Aluminum Tooling & Mold Plate
Tooling plate is aluminum cast (not rolled) into thick slabs, stress-relieved and precision-machined to a tight flatness and thickness tolerance. Casting leaves almost no residual stress, so the plate stays flat after you machine pockets into it — the property that matters for fixtures, jigs, vacuum tables and prototype molds, where rolled 6061 plate would move. Strength is modest; stability and finish are the point.
Popular tooling plate grades
Compare in the explorer| Grade | Yield, MPa | Tensile, MPa | Density, g/cm³ | Machinability | Weldability | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIC6 | 110 | 170 | 2.77 | Excellent | Fair | The reference fixture and base plate; flat, stable, finished both faces |
| ATP-5 | 110 | 165 | 2.78 | Excellent | Fair | Higher strength than MIC6 at similar flatness |
| K100-S | 110 | 180 | 2.66 | Excellent | Good | Precision-machined cast plate, European supply |
| QC-10 | 483 | 538 | 2.85 | Excellent | Poor | High-strength mold plate for production injection molds |
| Hokotol | 480 | 540 | 2.82 | Very good | Poor | European high-strength mold and tooling plate |
| Cast 5083 | 120 | 260 | 2.66 | Good | Excellent | Economy cast plate for jigs and bases |
| MoldMAX Aluminum | 495 | 565 | 2.81 | Very good | Poor | Mid-grade mold plate |
All 11 tooling plate grades
Choose tooling plate for
Fixtures, jigs, vacuum tables, machine bases, optical and inspection plates, and prototype molds — any part that must stay flat after heavy machining or is bought for its flatness and finish rather than its strength.
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Tooling plate by application
- Fixtures, jigs and vacuum tables
- MIC6 or ATP-5: cast, stress-relieved and ground flat to about 0.4 mm/m, so pockets and holes can be machined without the plate bowing. Cast 5083 where flatness matters less than price.
- Machine bases and optical breadboards
- MIC6 for its stability and low residual stress; hard-anodize the working face if fixtures will be bolted on and off repeatedly.
- Prototype and short-run molds
- QC-10, Hokotol and Alumold 500 — 7000-series-based mold plates at about 500 MPa yield that polish, weld for repair and run thousands of shots; MIC6 for soft-tool prototypes of a few hundred.
Working with tooling plate
- Machining
- The cast structure machines freely with short chips and stays flat because there is no rolling stress to release; MIC6 is softer than 6061 and gums slightly, the mold grades cut like 7075. Both faces come precision-finished — protect them from clamp marks.
- Flatness and tolerance
- MIC6 is supplied at ±0.13 mm thickness and about 0.4 mm/m flatness; skim-cutting the working face after pocketing restores it. Rolled 6061 plate of the same size typically moves 3–5× as much after machining.
- Welding
- MIC6 and ATP-5 weld poorly (porosity from the cast structure) and are rarely welded. The 7000-series-based mold plates are repair-weldable with matching filler by experienced mold shops.
- Finishing
- Hardcoat (Type III) is the usual finish on fixture and mold faces for wear; MIC6 anodizes evenly. Mold cavities are polished and often nickel- or chrome-plated for release and wear.
Other aluminum series
Aluminum Tooling & Mold Plate — frequently asked
What is tooling plate?
Tooling plate is aluminum cast (not rolled) into thick slabs, stress-relieved and precision-machined to a tight flatness and thickness tolerance. Casting leaves almost no residual stress, so the plate stays flat after you machine pockets into it — the property that matters for fixtures, jigs, vacuum tables and prototype molds, where rolled 6061 plate would move. Strength is modest; stability and finish are the point.
Which grade of tooling plate should I use?
MIC6 is the reference grade for fixtures and machine bases — flat to about 0.4 mm/m and finished on both faces. ATP-5 and K100-S offer slightly higher strength at a similar price. For prototype injection molds and blow molds that must run thousands of cycles, QC-10, Hokotol and Alumold 500 are the high-strength (7000-series-based) mold plates: much harder than MIC6, polishable and weldable for repair. If the part is a load-bearing structure rather than a base or a mold, ordinary 6061-T651 plate is cheaper and stronger.
Which grade of tooling plate is the strongest?
MoldMAX Aluminum has the highest yield strength in the series at 495 MPa; QC-10 follows at 483 MPa. Values are for each grade's default condition.
Which grade of tooling plate is easiest to machine?
ACP 5080 (machinability excellent, 92/100), then ATP-5 (92/100).
MIC6 or 6061 for a fixture plate?
MIC6 when flatness after machining matters: it is cast and stress-relieved, so pockets and holes do not make it bow, and it arrives ground flat both sides. 6061-T651 when the fixture carries load or needs welding — it is about twice as strong and cheaper per kilogram, but expect to skim or re-flatten after heavy machining.
Can aluminum tooling plate be used for injection molds?
Yes, for prototypes and short runs. MIC6 and 6061 are fine for a few hundred to a few thousand shots in unfilled plastics; QC-10, Hokotol or Alumold 500 (7000-series-based, ≈ 500 MPa yield) run tens of thousands. Glass-filled resins wear aluminum fast — hardcoat or plate the cavity, or switch to P20 steel.