Custom injection molds.Evansville, Indiana
A tool that binds on the first shot costs you a launch date, not just a repair. It is the moving parts that bind. Cams, lifters and unscrewing actions are this shop’s specialty. No tool leaves the building until a journeyman toolmaker has it assembled and working.
Can you build my tool?
- Mold classes
- SPI 101 to 105
- Steels
- 420SS, H13, S7, A2
- Complex actions
- Cams, lifters, auto-unscrewing
- Quality system
- ISO 9001:2015
I know the tool I need
Send the print or the part and get a price for your job.
Start a quote →I need to know if you can build it
Classes, steels and the kinds of molds this shop builds.
See what fits →I have a part, not a print
Prints are not required. Parts get reverse engineered, and designs start from an idea.
Start anyway →
Why us
Why build it here?
Molds with moving parts are the specialty here
Cams, lifters and auto-unscrewing actions are the parts of a mold that move, and moving parts are what bind and wear.
Auto unscrewing, cams and lifters, hot runner, multi-cavity
One building owns your tool, start to finish
Design, milling, EDM, polishing, welding and inspection all happen under this roof. Your tool never waits in another shop's queue. There is one number to call, not a chain of suppliers.
Engineered and manufactured in-house
Journeymen and machinists build your tool
A toolmaker does the last work on your mold, assembling it and confirming it is fully working. The shop is staffed with journeymen and skilled machinists.
Assembled and fully functioning before it leaves
From the traditional to the unconventional
A simple mold is as welcome here as a complicated one.
The kinds of mold that come out of this building.
- Auto unscrewing molds
- Complex actions with cams and lifters
- Contoured and stepped parting lines
- Hot runner molds
- Multi-cavity molds
- Prototype molds
- Insert molding
- Overmolds
The industry does not decide whether this shop can build your tool. Molds built here run in appliance, automotive, consumer goods, packaging, medical and plumbing plants.
The steel is picked to match the plastic your part is made from and how long the tool has to last. The bigger your production run, the tougher the tool has to be. Send the part, the print or the idea and you get a price for your tool.
What to expect
What you get before your tool leaves.
You see the design first
You get a complete 3-D design before any steel is cut. Changes to the layout happen on a screen, not in hardened steel.
Your tool is assembled and working
A journeyman assembles it and confirms it is fully working. Anything that binds is found on our bench, not once it is running.
The dimensions are measured
Your tool is measured on a coordinate measuring machine. Anything out of spec is put right here, before it leaves.
The finish matches your part
Two full-time polishers finish the surfaces that shape your part, from a mirror to a texture. All SPI finishes, A1 to D3, are done in house.
Tell us what you need built.
Who builds it
The shop behind the tool.
Dexterous has built molds in Evansville since 1979, and the second generation of the family runs it now. A tool built here comes back here for a repair, to the people who cut it.
- Building molds since
- 1979
- Owned by
- The second generation
- Shop floor
- 22,500 sq ft
- Certified
- ISO 9001:2015
New to tooling? What is a production injection mold?
A mold is not the machine that makes your parts. It is the steel tool that goes into that machine, and it is usually one of the biggest costs of getting a part into production. Whether it runs for years or lives in the repair shop is settled while it is built, by the steel, the cooling and the fit of every moving part.
Before you order
What buyers ask before they order a tool.
How long does a new mold take?
Every tool is different. The class, the cavity count, the actions, the steel and your CAD all move the date. We will not quote you another job's schedule. Send the part, the print or the idea and we will tell you what yours takes.
What mold classes do you build?
SPI classes 101 through 105, from full production tools rated for the highest cycle counts down to prototype tooling.
What steels do you work with?
Tool steels: 420 stainless, H13, S7 and A2, chosen to match the plastic you are molding, your volumes and what the part has to do.
Can you work from a part instead of prints?
Yes. We reverse engineer from physical parts and tooling. Our design engineers regularly start from an idea rather than a finished CAD model.
Do you mold production parts?
No. We build and repair the tooling; production molding runs at your molder's plant. If you need the mold that makes the part, you are in the right place.
Send the part, the print or the idea.
Rather talk it through?
(812) 422-8046Related: EDM · Polishing · Mold repair