Die casting and metal forming: MOQ, tooling, lead time and landed cost
Confidence 4/5 Established practice · review by 2026-12-31
Die casting, forging and stamping are the processes where a Chinese factory's scale genuinely beats anything available to a small buyer domestically — but only above volumes that justify the die. Below a few thousand units the die cost dominates and the arithmetic fails, and saying so early saves the buyer a wasted tooling payment.
Quick answers
| Minimum order quantity | Generally 2,000–5,000 pieces per die, because the die is expensive and the unit price only recovers it at volume. |
| Lead time | Die design, build and trial: 25–45 days. Production: 20–35 days. |
| Tooling | USD 2,000–15,000 for a die-cast die depending on size, number of cavities and whether slides are needed. Stamping dies range from a few hundred dollars for a simple blank to USD 10,000+ for progressive dies. |
| Unit cost | Roughly USD 0.80–8.00 per part at 5,000 units for a small to medium aluminium die casting, with metal price passed through and fluctuating. |
| HS classification | Aluminium castings usually fall under 7616.99; zinc under 7907; the die itself under 8480.4x or 8207 for dies. Metal price pass-through clauses are common and should be explicit. |
| Certification | Material grade and heat treatment documentation matter more than badges. For structural or safety parts, ask for mechanical test data per batch. |
| Duty | Aluminium and steel derivative tariffs have been extended in the US under Section 232 to cover many downstream products, so a plain duty lookup understates the cost. Treat any figure here as needing confirmation. |
Common mistakes
- Ordering a die before confirming the design is frozen.
- Accepting "aluminium" without an alloy designation such as ADC12 or A380.
- Not agreeing how metal price movement is handled between quote and production.
- Skipping a trial run and going straight to full production from the die.
- Assuming porosity control is automatic; it depends on process and is worth specifying for pressure-tight parts.
Detailed answers
Sources
- Die casting tooling and unit cost ranges — Industry practice; ranges vary widely with part geometry
- Aluminium and zinc castings under HS 7616 and 7907 — World Customs Organization HS nomenclature
- Section 232 derivative tariff extensions — US Department of Commerce
Get die casting and metal forming quoted
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