Design for manufacture · multi-cavity layout
How many cavities, and how to make them all fill the same.
More cavities per shot lowers unit cost — if every cavity fills, cures and releases the same. The layout review sets cavity count, feeding and venting so part one and part sixteen match.
The detail
DFM: multi cavity layout, at group level.
Cavity count is a commercial decision disguised as an engineering one. Too few and your unit cost stays high. Too many and the tool costs more, balances worse and produces more rejects. The right number depends on your volume, your part and the route.
This review is most often run for compression and LSR tools in TCI Products, and for multi-cavity food trays in TCI Culinary.
Back to Design for manufacture, across five moulding routes.
What's involved
Six parts of the work.
Cavity count
Set against your forecast, not the biggest tool that fits the press.
Feed and balance
Every cavity filled evenly so parts match across the tool.
Venting
Air let out where it would otherwise trap and leave voids.
Cavity identification
Cavity numbers moulded in so a problem can be traced to its cavity.
Demould and handling
Layout that lets parts come out cleanly and quickly.
Future expansion
Tools designed so cavities can be added later if volume grows.
How it runs
Four steps, in order.
- 01
Forecast
Annual volume and batch sizes agreed.
- 02
Layout options
Two cavity counts compared on tool and unit cost.
- 03
Balance review
Feeding and venting designed for the chosen layout.
- 04
Sign-off
Layout frozen before steel is cut.
Is it right for you?
An honest fit check.
A good fit when
- You're commissioning a compression or LSR tool
- Parts from different cavities don't match today
- Your unit cost needs to come down at volume
- You're planning a multi-cavity food or bakery tray
Probably not the answer when
- Low volumes where a single cavity is plenty
- Hand-poured tools where fill isn't pressure-driven
- Parts too large for more than one per shot
At a glance
The ideas in pictures.
Which route suits your quantity
Swipe to see the whole diagram
One enquiry, the right team
- 01One enquiryTell us what you need
- 02Right divisionWe bring in the specialists
- 03One quoteCovering every part of the job
- 04Named contactOne person keeps it moving
- 05DeliveredMoulds, parts or both
Swipe to see the whole diagram
FAQs
Common questions.
Is more cavities always cheaper?
Per part, usually. Overall, not always — the tool costs more and balance gets harder.
Can cavities be added later?
If the tool is designed for it. We'll plan for that when growth is likely.
Which division runs these tools?
Mostly TCI Products; multi-cavity food trays go through TCI Culinary.
Related
The rest of this service.
Where the tool splits, and how the part comes out.
Draft and parting lines decide whether a part releases cleanly, where the witness line shows and how long the tool…
Undercuts, internal features and inserts, worked out before tooling.
Flexible moulds let us release undercuts that rigid tools can't. Steel tools need cores, side actions or a redesign.…
Design for manufacture, across five moulding routes.
A part designed for one process doesn't necessarily suit another. Our DFM review covers all five moulding routes we run…
The group
Delivered across the group
This work is coordinated by TCI Group and carried out by whichever of the four divisions suits your part.
Get in touch
Not sure which division? Tell us what you're making.
Send us a sketch, a photograph, or a paragraph. We'll come back with the right division, the right route, and an honest sense of what it will take.
Real people, a real workshop
You deal with the people who make it.
No call centre and no middlemen. When you contact TCI Group, you speak to the team who design, build and check your mould.
- A real Warwickshire workshopUnit 15, Waterloo Park, Bidford-on-Avon, Alcester B50 4JG.
- Real people on the phoneCall the team on 01789 224228, Monday to Friday.
- The same team on every jobDesign, production and aftercare come from the people you see here.
- Five brands, one teamMoulds, culinary, construction and contract products, all run from Bidford-on-Avon. See the divisions.
Thomas LaneManaging Director
George PrestonDesign & Project Manager
Kelly BallingerHead of Partnerships
Jim AndertonProduction Manager
TheodoreEmployee Welfare