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What is injection molding

Discover how injection moulding works

By Steven ChengPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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A mass production method for manufacturing solid plastic parts in large quantities repeatedly at a rapid cycle time is injection molding. As a result, the technique is ideally suited to mass production.

Discover how injection moulding works

Injection moulding offers many advantages over other plastic moulding processes, including the ability to produce intricate and complex products that normally would be too expensive or difficult to produce. The ability to produce multiple parts at once lowers labour costs as well, with multiple parts being produced at the same time.

As a result, little material is wasted due to errors in the finished product, which further contributes to the process' low cost. Polypropylene and high-performance engineering plastics are just two of the countless materials we can use to create bespoke products guaranteed to meet your specifications.

A process of injection moulding

  • Step 1 – An appropriate size of moulding machine mounts the mould tool securely with its two halves clamped together. During machine setting, machine settings are entered into the machine in order to prepare for production.
  • Step 2 – To melt the pellets, they pass through a heated barrel within the moulding machine's hopper. Using a reciprocating screw, plasticized and compressed material is driven toward the mould tool by a reciprocating screw.
  • Step 3 – Mold tools and barrels are sealed together by nozzles. During high pressure, the molten plastic is forced into the mould tool's cavity from the barrel, through the nozzle. A mould tool can have multiple cavities for producing multiple parts at the same time.
  • Step 4 – Mold tools cool the plastic within by circulating water or oil at a strict temperature. Cooling of the plastic causes it to solidify into the shape of the mold cavity or cavities.
  • Step 5 – In order to eject a part from the mould cavity, the moulding machine opens the mould tool with its moving platen. The finished moulding is often collected from the mould electronically and placed on a belt conveyor or final working area by a robot. After pulling out of the mould, they retract again, allowing the mould to be closed.

A cycle time for injection moulding

During injection moulding, the cycle time can be determined based on the time it takes to close the tool, inject the plastic, cool the plastic under pressure, and extrude the part. With a shorter cycle time, the customer can have more parts manufactured more quickly. Fast cycle times are also essential for achieving a highly competitive price.

Tools with multiple cavities

There can be one or more cavities in each tool. In some cases, they can be the same or they can be different in order to allow the tool to create different sets of components. If you're going to make many identical parts in the same run, designing a tool that makes multiples of each part will be helpful.

Plastic bottles, for instance, are made from preforms with up to 160 identical cavities. In a multi-cavity mould, it is necessary to make the tooling accurately and to obtain accurate process control.

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