Engineering consultation · scaling
When your part is selling and the tooling needs to catch up.
The part works. Orders are climbing. The question is when to step up the tooling, and how to do it without changing anything your customers liked.
The detail
Scaling consult, at group level.
Scaling too early ties money up in steel you don't need yet. Scaling too late means bench-pouring parts that should be pressed, and a unit cost that eats your margin. The scaling consultation is about timing, and about carrying the details of the part through the change.
It often crosses divisions — a part that started in TCI Mouldings moving into TCI Products — so it's run at group level with one engineer holding the history.
Back to An engineering conversation before you commit to a route.
What's involved
Six parts of the work.
Where you are today
Current route, current volume, current reject rate, current pinch points.
Where the forecast goes
Twelve and thirty-six month views, even if they're rough. We plan to the shape, not the decimal.
The tipping point
The volume at which the next route pays for itself, shown against your own forecast.
What must not change
Colour, feel, weight, a surface your customers recognise. We list it before any redesign.
Bridge options
Sometimes a mid-step tool buys time while the production tool is built.
Division hand-over
If the work moves division, the same engineer stays the lead. Nothing is re-explained.
How it runs
Four steps, in order.
- 01
Review
We look at the current part, tool and sales pattern together.
- 02
Scenario
Two or three scaling paths with tooling and unit cost shown separately.
- 03
Plan
An agreed trigger for when to commit, and what gets built.
- 04
Execute
Production tool built with the lessons from the earlier runs folded in.
Is it right for you?
An honest fit check.
A good fit when
- Your hand-cast or cast parts are selling faster than you can make them
- Your unit cost is limiting how you price
- You're preparing for a retail listing or larger customer
- A previous supplier can't keep up with your volume
Probably not the answer when
- Demand is still unproven — stay on low-cost tooling for now
- The design is about to change significantly
- You need thermoplastic parts at mass volume
At a glance
The idea in a picture.
Which route suits your quantity
Swipe to see the whole diagram
FAQs
Common questions.
Will the scaled part look the same?
That's the aim, and we'll tell you before tool cut if anything has to change for the new route.
Do I have to scale everything at once?
No. We often scale the best-selling variant first and leave the rest on existing tools.
Who owns the new tool?
You do, if you pay for it. We store it at no additional charge.
Related
The rest of this service.
Picking the material before anyone picks the tool.
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Which of five moulding routes your part actually needs.
Hand-made, cast, vacuum-cast, compression, injection. Each one is right for somebody. The consultation tells you which…
An engineering conversation before you commit to a route.
You have a part in mind. You're not sure whether it wants silicone or polyurethane, cast or compression, prototype or…
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