Get It Made in Korea
Soft Mold minimizes molding errors with standardized design and manufacturing operating instructions.
Key facts
| Industry | Mold manufacturing, injection molding |
| Mainstay products/services | Quick delivery molds (QDM), soft molds, injection molding |
| Technology forte | QDM production |
| Main customers | Korean, Japanese electronics, medical device firms including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Kyocera, Laxtha, Intocare |
| Headquarters | Incheon, South Korea |
| Overseas expansion | Mold factory in Korea |
| Founding year | 2003 |
Why it stands out
Ex-Samsung engineer leads Soft Mold to near-perfect QDMs through standardization
Soft Mold is striving to perfect mold manufacturing with process standardization in mold design and fabrication, expertise earned by its founder and chief during his previous employ at Samsung Electronics Co.
Soft Mold is an Incheon, South Korea-based mold producer specializing in quick delivery molds (QDM) and was founded in 2003 by Kim Jae-sim.
QDMs are modification-friendly molds as they require changes only in the core and cavity to be used for different purposes while using the same mold base.
The adaptable QDMs can thus help shorten product delivery time and save initial design costs, making them popular among product developers seeking speed and efficiency.
“It takes at least 30 days to build a general mold that requires the production of both the mold base and core. But it takes about four to up to 15 days to build a QDM, and only one or two hours are needed to change its core,” said Kim.
But the short manufacturing period does not mean QDMs have quality issues, said Kim.
“As I learned at Samsung Electronics, I have established our company’s detailed process standardization for fabrication, design and dimensions. Based on basic guidelines, we have built manuals our factory workers must follow,” said Kim.
Kim joined Samsung Electronics as a mold engineer in 1989 and designed molds for the Korean electronics giant’s mobile phone cases.
But he decided to start his own mold company after learning at Samsung Electronics how to build design and manufacturing standard operating procedures for molds to ensure a high level of conformity and quality, Kim said.
This is why Soft Mold’s customers can rest assured about the quality of their molds while awaiting delivery.
QDM PRODUCER BUT SOFT MOLD SPECIALIST
It takes only seven days on average for Soft Mold to deliver a customized QDM to its customer after taking the order.
Compared with QDMs, soft molds boast a longer life span of generating 30,000 shots. A QDM can produce 3,000 shots.
This is because soft molds use KP-4M and NAK-80 age-hardened mold steel as materials, whereas QDMs use AL7075, an aluminum alloy with zinc.
Soft molds are better for the large-volume injection molding process, Kim explained.
INJECTION MOLDING SERVICES
Using its QDM technology, the company produces various medical consumables, mobile phone accessories and cases, as well as drone and vehicle parts for its customers.It often works with medical laboratory students to produce syringes and disposable test tubes and kits using the QDM process.
With its own NC and universal milling machines, grinding and polishing equipment and injection molding machines, Soft Mold is capable of manufacturing multiple items in multiple orders simultaneously.
Its main customers are university laboratories as well as electronics and car parts-producing companies in Korea and Japan including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Kyocera, Laxtha and Intocare.
Write to Sookyung Seo at skseo@hankyung.com
Jennifer Nicholson-Breen edited this article.