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Tool Shop
HKR is the specialist division where Rea Automotive’s tooling is designed, cut, qualified and proven — all in-house. **Brought into the company in 2006,** it is the reason a design change here becomes a validated part in weeks rather than quarters.
Specialist Division
± 2 MM EDM
In-House Tryout
[ SPECIALIST DIVISION ]
PRECISION TOOLING
HKR TOOL SHOP
At HKR, precision tooling meets dedicated engineering expertise.
Our in-house tool shop designs, fabricates, and qualifies high-cavitation, tight-tolerance molds and progressive stamping dies. By embedding toolmaking directly into Rea Automotive’s workflow, we de-risk design validation and compress commercialization timelines.
It also changes the incentives. A tool shop that has to live with its own molds in series production for the next eight years builds them differently than one that hands over at sign-off and moves on.
It also changes the incentives. A tool shop that has to live with its own molds in series production for the next eight years builds them differently than one that hands over at sign-off and moves on.
5-Axis High-Speed CNCUp to 42,000 RPM
EDM Wire & Die Sinking± 2 µm Precision
Mold QualificationIn-House Tryout Presses
SYSTEM // TOOL-504
DISCIPLINES
What HKR Does
Six disciplines under one roof, sequenced so a mold never waits on an outside supplier mid-build.
01
Mold Design
Full 3D mold design with cooling layout, gating strategy and ejection concept developed against the moldflow model, not after it.
02
High-Speed Machining
5-axis machining to 42,000 RPM producing near-final surface finish, minimising the hand polishing that introduces variation.
03
Wire & Sinker EDM
Electrical discharge machining to ±2 µm for the sharp internal geometry and fine detail that cutters physically cannot reach.
04
Progressive Dies
Multi-station progressive stamping dies for metal inserts and carriers, built to the same tolerance discipline as our molds.
05
Tryout & Qualification
Dedicated tryout presses run the tool in production material, producing first articles and a capability study before handover.
06
Maintenance & Repair
Scheduled servicing, engineering changes and emergency repair — on tools we built and on tools you inherited from elsewhere.
ENVELOPE
Tool Classes We Build
Indicative build envelope. Anything outside these ranges is worth a conversation rather than an assumption.
Tool Class
Cavitation
Max Tool Weight
Tolerance
Typical Lead Time
Prototype / Bridge Mold
1 – 2 cavity
1.5 t
± 50 µm
3 – 5 wks
Single-Face Production Mold
1 – 8 cavity
8 t
± 15 µm
10 – 14 wks
High-Cavitation Mold
8 – 64 cavity
12 t
± 10 µm
14 – 20 wks
Multi-Component (2K / 3K)
2 – 16 cavity
14 t
± 10 µm
16 – 22 wks
Insert / Overmold Tool
1 – 16 cavity
9 t
± 12 µm
12 – 18 wks
Progressive Stamping Die
Up to 18 stations
6 t
± 5 µm
12 – 18 wks
TOOL BUILD
From Model To Qualified Mold
Indicative timeline for a single-face production mold. Every gate produces a document you receive, not just an internal sign-off.
WK 0–2
Design & Simulation
Mold design frozen against moldflow, cooling and warpage analysis. DFM report issued.
WK 2–4
Steel Procurement
Tool steel ordered, certified and pre-machined. Hardness and cleanliness verified on receipt.
WK 4–9
Machining & EDM
5-axis roughing and finishing, wire and sinker EDM for detail geometry, then surface treatment.
WK 9–12
Assembly & Fitting
Bench assembly, shut-off fitting, hot runner installation and full function check.
WK 12–14
Tryout & Handover
Tryout in production material, dimensional report, capability study and documented handover.
THE ARGUMENT
Why Tooling Stays In-House
The industry spent two decades outsourcing toolmaking to the lowest bidder. We went the other way, and the numbers are the reason: when the people who cut the steel sit forty metres from the presses that run it, problems get solved in hours instead of shipping containers.
It shows most clearly when a mold needs fixing. An outsourced tool sits on a truck for a week in each direction; ours comes off the press, walks forty metres to the bench, takes its engineering change, is re-qualified on a tryout press, and is back making parts — often within the same shift. That single loop is where the streamlining lives: less downtime, fewer lost production hours, and a change history we own rather than chase.
These are our own averages across programs launched since 2020, measured against the same work quoted through external tool sources.
Engineering change turnaround
→
4 days vs 5 weeks
Tryout-to-approval iterations
→
2.1 avg vs 4.6
Program launch slippage
→
− 68 %
Unplanned tool downtime
→
< 0.9 %
Mold life vs contracted shots
→
+ 22 % typical
TOOLING ENQUIRY
Need A Mold Built?
Send a 3D model, target cavitation and annual volume. We will come back with a build concept, a lead time, and the risks we can see from here.
Global engineering and manufacturing partner providing high-precision tooling, plastic injection molding, and automated robotic systems for the tier-1 automotive sector.
IATF 16949 / ISO 9001 CERTIFIED
Capabilities
Headquarters
Rea Automotive Systems Corp.
Industriestraße 48
D-70565 Stuttgart, Germany
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