WHAT IS INJECTION MOULDING?
Nowadays injection moulding is one of the most widely used manufacturing processes in mass-production when the same part is being created thousands of times in succession. Just look around your home, office or car and you’ll no doubt find countless products and parts that have been injection moulded. It is widely used for producing all kinds of goods from plastic toys to water bottles, automotive body panels and mobile phone cases.
It is a complex process that seems to be rather simple - a liquefied plastic is forced into a mould and cures. The liquids used in the process may vary from hot glass to different types of plastic - thermoplastic and thermosetting.
HOW IT WORKS
A standard injection moulding machine consists of three main units - the ram, the feed hopper, the heater barrel. In the form of powder or granular, plastic is placed into the hopper for heating, however, there are some materials such as silicone rubber that are liquid and do not require heating. Once liquefied, the ram forces the liquid into the tightly clamped mould and the liquid sets. There are certain types of plastic which are more viscous and thus require higher pressures. As the metal mould conducts heat away, the plastics gradually cools down and then the moulding is removed by the press cycling.
Advantages of injection moulding
Plastic injection moulding is a versatile method of production which is appreciated for a number of reasons: simple, more reliable (comparing to other methods) and extremely sufficient.
Here are some of the reasons why we at Pozible.Tech suggest using injection moulding in production.
1. Precision and Complex Geometry
Due to extremely high pressure, the plastic within the moulds is pressed harder against the mould compared to other moulding processes. That is why it is possible to produce an article with a very sophisticated pattern in its design(with a large number of details).
2. High Efficiency
The actual moulding process is very quick compared to other methods. Once the moulds have been designed and pre-programmed according to the customer’s specifications, it is possible to produce more parts in less time from a single mould. The high production output rate makes plastic injection moulding more cost-effective and efficient.
3.Greater Strength
In fields where parts need to be strong and durable, we at Pozible.Tech believe plastic injection offers a solution that other methods cannot provide. Using fillers in the injection moulds enables manufacturers to reduce the density of the plastic and help in enhancing the strength of the part after moulding.
4. Multiple Plastic Types can be used Simultaneously
At Pozible.Tech we believe the ability to use different types of plastic simultaneously is one of the major advantages of this method. Co-injection moulding is the process that allows us not to worry about using a particular type of plastic.
5.Reduced Manufacturing Cost
At Pozible.Tech we always do our best to come up with a solution that is cost efficient and effective - plastic injection moulding. A sole operator can control and manage the majority of the injection moulding process performed by machines and robotics. It is a completely automated process which helps to reduce manufacturing costs significantly. As a result, the reduction in overall cost of manufacturing the parts promotes the customer’s cost saving.
In addition to that, automation allows for producing accurate injection moulds. Computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) allow close tolerances during the making of the moulds.
What Is The Downside To Injection Molding:
Indeed, injection moulding is perfect for volume production, however, at Pozible.Tech we make sure you are aware of some aspects that require your consideration before choosing the manufacturing method for a new product.
High initial tooling and machinery cost.
Due to design, testing and tooling requirements for the production of moulds, upfront costs tend to be very high. That is why we need to make sure we get the design of the article right. In addition to that, it is quite clear that the smaller the order quantity, the higher the moulding cost. However, a high-quality mould, although of relatively high cost, will be capable of turning out hundreds of thousands of ‘impressions’.