Tooling Ownership Registration under Chinese Law Rules
Foreign tooling held in Chinese factories demands explicit bailment deeds, metal serial tags, local VAT fapiao receipts, and PBOC credit registrations.
Mold Cavity Identification
Meaning
Physical marking of unique alphanumeric codes or matrix symbols directly onto individual internal impression surfaces of manufacturing tooling represents this tracing system. Mold cavity identification enables quality inspectors and automated vision systems to trace specific molded parts back to individual forming cavities. This coding method provides clear attribution when diagnosing dimensional defects across high-volume production operations.
Technical Specification
Laser etching or electric discharge machining places permanent cavity numbers directly onto steel or aluminum mold blocks. Effective mold cavity identification requires positioning code markings in non-functional cosmetic zones where impression transfer into molded plastic or die-cast metal parts does not compromise part aesthetics or mechanical integrity. Depth and draft angles of etched characters must accommodate material shrinkage without causing part sticking or ejector pin damage.
Tooling drawings must explicitly define font sizes, cavity numbering sequences, and placement locations prior to mold fabrication. Standardizing cavity labels across multi-cavity tooling allows automated statistical process control systems to track cavity-specific dimensional drift over extended production runs.
Quality Audit
Quality control personnel inspect sample outputs from each individual cavity during initial sample approval processes. Verifying mold cavity identification on defective components isolates tooling wear or thermal imbalance issues within multi-cavity setups without stopping whole production lines. Out-of-spec dimensions flagged during coordinate measuring machine audits link directly to specific cavity numbers recorded on inspection reports.
Unmarked parts prevent root-cause analysis, forcing quality engineers to quarantine entire production lots when defect spikes occur.
Legal Enforcement
Tooling ownership disputes and intellectual property leakage claims rely heavily on physical cavity identification evidence. Incorporating explicit mold cavity identification standards into tooling supply contracts establishes clear proof of proprietary mold ownership during factory audits or court-ordered seizures. Counterfeit parts or unauthorized off-shift production runs can be proven by matching cavity mark geometry against master CAD tooling files.
Chinese judicial evaluators accept cavity mark comparison as definitive technical evidence when determining tooling conversion or trade secret infringement.