moldid

Moldid, short for mold identifier, is a nomenclature and tracking convention used in manufacturing to assign a unique identifier to each injection mold, tool, or cavity-based mold set used in production. The moldid provides a stable reference across design, procurement, production, maintenance, and quality control, enabling precise traceability of tooling changes, part lots, and process history.

Typically, a moldid encodes information such as facility code, mold family or type, individual mold number, cavity configuration, and revision or date. Formats vary by organization, but common practice uses hyphenated or alphanumeric strings, for example: PLT-MLD-0456-CV01-R2024. In some implementations, a barcode or RFID tag is attached to the mold to facilitate scanning.

In production, moldids link to asset records in CMMS or ERP systems, capturing maintenance history, calibration events, and change orders. They support root cause analysis by associating process data, quality records, and part lot information with a specific mold, aiding recalls and traceability during audits.

Implementing a moldid system requires governance and a master registry to ensure consistent naming and data quality across sites. It often involves integrating with existing IT infrastructure, assigning responsibilities for data entry, and establishing lifecycle stages from design and installation through qualification, production use, and retirement.

Benefits include improved tooling traceability, faster issue resolution, and better compliance with industry regulations. Challenges can include initial data cleansing, standardization across facilities, and maintaining accuracy as molds are modified or retired.

See also: asset management, CMMS, ERP, barcoding, serialization, and mold lifecycle management.