Custom UHPC Components for Small and Medium-Sized Projects: Mold Cost Reduction Strategies

When small and medium-sized projects customize UHPC components, mold costs account for a relatively high proportion, and scientific cost control strategies can effectively reduce the total project investment. Drawing on 28 years of experience serving small and medium-sized projects, Qinglong Group has summarized four major mold cost reduction solutions, helping small and medium-sized projects achieve "no compromise on quality with controllable costs".

1. Mold Type Optimization: Choose the Right Mold Material Cost differences between mold materials are significant: for complex shapes, polyurethane soft molds can be selected (costing about 800-1200 RMB/㎡), saving more than 40% compared with steel molds (1500-2500 RMB/㎡); for simple shapes, GRP molds can be adopted (costing about 600-800 RMB/㎡), suitable for batch reuse. In the Kaiyin New Town residential project in Zhongshan, Qinglong selected polyurethane soft molds for custom UHPC railings, reducing mold costs by 35% while meeting the reuse demand of more than 100 sets. In addition, short-term projects can opt for refurbished second-hand molds to further reduce costs.

2. Mold Reuse and Sharing: Improve Mold Utilization Efficiency Small and medium-sized projects can achieve mold reuse through design optimization: reduce personalized differences in component shapes and adopt modular design, so that the same mold set can produce components of multiple specifications; if multiple small and medium-sized projects have similar shapes, they can negotiate to share molds and apportion mold costs. Qinglong has established a mold sharing platform that integrates idle molds from past projects and provides rental services for small and medium-sized projects. In the Victoria Manor landscape project in Yangjiang, the client saved 60% of the mold investment by renting molds. Meanwhile, the more times a mold is reused, the lower the unit cost, so it is advisable to maximize the production volume of each mold set.

3. Shape Design Simplification: Reduce Mold Manufacturing Difficulty Complex shapes (such as double-curved surfaces and fine reliefs) increase mold manufacturing difficulty and cost. Without compromising the decorative effect, small and medium-sized projects can simplify the shape design: change double-curved shapes to single curves, replace fine reliefs with simple lines, and optimize the hollowing rate and aperture of hollow structures. In the Xinjiang River ecological restoration project in Yiyang County, Qinglong customized GRC/UHPC landscape pavilions by changing the complex double-curved roof into a segmented single-curved structure, reducing mold costs by 25% without affecting the overall aesthetics. During the design stage, manufacturers can be invited to participate in design development, leveraging the manufacturer's experience to optimize shapes and balance quality with cost.

4. Choose Manufacturers with Scale Advantages: Enjoy Bulk Purchasing Benefits Leveraging their large-scale production advantages, large manufacturers have lower mold procurement and manufacturing costs and can pass part of these cost advantages on to customers. Relying on an annual production capacity of 600,000 square meters, Qinglong manufactures molds through bulk procurement of raw materials and automated processing, with mold costs 20%-30% lower than those of small manufacturers. In addition, large manufacturers can offer "mold cost sharing" schemes, reducing or waiving part of the mold fees for long-term partnerships or bulk orders. In the Zhumadian Commercial Street renovation project in Henan, the client cooperated with Qinglong and benefited from the mold cost sharing policy, effectively reducing the project investment.

The mold costs of customizing UHPC components for small and medium-sized projects can be effectively reduced through four major strategies: material optimization, reuse and sharing, shape simplification, and manufacturer selection. Qinglong Group has launched exclusive cost optimization solutions for small and medium-sized projects, achieving optimal mold costs while ensuring quality. Choosing a manufacturer with scale advantages and customization experience is the key for small and medium-sized projects to control mold costs.