Tooling used to make the preform that later becomes a bottle during the blowing process.
Tooling used to make the preform that later becomes a bottle during the blowing process.
Specify preform weight, neck finish, cavity target and the injection machine the tooling must fit. Keep this upstream tooling scope separate from the blow mold that forms the final bottle.
Send bottle drawings, material, target output, mold scope and destination before engineering compares the machine and mold route.
Use RFQ tools and glossary definitions to reduce repeated clarification before the first quotation.
Move from generic catalog browsing to project examples, comparison tables and RFQ checklists.
This page separates public glossary context from project information that still needs engineering confirmation.
Preforms are the short, thick-walled test-tube-shaped PET parts produced by injection before blowing. A preform already carries the finished neck and thread; the body is later heated, stretched and blown into the bottle shape. Preform weight, neck finish and material consistency therefore decide much of what the final bottle can be.
Preform mold design covers cavity count, preform weight and wall distribution, neck finish standard, gate and cooling layout, and the injection machine the mold has to run on. It is reviewed against the intended bottle so preform weight and neck finish stay compatible with the blow mold and blowing route.
In buyer usage they normally mean the same tooling: the injection mold that produces the preform for a PET bottle. What matters in an RFQ is not the wording but the data — bottle volume, preform weight, neck finish, cavity target and the machine route the mold must fit.
State the resin route first: PET, PP, PETG, Tritan or PPSU. Then give preform weight, neck finish standard, target cavity count and the bottle the preform feeds. Special materials can change heating behavior and mold review, so they should be named at the first RFQ stage rather than after quoting.
Wide-mouth jars and gradient or multi-color programs both change the preform route — neck diameter, preform weight distribution and material handling are not the same as for a standard beverage neck. Send the bottle drawing and the intended appearance so engineering can confirm the preform and blow mold scope together before quoting.
Send bottle drawings, material, target output, mold scope and destination before engineering compares the machine and mold route.