What is the minimum order quantity for custom silicone and rubber parts?
Confidence 4/5 Established practice
Minimum order quantity for custom silicone and rubber parts from China:
From roughly 500 pieces for a simple compression-moulded part. Liquid silicone injection usually needs 2,000–5,000 to be economic because the tooling is more expensive.
Sources
- Silicone and rubber moulding process guidance — Industry practice; cross-checked against made-in-China supplier data
- Rubber articles under HS 4016 — World Customs Organization HS nomenclature
- Food-contact material compliance — US FDA 21 CFR 177.2600
What goes wrong with custom silicone and rubber parts
- Suppliers quoting "food grade silicone" without a test report. Ask for the specific compliance document, not the phrase.
- Silicone colour matching is done by adding pigment; a tight Pantone match can shift between batches. Approve a physical sample and a tolerance.
- Hardness is specified in Shore A. Omitting it is the single most common cause of a part that feels wrong on arrival.
- Platinum-cure and peroxide-cure silicone behave differently and are not interchangeable for food or medical use.
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