When does injection moulding tools from the 3D printer pay off?

If pre-production parts are to be manufactured effectively and at a low cost from the original material, 3D-printed injection moulds are very well suited since the material properties of the parts made from the 3D print mould and the later volume parts from a conventional serial mould are very similar. Even though plain bearing materials must have special properties (e.g., conductivity, underwater use, KTW conformity, high temperature, etc.) and cannot be processed in the 3D printer, 3D printed injection moulds are the right choice.