Nowadays, many household items such as vacuum cleaners, toothbrushes or switches are produced with a manufacturing process called injection molding. This form of plastic part production is also indispensable in the automotive industry and in the medical sector. But why and how does injection molding benefit your business for your production? What are the major advantages of this production process? Let’s learn about it in this blog post!
What Is Injection Molding?
First off let us quickly explain this process. Injection molding is the production of a plastic part by melting down plastic granules and liquefied pressed under high pressure into the cavity of a blank, cooled down and can then be refined. Injection molding allows the use of many different materials.
Polyolefins, for example, are liquefied by heat and then molded under pressure, while other plastics, such as thermosets, have different properties under heat and become hard. Therefore, the process must always be matched to the plastic in question. With plastic injection molding, a wide variety of small parts but also larger products can be manufactured in large quantities.
Together with its cost-effectiveness, this makes injection molding the most widespread process for the mass production of plastic parts, accounting for about 30% in virtually all sectors. But what are the decisive advantages of plastic injection molding?
Precision
Plastic injection molding enables very precise production of small parts, which has allowed many devices to become smaller and harder over time. Many household items, their casing, plugs and connections must fit together precisely. Further post-processing is usually not necessary, the produced parts are very precise, which is also a great advantage in the automotive industry. A high tolerance level in manufactured products is easy and quick to replicate. Once adjusted, the exact fitting part can be manufactured over and over again without much rechecking. This process stability and reproducibility are key advantages.
Efficiency And Time
As we all know time is money and that is what your business would like to make. The plastic injection molding process enables very fast production of parts. The granules are heated quickly, pressed into shape and cool down fast. With modern machines, for example, a workpiece can be created every 20 seconds and incorporated into automated mass production processes. Molds, once properly set, can be immediately reused to produce large quantities of the exact same part. This can be done completely automatically and does not require constant inspection, which in turn reduces production costs. A large number of parts can therefore be produced quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively.
Durability
Plastic is a long-lasting product and manufactured pieces are characterized by high durability and hardness. Working with pressure and precisely tuned processes, plastic injection molded manufacturing parts are very durable. The low weight and corrosion resistance are the great advantages over metal components. In addition, the finishing processes mentioned at the beginning of this article give the injection-molded products a high surface quality. This will give your business a long-lasting product to satisfy your customers.
Little Waste
Even though plastic has a bad reputation and is definitely a problem for the environment, its durability also offers the decisive advantage. In order not to produce more waste than necessary, the injection molding process with its precision is clearly advantageous. By using liquid plastic, only the exact amount needed is used and very little waste is produced, since the plastic is injected into the mold and there is hardly any excess. Moreover, the latest technologies also allow the remnants to be remelted, and new innovations for recycling management, such as compostable plastics, further increase productivity and reduce waste, which in the end will save your business money.
Unlimited molding possibilities
Another advantage of injection molding is the possibility of variation. The shape can be chosen almost freely and can vary from the smallest components to large finished parts. But also the surface structure, pattern and color can be easily changed by using different granules. The product to be realized can therefore be designed as desired. Therefore, plastic injection molding is a popular process and is used in all areas of industry due to the enormous variety of materials.
Overall, these 5 advantages of injection molding clearly show why it is such a widely used process in the industry and can be a great solution for your company. Many industries produce automated components with it and countless everyday items are made with this process.