FAQ’s

Frequently asked questions

Questions

General Capabilities

What services do you offer?

We provide a complete, end-to-end injection moulding service, including part design
support, design for manufacture (DFM), tooling design and manufacture, tooling
management, project management, injection moulding, and value-added services
such as packaging and electromechanical assembly.

What size injection moulding machines do you operate?

We operate injection moulding machines from 35 tonne to 350 tonne, allowing us to
support both small, high-precision components and larger technical mouldings.

What industries do you serve?

We work across a wide range of sectors including medical, industrial, electronics,
automotive, construction, and consumer products. Our processes and quality
systems are particularly well suited to regulated and high-reliability applications.

Design & Design for Manufacture (DFM)

Can you help with part design?

Yes. We support customers from early concept through to production-ready designs. This includes material selection guidance, tolerance optimisation, and design reviews to ensure the part performs as intended and can be manufactured efficiently.

What is Design for Manufacture (DFM) and why is it important?

DFM ensures that parts are designed to be moulded reliably, repeatably, and cost-effectively. Our DFM reviews focus on wall thickness, draft angles, gating, shrinkage, tooling complexity, and cycle time to reduce risk and cost before tooling is committed.

Can you work from existing CAD data?

Yes. We routinely work with customer-supplied CAD data (e.g. STEP) and can suggest improvements where appropriate.

Tooling & Tooling Management

Do you supply injection mould tools?

Yes. We manage the full tooling lifecycle — from specification and tool design through manufacture, validation, ongoing maintenance, and eventual refurbishment or modification. We provide the tooling normally with our injection moulding services, but can supply just the tooling if you prefer.

Where are your tools manufactured?

Depending on the application, lead time, and budget, tools may be manufactured in the UK or overseas. In all cases, tooling is specified, validated, and managed to our internal standards.

Who owns the tool?

In most cases, tooling is paid for and customer owned. Ownership, maintenance responsibilities, and storage arrangements can be agreed at the outset of each project.

Injection Moulding

What materials can you mould?

We mould a wide range of thermoplastics including commodity, engineering, and high-performance polymers. This includes filled and unfilled grades, flame-retardant materials, and medical-grade polymers where appropriate. We have very broad experience and also mould existing and new plant based materials which we have helped to develop.

What production volumes can you support?

We support low, medium and high-volume production, pilot runs, and ongoing series production. Typical batch sizes are agreed based on tooling, material, and commercial requirements. We have customers who take handfuls of mouldings occasionally, and others where we can supply up to 4,000,000 parts per week.

Do you offer prototyping or pilot moulding?

Yes. We can support prototyping your product, pilot runs, and pre-production builds to de-risk projects before full production release. We’re working on a new technology right now in order to speed this process up – keep an eye out for the update.

Quality & Standards

What quality standards do you work to?

We operate robust quality and environmental management systems under ISO 9001 and ISO 140001. We are currently in the process of attaining ISO 13485 approval for medical device manufacturing. Our systems are designed to support traceability, risk management, and process control.

Can you support medical or regulated products?

Yes. Our processes, documentation, and validation approach are designed to meet the expectations of regulated industries, including medical devices, subject to final certification scope and project requirements.

Do you provide inspection and documentation?

Yes. We can provide dimensional inspection, material traceability, batch records, and quality documentation as required, including support for PPAP-style or validation documentation where applicable.

Project Management

How do you manage new projects?

Each project is managed through a structured process with a single point of contact. This includes defined milestones, risk reviews, tooling progress tracking, and clear communication throughout the project lifecycle.

Can you take over existing tools or projects?

Yes. We regularly take on existing tools and projects, including transfer from other moulders, subject to technical review and suitability assessment.

Value-Added Services

Do you offer assembly services?

Yes. We offer electromechanical and sub-assembly services, allowing customers to receive finished or semi-finished products rather than individual mouldings.

Can you package parts ready for shipment or end use?

Yes. We provide tailored packaging solutions including bulk packaging, retail-ready packs, labelling, and kitting as required.

Commercial & Logistics

Do you work with UK-based customers only?

No. While we are UK-based, we work with customers across the UK and internationally.

How do I request a quote?

You can contact us via this website, email (sales@plasticenegineeringsolutions.co.uk), or phone (+44 (0) 1225 706 567). Providing CAD data, estimated volumes, material requirements, and target pricing will help us respond quickly and accurately.

Sustainability & Environmental Responsibility

Our Approach

What does sustainability mean to Plastic Engineering Solutions?

For us, sustainability means minimising environmental impact while delivering high-quality, reliable products. This includes reducing waste and energy use, making responsible material choices, designing parts for efficient manufacture and end of life, and continuously improving our processes and supply chain.

Is sustainability built into your decision-making?

Yes. Environmental impact is considered alongside quality, cost, and performance when making decisions on materials, tooling, manufacturing processes, and logistics. We actively look for opportunities to reduce environmental impact without compromising product integrity.

Materials & Design

Do you work with recycled or recyclable materials?

Where application requirements allow, we regularly support and promote the use of recycled and recyclable polymers. We also advise customers on material choices that balance performance, compliance, and environmental considerations.

Can you help design parts to be more sustainable?

Absolutely. Through our Design for Manufacture (DFM) process, we help customers reduce material usage, optimise wall thickness, eliminate unnecessary features, and design parts that are easier to mould, assemble, and recycle.

Do you advise on material reduction and lightweighting?

Yes. Material efficiency is a key focus of our DFM reviews. Reducing material usage not only improves sustainability but often lowers cycle times and part costs.

Manufacturing & Operations

How do you reduce waste in injection moulding?

We minimise waste through robust process control, right-first-time tooling, controlled start-ups, and ongoing process optimisation. Where possible, production scrap is segregated and recycled.

Do you regrind and reuse plastic material?

Where material specifications permit, we can incorporate controlled levels of regrind. This is carefully managed to ensure part quality, consistency, and traceability are maintained.

How do you manage energy consumption?

We continuously monitor and review machine utilisation, process efficiency, and cycle times to reduce energy use per part. Investment decisions consider energy efficiency as well as capability.

Tooling & Lifecycle Management

How does tooling design impact sustainability?

Well-designed tooling produces consistent parts with lower scrap rates, shorter cycle times, and longer tool life. This reduces waste, energy consumption, and the need for premature tool replacement.

Do you support long-term tooling management?

Yes. Proactive tooling maintenance and management extends tool life and reduces the environmental impact associated with replacement tools or emergency repairs.

Supply Chain & Packaging

Do you consider sustainability in your supply chain?

Yes. We work with suppliers who demonstrate responsible manufacturing practices and reliable quality systems, and we review supply routes and logistics to minimise unnecessary transport.

Can you provide sustainable packaging options?

We offer packaging solutions that minimise material use and can incorporate recyclable or reusable packaging where appropriate. Packaging is tailored to the product and supply chain requirements.

Compliance & Continuous Improvement

Do you measure or track environmental performance?

We monitor key operational metrics such as scrap rates, energy usage, and process efficiency, and use this data to report and to drive continuous improvement.

How does ISO 13485 align with sustainability?

While ISO 13485 is primarily focused on quality and risk management for medical devices, its emphasis on process control, traceability, and continual improvement supports waste reduction and more efficient manufacturing.

How are you improving your environmental performance over time?

We actively review new materials, technologies, and process improvements that reduce environmental impact. Sustainability is treated as an ongoing journey rather than a one-off initiative.

Working With Customers

Can you help customers meet their own sustainability goals?

Yes. We regularly work with customers who have specific sustainability targets and can support material selection, design optimisation, and manufacturing strategies that align with those goals. We also utilise certified 100% renewable electricity, which helps with our customers’ scope 3 emissions.

Are you open to collaborative sustainability initiatives?

Very much so. We welcome collaboration with customers, suppliers, and partners to identify and implement more sustainable solutions across the product lifecycle.