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  • Brandon Henderson (NC) • Journeyman Tool & Die (CPSP)
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Tool Shops, Molding Halls and Labs

Equipment and Facilities

TK builds molds and molds parts in four manufacturing bases in China and Vietnam. The tool shops run about 350 sets of mold making equipment from Röders, Yasda, Makino, Agie Charmilles, Hauser and Studer, the molding halls run 503 injection molding machines, and every mold is tried on TK’s own presses before it ships.

350 sets of mold making equipment
503 injection molding machines
Reviewed by Brandon Henderson, CPSP

Quick Overview: What Equipment Does TK Have?

TK Group (HKEX 2283) has built molds since 1983. Its main campus in Shenzhen covers 180,000 m² (about 1.9 million ft²) with 3,600 employees, and its bases in Huizhou, Suzhou and Vietnam add molding, LSR, spray painting and secondary processing. The tool shops hold 125 CNC mills, 21 five axis mills, 62 EDM machines, 22 wire cutters, 59 grinders and 21 CMMs, with machining tolerance up to 0.002 mm on molding inserts. The molding fleet of 503 machines runs from 6 T to 550 T in production, and trial presses run from 6 T to 1,500 T, with larger presses up to 2,800 T for automotive molds.

350
Sets of Mold Making Equipment
503
Injection Molding Machines
2,000+
Molds a Year Tool Capacity
4,800+
Employees, 500+ Engineers
Locations

Four Manufacturing Bases

Shenzhen is the headquarters and the mold building center. The other bases add molding capacity close to TK’s customers’ supply chains, and TK also has tool shops in Germany and with its joint venture partner FISAS in Spain. Bars show floor space.

Shenzhen, ChinaHeadquarters
180,000 m²about 1.94 million ft² • 3,600 employees
  • Mold building, 2,000+ molds a year
  • Injection molding
  • Spray painting and secondary processes
  • 30 minutes from Shenzhen airport
Huizhou, ChinaMolding and LSR
38,000 m²about 409,000 ft² • 550 employees
  • Injection molding
  • LSR molding
  • Spray painting
  • 1.5 hours from Shenzhen headquarters
Suzhou, ChinaTooling and molding
23,000 m²about 248,000 ft² • 400 employees
  • Tool fabrication
  • Injection molding
  • Secondary processes
VietnamMolding
10,000 m²about 108,000 ft² • 200 employees
  • Injection molding
  • Tool repair
  • Secondary processes
  • 30 minutes from Hanoi airport
Front entrance of TK's injection molding plant in Huizhou with the company name on the building
TK’s injection molding and LSR plant in Huizhou.
TK Group reception desk with the company logo, with a showroom of molds and molded parts behind it
TK Group reception, with the mold and part showroom behind it.
Tool Shops

Mold Making Equipment

TK’s tool shops run about 350 sets of mold making equipment from Europe, Japan and the US, with machining tolerance up to 0.002 mm on molding inserts. Separate shops build packaging, medical (three shops), consumer electronics, automotive and multi cavity molds. Bars show machine count.

CNC milling machines125
EDM machines62
Grinding machines59
EDM wire cut machines22
5 axis CNC milling machines21
CMMs21
Trial presses (6 for 2K)18
Flexible automatic production lines8
Lathes7
CNC jig grinders5
High precision hard turning3
EDM hole drilling machines3

TK Holdings equipment list, 2026. Machine brands include Röders, Yasda, Makino, Agie Charmilles, Hauser and Studer, with Zeiss CMMs.

Robot served EDM cell behind a glass wall in a TK tool shop, with an Agie Charmilles FORM P 350 sinker EDM at right
Robot served EDM cell behind glass in a TK tool shop.
Two TK toolmakers working at the control panel of a CNC machining center
Toolmakers at a CNC control in a TK tool shop.

What the Machines Are For

  • Röders, Makino and Yasda high speed mills finish cavities and cores in hardened steel and cut electrodes.
  • Agie Charmilles EDM burns ribs, sharp corners and fine detail, and wire EDM cuts through profiles and pin holes.
  • Studer universal grinders and Hauser CNC jig grinders grind cores, pins and locating bores to final size.
  • Zeiss CMMs check inserts against the model, so cavities can be swapped without hand fitting.
  • Large mold equipment in the automotive tool shop: machining travel up to 3.2 x 3.0 x 0.8 m, 7 die spotting presses, 12 mold reversal machines and 5 deep hole drilling centers.
From Steel to Trial

How an Insert Moves Through the Shop

A cavity insert visits most of the tool shop before the mold ships. Figure 1 follows one insert through the ten main steps, with the number of machines TK has for each.

Figure 1: The Route of a Cavity Insert Through TK’s Tool Shop
Ten stations from rough milling to mold trial, each with the number of machines TK has for it. A cavity insert is shown changing at each station: roughed, hardened, ground, hard milled, EDM burned, wire cut, jig ground, measured, fitted into the mold base and tried in a press. THE ROUTE OF ONE CAVITY INSERT THROUGH THE TOOL SHOP 125 Rough milling STEP 1 Steel Heat treatment STEP 2 59 Grinding STEP 3 21 Hard milling STEP 4 62 Sinker EDM STEP 5 22 Wire EDM STEP 6 5 Jig grinding STEP 7 21 Measuring STEP 8 Fit Fitting STEP 9 18 Mold trial STEP 10 CAVITY INSERT, TOP VIEW mold plate within tolerance STEP 1 OF 10Rough milling125CNC milling machinesThe steel block is sawn and roughed on CNCmills, leaving stock for finishing. STEP 2 OF 10Heat treatmentSteelpartners: ASSAB, GMH, Schmolz+BickenbachThe insert is hardened to the steel spec. TKchecks incoming steel by spectral analysis andhardness test. STEP 3 OF 10Grinding59grinding machines, incl. StuderFaces and datums are ground square after heattreatment. STEP 4 OF 10Hard milling215 axis CNC mills; Röders, Makino, YasdaThe cavity is finish machined in the hardenedsteel. STEP 5 OF 10Sinker EDM62EDM machines, incl. Agie CharmillesElectrodes burn the ribs and sharp insidecorners a cutter cannot reach. STEP 6 OF 10Wire EDM22wire cut machinesWire cuts the through profiles and the holesfor ejector and core pins. STEP 7 OF 10Jig grinding5CNC jig grinders, incl. HauserLocating bores are ground to final size. STEP 8 OF 10Measuring21CMMs, incl. ZeissThe insert is checked against the 3D model.Insert tolerance up to 0.002 mm. STEP 9 OF 10FittingFitspotting presses, mold reversalThe insert goes into the mold base and theparting line is spotted in a controlledworkshop. STEP 10 OF 10Mold trial18trial presses, 6 for 2KThe finished mold runs in a TK press before itships. Machine counts from TK Holdings, 2026. Simplified: the order varies by insert, and steps such as polishing and texturing are left out. Several of these machines run on TK’s automated lines, where robots move electrodes and inserts between CNC, EDM and CMM around the clock.
Lights Out Machining

Automated Machining Lines

TK runs 24/7 automated lines in which robots load electrodes and inserts into CNC mills, EDM machines and CMMs without an operator. One is a 56 meter dark room line with 10 robots serving 35 CNC machines, 11 EDM machines and 5 CMMs. Across the group TK lists 8 flexible automatic production lines and 9 automation units.

56meter dark room line
10robots
35CNC machines
11EDM machines
5CMMs

Automation keeps spindles cutting through nights and weekends, which shortens lead times and makes repeat inserts and spare parts match the originals.

Yellow robot on a floor track between electrode and insert storage racks and a row of CNC machines on a TK automated line
Robot on a track serving CNC machines on a TK automated line.
Molding Halls

The 503 Machine Molding Fleet

TK’s production fleet of 503 injection molding machines runs from 6 T to 550 T, mostly Japanese and European machines, with 2K and 3K, LSR, vertical and high speed presses. MES and ERP systems connect the machines, and the halls process about 7,000 tons of plastic a year.

Machines by clamp force
65under 100 T
346100 to 200 T
52200 to 300 T
40over 300 T
Machines by type
  • Horizontal343
  • 2K (two shot)60
  • Vertical, for insert molding40
  • LSR32
  • High speed25
  • 3K (three shot)3
Multi cavity TK mold running in an injection molding press, with take out tooling vacuum lines and numbered water manifolds
A multi cavity TK mold running in production, with take out tooling and numbered water manifolds.
Finishing

Spray Painting, Printing and Secondary Processes

Spray painting

  • 4 automatic spindle lines, 450 to 560 m long
  • 3 painting and 3 baking stations
  • Class 100K clean room
  • Class 10K clean spray booth

Printing

  • Pad printing
  • Silk screen printing
  • 6 color offset printing
  • Digital printing

Finishing and assembly

  • NCVM and lamination
  • CNC shaping and degating
  • Laser etching and foil stamping
  • Ultrasonic welding, fabric wrapping, polishing
Quality

Measurement and Test Labs

TK’s labs measure molds and parts and test how parts hold up in use. Quality systems include ISO 9001 since 1999, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, IATF 16949 and ISO 13485 since 2010, with a GMP statement since 2019.

Dimensional

CMM, optical measuring machines, CT scanning, profile scanner, white light 3D scanning

Appearance

CCD detection, color meter, gloss meter, lens transmittance tester, microscope

Reliability

Xenon arc exposure, UV aging, thermal shock chamber, rapid temperature change

Mechanical

Universal testing machine, transport vibration simulation, single arm drop tester

Electrical

Vector network analyzer, resistance scanner, battery tester and simulator, DC low resistance tester

Function

Torque, sealing, leakage and air leakage tests on closures and assemblies

Planning Utility

Press and Fleet Finder

Enter your part and process. The finder estimates the clamp force, shows where your mold sits in TK’s 503 machine production fleet, counts the presses set up for your process and picks the smallest TK trial press that fits. Open “Show the math” to check every step.

1Your part
The part’s shadow in the opening direction.
2Your process
10% is a common starting point.
Estimated clamp force
0 t
Where your mold sits in the production fleet
Show the math
    Send my press check to Brandon

    A first estimate. Clamp factors are rule of thumb values for typical wall thickness and flow length; thin walls and long flow need more. TK confirms clamp force with Moldflow in the DFM review. Fleet counts are from TK Holdings, 2026, and machines are shared across customers. Default numbers are an example only.

    Common Questions

    Frequently Asked Questions: Equipment and Facilities

    How many machines does TK have for building molds?+
    About 350 sets of mold making equipment: 125 CNC mills, 21 five axis mills, 62 EDM machines, 22 wire cut machines, 59 grinders, 5 CNC jig grinders, 7 lathes, 3 hard turning machines, 3 EDM hole drilling machines and 21 CMMs, plus 18 trial presses, 8 flexible automatic production lines and 9 automation units. Brands include Röders, Yasda, Makino, Agie Charmilles, Hauser, Studer and Zeiss.
    What machining tolerance can TK hold?+
    TK machines molding inserts to tolerances up to 0.002 mm and measures them on its CMMs, so cavities and inserts can be exchanged without hand fitting. Tolerances on your part are set with you in the DFM review.
    How large is TK’s injection molding fleet?+
    TK runs 503 injection molding machines from 6 T to 550 T in production: 65 under 100 T, 346 from 100 to 200 T, 52 from 200 to 300 T and 40 above 300 T. They include 60 2K machines, 3 3K machines, 32 LSR machines, 40 vertical machines and 25 high speed machines.
    What is the largest mold TK can try out?+
    Trial presses run from 6 T to 1,500 T in the mold testing center, and TK tries large automotive molds on 2,000 T, 2,100 T and 2,800 T presses. The automotive tool shop machines plates up to 3.2 by 3.0 by 0.8 m of travel.
    Where are TK’s facilities?+
    TK’s headquarters and main mold building campus is in Shenzhen, China (180,000 m², 3,600 employees). Molding bases are in Huizhou (with LSR), Suzhou (with tool fabrication) and Vietnam (with tool repair). TK also has tool shops in Germany and in Spain with its partner FISAS.
    Can I visit or watch my mold being built and tried?+
    Yes. Customers can visit the Shenzhen campus, and TK also runs remote design reviews, online mold testing, sample checks and validation before shipment, including on RealWear AR headsets. Brandon Henderson coordinates visits and remote trials for customers in the Americas.

    Match Your Next Mold to the Right Shop and Press

    Send your part drawings, resin and volumes to Brandon Henderson, Technical Sales Support Manager for the Americas. He will review which TK tool shop should build the mold, the press size for trial and production, and whether a visit or a remote trial suits your team.

    Request a DFM and Mold Quote Call Brandon: (336) 953-9664