes differ by 30 percent?

Answer: Tray and assembly. Foam density, the die inside or outside the unit price, and kit count make two thirds of the gap.

Is an MOQ of 500 sets reasonable?

Answer: For a 12-piece kit it is the sensible floor; below it, picking cannot spread, so the factory adds price or declines.

Who owns the mould and the die?

Answer: Normally the buyer who pays: 32,000 yuan for the mould, 3,000 for the die, which is 6.4 yuan a unit over 5,000 sets.

Can 28 days be shortened?

Answer: Only with an existing mould and an unchanged die, and then 21 days. Five days of die making are physical.

Plastic tool case supplier: unit cost from tooling to rework

Quick answer: A plastic tool case supplier should price five blocks — body, handle and latches, foam tray, assembly, packing — and quote the kit, not the box: 12-piece kits start at 500 sets, with 6.8 yuan held for rework.

How a Plastic Tool Case Supplier Breaks Down Unit Cost
How Kit Configuration Rewrites Price and MOQ
Where Rework Cost Comes From
Packing, Carton Count and Corner Pads
The Time Bill for Quotes and Samples
FAQ

1. How a Plastic Tool Case Supplier Breaks Down Unit Cost

When unit cost will not settle, the two sides are pricing different cases. One number from a plastic tool case supplier carries five blocks: body, handle and latches, foam tray, assembly, packing.

The body runs on weight: 3.1 kg times the compound rate times 1.03. The tray is area plus die; assembly is 45 seconds a set.

Block	Basis	Per unit	Room to cut
Body	3.1 kg × rate × 1.03	21.6 yuan	2.4 mm wall is the floor
Handle, latches	one or two pieces	2.8 yuan	one-piece saves 0.6
Foam tray	area plus die share	4.5 yuan	density, shared die
Assembly	45 seconds	1.9 yuan	self-locking clips save 12 seconds
Packing	four sets a carton	1.3 yuan	board grade, pads

The five add to 32.1 yuan; a quote under that has moved money elsewhere.

The tray is where money hides: a 3,000 yuan die over 2,000 sets is 1.5 yuan each, so own the die.

2. How Kit Configuration Rewrites Price and MOQ

Change the piece count and price stops moving in a straight line. A 12-piece kit assembles in 45 seconds, a 24-piece in 78, a 38-piece in 2 minutes 10, since every extra piece is another pick and seat.

Plastic tool case supplier: one navy hard case on a pale grey background, molded top handle, two front latches closed, ribbed lower edge

MOQ follows the kit: 500 sets for 12 pieces, 800 for 24, 1,200 for 38, since picking eats the margin below that volume.

Kit	Assembly	MOQ	Price index	Die
12-piece	45 seconds	500 sets	100	3,000 yuan separate
24-piece	78 seconds	800 sets	112	3,600 yuan separate
38-piece	130 seconds	1,200 sets	128	4,200 yuan separate

Before changing the kit, ask whether the die changes: 400 yuan a cut, 3,000 a new die.

Same body, different kit, and shell cost does not move. Tray, assembly and stocking do, so quotes only compare at the same kit.

3. Where Rework Cost Comes From

Rework has fixed triggers and a fixed price. Split 6.8 yuan open: 2.1 material, 3.4 labour, 1.3 freight.

Rework item	Trigger	Per unit	Prevention
Reboxing	die drift over 1 mm	6.8 yuan	check the die on the T2 sample
Missing part	one accessory short	4.2 yuan	weigh the carton, recount past 30 g
Colour rework	over 2 colour units in a batch	11 yuan	one batch, one colour lot
Collapsed corner	downgraded board	2.4 yuan	five-ply board plus pads

Colour is the dearest of the four. It means respraying or remoulding the batch, and the schedule slips with it. Die drift looks small, yet 1 mm on a 38-piece kit leaves a row of inserts that will not seat. Missing parts are the quiet one: one short accessory sends a carton back at ten times its freight. The buyer's job is not to argue price later but to fix four triggers in acceptance. Pin die drift, carton weight, colour units and board grade, and rework falls from 6 percent to under 2.

A plastic tool case supplier that shows a rework reserve has done the arithmetic; the one that will not is charging it later.

4. Packing, Carton Count and Corner Pads

Packing decides how many kits fit a 40HQ. Four sets a carton at 600 by 400 by 320 mm gives 1,240 sets; three a carton lifts freight per set by 9 percent.

Plastic tool case supplier: open navy case laid flat, socket rail in the lid, pliers, two wrenches and screwdrivers in the base

A corner pad costs a tenth of a yuan; a collapsed corner costs a carton. Five-ply board, four pads and a divider hold case and tray after a 0.9 m drop.

Stack six high for 24 hours with no permanent set; add a wrap pass at 0.2 yuan a set for sea freight.

5. The Time Bill for Quotes and Samples

Time is cost that never appears on the quote. The sample chain has fixed nodes:

Quote: 3 working days, pricing plus kit proposal
T1 hand sample: 7 days, shape and assembly, three sets
Tray die: 5 days, run in parallel with T1
T2 production sample: 10 days, dimensions, wall, drop
Sample sign-back: 2 days, or the schedule shifts
Production: 28 days from sign-back

Sampling bills at 800 yuan a set, mostly credited against the order. Write the condition down: full credit at 500 sets, none below.

A plastic tool case supplier should commit to nodes, not a total; only a node says which week can still move.

Conclusion

Unit cost for a plastic tool case is one five-block sheet plus one kit-time sheet; line them up and the quote loses its soft edges. Rework reserve, die ownership and board grade belong in the contract. The plastic tool case supplier worth keeping shows both sheets and its rework rate.

This article discusses only the container (case body) side of specifications and design intent, and does not cover any handling, loading or use of the contents.