1. CAD software is the main tool for designing injection moulds.
This kind of software is mostly used to make models of plastic parts, design hollow cores, parting surfaces, mould frames, ejection systems, and more. It is the most important aspect of plastic injection mould design.
Many small and medium-sized businesses and designers choose SolidWorks for designing injection moulds. It offers a simple, user-friendly interface and an intuitive operation. The built-in Mould Tools module can swiftly do draft inspection, cavity production, and standard part assembly. It works best for traditional injection mould items like 3C electronics and home appliances. The 2026 edition makes plastic simulation integration even better,
Creo (previously Pro/ENGINEER) is great at parametric design and contains well-developed mould modules that work well for series items and large-scale assembly. It is often used in the creation of injection moulds for home appliances and cars.
CATIA is the best at modelling surfaces and is great for injection moulds that need very high surface quality, such parts for cars or planes. It works great with complicated geometric shapes, even though it takes a while to learn how to use it.
AutoCAD is still a popular tool for making engineering drawings, assembly drawings, and simple injection mould auxiliary designs.
Cimatron (integrated CAD/CAM, strong automation, designed to shorten delivery cycles for mould factories), VISI (Hexagon, excellent mould specific parting and automation tools), Fusion 360 (cloud collaboration, high cost-effectiveness, suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and beginners), and CAXA (supporting AI flow channel design, suitable for injection moulds for automotive parts and home appliances) are some other popular CAD programmes.
2. CAE software is essential for analysing and improving the flow of injection moulds.
Simulation verification is an important part of designing injection moulds. This kind of software can foresee difficulties like filling, holding pressure, cooling, warping, and weld lines. This cuts down on the number of mould tries and expenses by a lot.
Autodesk Moldflow, which comes in two versions: Adviser Easy Edition and Insight Advanced Edition, is the best tool for simulating injection moulding around the world. It includes a big database of materials that can precisely look at things like flow, cooling, fibre orientation, and more. The 2026 edition keeps getting better at supporting injection moulding and compression moulding, making it the best choice for checking the design of plastic injection moulds.
Moldex3D is noted for its real 3D mould flow analysis, which works with a number of advanced techniques like multi-material, gas-assisted, and micro-injection moulding. It has a high level of precision for grid technology and multi-physics field simulation. It is often used in high-end research and development and for making complex injection mould products.
SolidWorks Plastics is included right into SolidWorks, which makes it easy for designers to do simple mould flow analysis in real time while they are modelling. It is simple to use and works best for optimising the design of injection moulds early on.
3. CAM software: a smooth link between designing and making injection moulds
This kind of software makes CNC programmes like tool paths and electrode machining, which helps make plastic injection moulds quickly and efficiently.
Mastercam is quite popular and works well for mould milling and other types of processing.
PowerMILL can machine on several axes and process complicated surfaces quickly and efficiently.
Cimatron, VISI, and NX CAM all offer integrated solutions that let you go straight from CAD design of an injection mould to programming the machining.
4. Choosing and using injection mould design software in real life
For small and medium-sized mould factories or beginners, SolidWorks with Moldflow Adviser or Fusion 360 is a good place to start because it's quick to learn and doesn't cost much. Medium and large precision injection mould companies usually prefer the full process integration solution of Siemens NX+Mold Wizard+Moldflow/Moldex3D. In the high-end automotive or aviation fields, CATIA or NX is often the most important. When the budget is tight, domestic choices like CAXA are very cost-effective
