Last reviewed: 2026-11-11
Print vs mold for bridge runs (100–500)
Direct answer: Below ~100 parts, additive (or a few CNC pieces) usually wins because your design still moves. Around 100–300, it depends on cosmetics, material, and how frozen the CAD is. Around 300–500, bridge or soft tooling often starts to beat one-off print unit cost—if the part is moldable and you can wait for a short tool.
This page is for hardware founders and product teams past hobby one-offs—not for filament settings or “cheapest FDM near me.”
Who this is for
- For: EU/US hardware teams with CAD (or soon), targeting ~100–500 parts.
- Not for: single prototypes, Etsy print shops, or picking a local hobby printer for five brackets.
Volume table (rules of thumb)
| Parts | Often wins | Watch-outs |
|---|---|---|
| ~1–100 | Additive; CNC for a few tight parts | Do not buy a mold while the CAD still changes weekly |
| ~100–300 | Print, CNC, or early bridge | Cosmetics and scrap can flip the math |
| ~300–500+ | Bridge / soft tooling more often | Only if geometry is moldable and lead time is acceptable |
These bands are industry heuristics, not quotes. Orientation, finish, inspection, and material change every bill.
Process chooser
- Stay additive if geometry changes often, walls vary, or you need shapes molds hate (lattices, deep undercuts without slides).
- Consider CNC for stiff plastics/metals in low dozens with tight tolerances and few design spins left.
- Bridge / soft tooling when the design is stable enough to amortize a short tool and you need repeatable cosmetics.
- Full steel mold when volume and stability justify longer lead time and higher tooling spend.
Worked example
A two-person hardware team needs ~250 ABS-like enclosures for a pilot customer. The CAD is mostly frozen; they care about consistent color and screw bosses. Printing 250 is possible but unit cost and finish variance hurt. A short aluminum or soft tool for a few hundred shots is often the conversation to have—not another month of one-off prints, and not a full steel tool yet.
What to send in a pilot RFQ
Use the pilot RFQ checklist: quantity band, ship-to country, CAD link (STEP when machining/molding; STL/3MF for print-only), and a short note on tolerances and cosmetic faces.
What Printing Designs does
We publish this decision content and take an optional pilot RFQ. We reply with process notes and next steps. We do not manufacture or run a quote marketplace. Referral terms are on how it works.