Here are five key benefits to using this technique to manufacture parts:
Injection moulding is an extremely efficient method of producing a large number of identical products, both in terms of time and cost.
Once the mould itself has been designed, depending on the material used, it can produce hundreds of thousands of components. For large batches of products, the price per component drops significantly.
As the molten, liquid plastic solidifies in seconds, injection moulding is a very quick process.
Products produced using plastic injection moulding have a high tensile strength compared to other creation methods, such as 3D printing.
The liquid plastic forms a single product with no joints or layers that could be weak points from a certain direction.
Additionally, it is possible to add fillers to the injection mould. This reduces the density of the product during the moulding process, whilst simultaneously adding extra strength.
Injection moulding allows manufacturers to produce complex shapes that would prove too difficult and costly to assemble.
When the liquid plastic is injected into the mould, it is done so under a great deal of pressure. This forces the liquid plastic into every area of the mould. It is, therefore, possible to create intricate designs, confident in the knowledge that they will be replicated in plastic.
A key benefit of adopting the injection moulding process is the ability to inject two different types of plastics. Co-injection removes any concerns about using a particular type of plastic for the entire product.
The injection moulding process is primarily conducted inside a machine. This means that a single operator, or robot, can control and manage the procedure. This helps to minimise costs. With the recent developments of the smart factory, the largely automated process means that injection moulding can become even more efficient with factories potentially being able to run 24 hours a day with little impact on the human workforce.
Injection moulding offers customers a great range of versatility and choice for their products and business requirements.
Plastic injection molding is extremely versatile method of producing parts and products. It is one of the preferred methods for manufacturing parts because it has multiple advantages over other methods of plastic molding. Not only is plastic injection molding simpler and more reliable, it is also extremely efficient. You should have no doubts about using this method to manufacture parts.
Here are 5 major advantages of using injection molding for manufacturing plastic parts and components.
1. Detailed Features and Complex Geometry
The injection molds are subjected to extremely high pressure. As a result the plastic within the molds is pressed harder against the mold compared to any other molding process. Due to this excessively high pressure, it is possible to add a large amount of details into the design of the part.
Furthermore, due to high pressure during the molding process, complex and intricate shapes can easily be designed and manufactured which otherwise would have been too complicated and expensive to manufacture.
2. High Efficiency
Once the injection molds have been designed to the customer’s specifications and the presses pre-programmed, the actual molding process is very quick compared to other methods of molding. Plastic injection molding process hardly takes times and this allows more parts to be manufactured from a single mold. The high production output rate makes plastic injection molding more cost effective and efficient. Typically, hot-runner ejection mold systems produce parts with more consistent quality and do so with faster cycle times, but it’s not as easy to change colors nor can hot runners accommodate some heat-sensitive polymers. Learn more about the key differences between hot-runner and cold-runner systems.
3. Enhanced Strength
In plastic injection molding, it is possible to use fillers in the injection molds. These filler reduce the density of the plastic while it being molded and also help in adding greater strength to the part after it has been molded. In fields where parts need to be strong and durable, plastic injection has an option that other molding processes do not offer.
4. Ability to Use Multiple Plastic Types Simultaneously
One of the major advantages of using plastic injection molding for manufacturing parts is the ability to use different types of plastic simultaneously. This can be done with the help of co-injection molding, which takes away the worry about using a specific type of plastic.
5. Automation to Save Manufacturing Costs
Plastic injection molding is an automated process. A majority of the injection molding process is performed by machines and robotics which a sole operator can control and manage. Automation helps to reduce manufacturing costs, as the overheads are significantly reduced. Furthermore, with reduced labor force the overall cost of manufacturing the parts is reduced and this cost saving can easily be passed on to the customer.
Furthermore, automation allows for making precise and accurate injection molds. Computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacturing (CAM) allow close tolerances during the making of the molds.
The Bottom Line
Using injection molding also ensures the parts manufactured hardly require any work after the production. This is because the parts have more or less a finished appearance after they are ejected from the injection molds.
Today, plastic injection molding is an environment-friendly process. The scrap plastic generated during the production process is reground and re-used. Hence, the process generates very little waste.