Tooling & Die Making — Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Rapid Tooling & Die Making Vietnam
Progressive Die · Transfer Die · Jig & Fixture

Part of VNcontX’s Injection Molding Vietnam service line.

Rapid tooling and die making from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. VNcontX designs and manufactures production tooling for injection molding, stamping, and precision assembly — from single-cavity molds to multi-stage progressive dies. Tool steel is sourced and cut in-house. Every tool ships with a dimensional report and a documented tool trial.

Lead time: 20–35 working days for production tooling. Tool life rated 300,000–1,000,000 shots or strokes depending on steel and application.

CNC cutting tools for tool steel and mold cavity machining — VNcontX tooling & die making, Vietnam
±0.003mmEDM Tolerance
20–35 daysProduction Tool
1M shotsH13 Tool Life
ISO 9001Certified · CMM Report

Why US and Australian Buyers Are Moving Tooling to Vietnam

China’s Section 301 tariffs — 25% to 145% depending on HTS code — apply to imported tooling and dies, not just finished parts. A $60,000 progressive die shipped from Guangdong can land in Chicago at $75,000–$147,000 after duties. Vietnam is exempt from Section 301. EVFTA removes tariffs into the EU.

VNcontX tooling ships from Cat Lai Port, Ho Chi Minh City — 18–22 days to US West Coast, 14–18 days to Australia East Coast. Air freight of tool inserts: 2–3 days to LAX when sampling speed matters.

Tooling cost in Vietnam runs 30–40% below comparable Chinese shops on landed cost — before the tariff differential. That gap widens to 55–70% after Section 301 applies to a Chinese supplier.

Landed Cost Comparison

China toolingEx-works + 25–145% tariff
Vietnam tooling0% Section 301 · 0% EVFTA
Cost delta30–70% lower landed
Sea to US West18–22 working days
Sea to AU East14–18 working days
Air inserts to LAX2–3 days

Tooling Types — Capabilities & Scope

Four production tooling categories. Each is built to its own steel standard, tolerance regime, and trial protocol.

Progressive Die

Multi-stage stamping die for high-volume sheet metal parts: terminals, brackets, clips, heat sinks. Up to 12 stations in one tool body. Strip progression documented at trial.

SteelSKD11 (D2) · SKD61 (H13)
Punch tolerance±0.003mm (wire EDM)
Tool life500K–1M strokes

See also: Progressive die stamping guide — process, die steel & tooling spec →

Transfer Die

Blanks transfer between stations via mechanical fingers. Used for deep-drawn parts, housing shells, and chassis components where a progressive strip layout is not practical.

SteelSKD11 (D2) · P20
Draw depthUp to 80mm
Sheet thickness0.5–6mm

Injection Mold Tooling

Single and multi-cavity molds for plastic injection molding. Gate, runner, and cooling designed for your resin and cycle time target. Pilot (P20) and hardened production (H13/S136/NAK80) builds both available.

Cavity steelP20 · H13 · S136 · NAK80
Shot range5g – 2,000g
Production life300K–1M shots

Jig & Fixture

Welding jigs, CMM fixtures, assembly fixtures, and inspection gauges. Designed to your GD&T datum scheme. Delivered with a verification report showing actual vs. nominal locating positions.

Base material6061-T6 · 1018 · 4140
Locating acc.±0.01mm
Lead time10–18 working days

Tool Steel Selection Guide

Steel grade determines tool life, polishability, and corrosion resistance. We stock all four grades on-site. Your engineer will recommend based on resin type, annual volume, and cosmetic requirement.

GradeHardnessBest ForLife (shots)
P2028–34 HRC pre-hardenedPrototype & pilot molds, PP/ABS/PA66 — 50–300K shots300K
H13 (SKD61)48–52 HRCHigh-volume production molds, glass-filled resins, hot runner1M+
S13650–54 HRCMirror-finish optical parts, medical-grade resins, high humidity800K
NAK8037–43 HRC pre-hardenedComplex geometry, fine texture, cosmetic surfaces — SPI A-1/A-2500K
D2 (SKD11)58–62 HRCProgressive die punches, blanking inserts, high-wear stamping1M strokes

For programs that don’t justify hardened steel — early-stage validation, short-run die casting prototypes, or bridge tooling — soft tooling in P20 or machined aluminum is available with a 10–15 day lead time. Soft tooling runs 500–5,000 shots before cavity wear becomes a factor. It is not a substitute for production H13 but removes the cost and lead time of a hardened tool during design validation.

Machined injection mold cavity block with cooling channels — tooling & die making, VNcontX Vietnam

How a Tool Is Built at VNcontX

Eight steps from approved 3D file to tool trial report. No step is skipped for schedule reasons.

  • 01DFM Review — Draft angle, wall thickness, parting line, gate location, and ejector pattern reviewed before steel order. Written DFM report delivered within 1 business day.
  • 02Steel Procurement & Incoming Inspection — Mill cert verified. Hardness spot-checked on incoming billet. No uncertified steel enters the build.
  • 03CNC Roughing (DMG Mori 5-axis) — Cavity, core, and base machined to within 0.1–0.2mm of net shape. Fixturing datums set to drawing GD&T scheme.
  • 04Wire EDM & Sinker EDM — Wire EDM for punch profiles, through-cavities, and sharp internal corners to ±0.003mm. Sinker EDM for deep ribs and blind pockets. EDM surface: Ra 0.4–0.8μm standard.
  • 05Heat Treatment (if required) — H13 and D2 tools sent to certified furnace. Hardness test report returned with tool. Dimensional re-check post-HT.
  • 06Surface Finishing & Polish — Hand polishing to SPI A-1 through D-3, or EDM texture, per drawing callout. Texture matching available against standard Mold-Tech reference.
  • 07CMM Inspection (Zeiss Contura) — All critical cavity and core dimensions verified against 3D model. GD&T callouts reported individually. Report attached to shipment.
  • 08Tool Trial & FAI — First article parts shot or stamped in-house. Dimensional report on trial parts sent for buyer approval before shipment. One revision cycle included at no charge if T1 is out of tolerance.

Questions Buyers Ask Before Committing to Vietnam Tooling

What happens if the tool needs a revision after we receive T1 samples?
One revision cycle is written into every tooling contract. If T1 samples are out of dimensional tolerance based on your approved drawing, we re-machine at no additional charge and re-ship revised samples. The revision scope covers geometry corrections — not design changes requested after DFM sign-off. If you change the design post-DFM, a change order is quoted separately. This boundary is defined in writing before steel is ordered.
Can we inspect the tool before it ships from Vietnam?
Yes. We send the CMM report and tool trial photos/video for remote sign-off as standard. If your team or a third-party inspector wants to be on-site in Bình Chánh before shipment, we accommodate that. Zeiss Contura measurement data is exportable as PDF or IGES for comparison against your own CMM. We do not ship without buyer written approval on T1 samples.
Who owns the tool — us or VNcontX?
The buyer owns the tool. This is stated in the purchase order terms. The tool is stored at our Bình Chánh facility at no charge for the duration of your active production program. If you need the tool shipped to a different manufacturer, we prepare it for transport with protective packaging and an updated CMM baseline report. No ransom, no restrictions.
What is the minimum order for production runs once the tool is built?
For injection mold tools: minimum production run is 500 pieces. For prototype mold programs, low-volume runs from 50 pieces are available on P20 tooling. For progressive die tooling: minimum run is 2,000 pieces per order to justify setup and strip-feed time. There is no minimum for jig & fixture orders — fixtures are quoted and built per project.

Related Manufacturing Services

Start Your Tooling Project

Send a 3D File. Tooling Quote in 24 Hours.

Progressive die · Transfer die · Injection mold tooling · Jig & fixture.
P20 / H13 / S136 / NAK80 / D2 in-stock. CMM report on every tool. 0% Section 301 tariff.

Or email directly: duc.nguyen@vncontx.com  ·