Should Portable Tool Box tooling sit inside the unit price?

Answer: Follow the volume. Above eight thousand units a year, separate billing costs less; below three thousand, all-in is simpler.

Why can two quotes for one drawing differ by 16 RMB?

Answer: Wall thickness is 4 RMB, regrind ratio 3 RMB, amortisation 4 to 6 RMB; tray density and board make up the rest.

Can a supplier really run 500 pieces?

Answer: Yes, at a cost. The whole tool lands in the first order, so the unit price approaches 270 RMB.

Can lead time be cut to forty days?

Answer: Only with an existing tool, resin in stock and a free press slot. From scratch, fifty-two days is normal.

Should packaging and freight be separate lines?

Answer: Yes. Together they run about 9 RMB, and once buried in one figure no two suppliers compare.

Portable Tool Box Procurement: Quotes, MOQ and Lead Time

Quick answer: A Portable Tool Box quote is six cost blocks stacked together: material, moulding, tray and fittings, assembly, packaging and tooling. Tooling breaks even near six thousand units, and lead time is decided by mould machining and press scheduling.

What a Portable Tool Box Quote Is Made Of
Tooling Cost and the Order Quantity Break-Even
Clamp Tonnage, Cycle Time and Unit Price
Trays, Fittings and Assembly Labour
Lead Time Breakdown and the RFQ Fields
FAQ

1. What a Portable Tool Box Quote Is Made Of

A Portable Tool Box quote is never one number. It stacks material, moulding, tray and fittings, assembly, packaging and tooling, and only splitting those lines shows where a price is high.

Cost block	RMB per unit	Driven by
Material	24.9	net weight, resin price
Moulding	4.6	tonnage, cycle
Tray and fittings	8.0	EVA density, latch grade

A 460 x 330 x 185 mm body, 2.8 mm wall, 2.35 kg net in PP copolymer quotes at 61.8 RMB ex-works. Material at 10.6 RMB a kilo with six percent regrind is 24.9 RMB and moulding 4.6 RMB, but tray, latches, handle and three minutes of assembly add 11.2 RMB.

2. Tooling Cost and the Order Quantity Break-Even

A single-cavity cold runner mould for a 460 mm Portable Tool Box body in P20 quotes at 210,000 to 240,000 RMB; a hot runner adds 45,000 and never pays back below thirty thousand a year.

Portable Tool Box: a blue case seen high, two lid ribs, black latches at the front corners, a round valve by the folded handle

First order	Tooling per unit	Sensible all-in price
1,000	220 RMB	268–285 RMB
3,000	73 RMB	128–140 RMB
5,000	44 RMB	100–110 RMB
30,000	7.3 RMB	68–74 RMB

Amortisation is the tool price over the batch but not linear: 220,000 RMB adds 220 RMB at one thousand units and 7.3 at thirty thousand. A 128 RMB all-in quote meets a 96 RMB quote plus the tool at 6,875 units, and a colour change adds 1.8 RMB a unit below three thousand pieces.

3. Clamp Tonnage, Cycle Time and Unit Price

Clamp force follows projected area. The 460 x 330 mm outline is 1,520 square centimetres, and at 300 bar that needs 456 tonnes, so the job runs on a 650 tonne press. Dropping to 450 tonnes flashes the parting line and pushes trimming from 40 to 65 seconds.

Cycle time follows wall. A 2.8 mm wall cools in 22 s, plus 8 s of open and close and 34 s of injection, giving 64 s; at 3.2 mm cooling stretches to 29 s and the cycle to 71 s, adding half a yuan a part. A 650 tonne press at 85 percent efficiency makes 956 parts a day.

4. Trays, Fittings and Assembly Labour

The tray is the easiest line to swap: EVA at 45 kilograms per cubic metre instead of 30 nearly doubles its price, and a 460 mm tray uses 0.19 kg, so 4.6 RMB becomes 6.8.

Portable Tool Box: a black case open, flat grey foam in the lid, die-cut slots for wrenches and pliers in the base, two front latches

Assembly is costed per station: two M4 x 12 screws at 0.8 N·m, two latches pressed at 180 N, one hinge pin driven 12 mm, three minutes ten seconds at 45 RMB an hour. A 40 foot high cube takes 1,600 units, so freight to Rotterdam adds about 9 RMB each.

5. Lead Time Breakdown and the RFQ Fields

Late delivery comes from mould machining and press scheduling, so split both in the contract.

Stage	Days	Usual bottleneck
Mould machining	14	lifters, cooling lines
T1 and samples	3	sink marks, latch alignment
Rework and T2	12	five days per change
Moulding 5,000	6	press slot
Assembly and packing	8	tray arrival

An RFQ without fields produces a price nobody can use. State internal dimensions, wall tolerance, resin grade and melt index, Pantone colour, stack load, tray cells and annual volume. Internal size, melt index and the Pantone number go missing most, and each returns later as a mould change.

Conclusion

A Portable Tool Box purchase prices three things: wall thickness sets the cost floor, tooling and quantity decide whether the first order works, and scheduling decides the date. Split the six cost blocks and the quote for a Portable Tool Box becomes a sheet you can check.

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.