The development of mould standard parts is of great significance for shortening the mould design and manufacturing cycle, reducing mould production costs, and improving mould quality. If the specialized production and commercial supply of mould standard parts can be realized, it will greatly promote the development of China's mould industry.
    The plastic mould industry has developed rapidly in China in recent years, followed by increasingly fierce market competition. After joining the WTO, foreign-funded mould manufacturers have entered the domestic market. To stand out in the fierce competition, it is crucial to develop mould standard parts and implement specialized production of moulds.
    According to Luo Baihui, Secretary-General of the International Mould Association, the standardization degree of moulds in developed countries abroad is 70%～80%, while in China it is only about 30%. The widespread application of mould standard parts will shorten the mould design and manufacturing cycle by 25%～40%, and reduce the working hour waste caused by users' customization of non-standard mould parts. The design of moulds using mould CAD/CAM technology has become quite common. Promoting the use of mould standard parts can realize partial resource sharing, which will greatly reduce the workload and working time of mould design, and is of great significance for the development of CAD/CAM technology and the improvement of mould precision.
    In the past, even if only one part of a mould was damaged, it would be unusable. Since they were not standard parts, corresponding products were hard to find in the market, and it was time-consuming and laborious to replace parts at the manufacturer. With standard parts, maintenance and replacement can be done conveniently, which will greatly improve the service life of moulds.
    Now, domestic enterprises have realized the importance of mould standardization. At present, there are more than 100 mould standard part production enterprises with a certain production scale, whose main products include plastic mould bases, side punching devices, ejector pins and ejector sleeves, etc. Among them, plastic mould bases can produce larger products, laying a foundation for the development of large-scale precision moulds.
    Although China's mould industry has made considerable progress, there is still a big gap compared with foreign countries. Implementing specialized production of moulds is an important link to accelerate industrial development. Many regions in China have successively established regional mould cities, which have played a positive role in the development of the mould industry. For example, Yuyao Mould City in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province is a well-known domestic mould city, with hundreds of mould enterprises, which has promoted the development of the mould industry in Yuyao and surrounding areas.
    Shenzhen, which has successfully implemented specialized production of moulds, has nearly a thousand mould processing enterprises. These mould enterprises have a strong awareness of establishing quality assurance systems and a high enthusiasm for applying for ISO9000 certification, all recognizing that specialized production is a pass to enter the international market. Wholly foreign-owned mould enterprises have certain advantages in Shenzhen, with leading professional and technical level nationwide, wide application of technologies, complete varieties of moulds, high quality and short mould-making cycle. These enterprises can produce various types of moulds except large-scale auto body panel moulds, such as high-speed milling, gas-assisted injection molding, reverse engineering, hot runner technology, rapid prototyping technology, etc.
    Shenzhen's mould enterprises have not only achieved specialization in technology, but also in the production management of mould enterprises, more and more adopt the specialized production mode with design as the leader and processing arranged according to technological processes, reducing the requirement for the comprehensiveness of mould workers' skills and emphasizing specialization. Nevertheless, the moulds produced in Shenzhen can only be said to be of medium to high grade, and some key moulds such as copier main frame moulds, high-precision moulds for cameras and video cameras still need to be imported.
    The implementation of standardization and specialization has promoted the development of China's plastic mould processing industry, and will continue to provide necessary technical support for China's plastic mould production enterprises to improve their technical level, enhance their competitiveness, and accelerate their integration into the international market.