Mold Trials and FAI Reports
What you should receive when a tool is tried, and what to do with it.
A trial is a measurement, not a demonstration
The point of a mold trial is not to prove that the tool makes a part. It is to produce a set of samples and a dimension report against which every later argument can be settled.
What comes with the trial
Mold trial reports with a sample dimension report — the FAI. That report is what you compare against your own drawing before the tool is released for shipment.
Where trials fit in the quality route
Quality control on a new project starts at the initial stage and runs through pre-DFM, mold design, fabrication, mold trials and final inspection before delivery. The trial is one checkpoint in that chain, not the whole of it.
Read the deviations, not the conclusion
The useful part of an FAI is the list of dimensions that did not land on nominal and by how much. Those are the dimensions that will move again when the process moves.
Before shipment
Final mold inspection and packing inspection follow the trial. A tool that passes trial can still arrive damaged; the packing inspection is what stands between those two states.
Tooling and Parts Behind This Guide
Two Shot Keypad Housing
Keypad housing with contrast key fields molded into the front shell.
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Automotive Lamp Housing with Reflector Cavities
Angular lamp body combining dark structure with light reflector zones in one tool.
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Die Cast Aluminum Rotor Disc
Cast aluminum disc with radial lugs, a bored hub face and an integral side arm.
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Blue Medical Connector Cap
Conical cap with an internally threaded bore and an external grip knurl.
View details →Other Guides
What a Mold DFM Study Should Contain
The ten items we put in every DFM we send, and what each one is there to prevent.
What MoldFlow Analysis Actually Catches
Filling, packing, warpage, cooling — what each stage of the analysis is looking for.
Mold Standards DME HASCO Meusburger and MISUMI
Why the standard you name in the purchase order decides how your tool is maintained for the next ten years.
Two Shot Molding Versus Overmolding
Both put two materials on one part. The difference is where the first shot sits when the second one arrives.
Why Mold Motion Simulation Is Worth the Time
For complex tools, watching the mold open step by step finds the collisions a static model hides.
Choosing Between a Prototype Mold and a Production Mold
A prototype tool answers a different question. Buying the wrong one wastes the whole stage.
About This Guide
Who is this guide written for?
Buyers and engineers specifying injection mold tooling in Asia. It reflects how we work at JEC Mold rather than a generic textbook process.
Can you apply this to our project?
Yes. Send the 3D data, the resin and the annual volume and a professional quotation with technical comment comes back within two working days.
Where can I see the tools and parts referred to here?
All seventy-one parts and tools we show are on our products page, grouped by category, with the tooling route on each product page.
Apply This to Your Own Tool
Send the part and the volume and we will comment on it directly in the quotation, within two working days.