Questions about plastic injection molds. NEW USER!

[allofmywebsites]

Dear SME members,

I have some questions about plastic injection molds/molding. These are some things that I've been curious about, and I don't mind if multiple people answer the same question, because I'd like to hear different explanations of the same thing. Well, here I go:

1. In order to make a mold have a mirror finish, does the steel have to be polished by hand? Or does the mirror finish happen by making many passes in all directions over the mold? Please explain this in detail.
2. If a mold has a sanblasted finish, does that mean it has been sandblasted, or does that mean the toolpath had a sandblasted texture?
3. What is the smallest plastic injection mold which a machine can hold? Also, what is the smallest plastic injection machine that is available on the market? Is there anything that is a desktop injection machine, or something like this?
4. Is there any type of vocational school, or training anyone in the USA or anywhere else in the world someone offers to teach plastic injection mold making? Or if I have the machines to produce injection molds, is there anyone on here who can come and teach me as a contract job?
5. Do any of you have pictures of your shop, machines, or insides and outsides of injection molds? If so, please share.
6. Is there any place in the USA that you suggest I should buy material for cutting injection molds? Is there anything available that is pre-fabricated to make an injection item?

I have a lot of experience producing rapid prototypes by desktop CNC and forming machines, and I'm interested in learning injection mold making.

[Tigerliao]

1.If you want to make the mold mirror polished, the first thing is chose the right mold material, we alwasy use S136 which made in Sweden, also the NAK80 made in Japan have the good quantity to help the mold polish, then using hand to polish the mold is impossible, the process using hand just can help the part removing smoothly but not for the good surface quantity. The best polish vendor is in Germany, also they have factory in Singapore. The polishing machine is very expensive.
2.Polishing and sandblast or even texture is the surface finish method, they are been use in various area, you know smoe part which have always been scratched, they always been used with texture, because texture have good character that can stand it. The polishing always been used in the part which is very striking area, such the cellphone, the led light and so on.

3.In China, we can buy the smallest injection is about 5 ton. I have never seen the desktop injection machine for now.
4. As I know, if you want to make mold in USA, the price is very expensive. A lot of customer send their tool making work to China or India or Southeast Asia to make. Then ship the tools to U.S for production. That's the best choice for them. if you want to study it, may be you should join a factory and then ask for a old master to teach you.haha
5. you can go to our website: WWW.toolingsupplier.com, you can find the machine the part and so on.
6.I am not suggest you to buy the machine in USA, you just need to provide the good idea and you can find good designer in China and also you can find good tooling maker to compelete the part in China then send the part to you. that would be fine, that's my suggestion.

Good luc, young man, also I am a young man, me too.