Plastic injection moulding 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 moulding. Not only is plastic injection moulding simpler and more reliable, it is also extremely efficient. You should have no doubts about using this method to manufacture parts.
The injection moulds are subjected to extremely high pressure. As a result the plastic within the moulds is pressed harder against the mould compared to any other moulding 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 moulding process, complex and intricate shapes can easily be designed and manufactured which otherwise would have been too complicated and expensive to manufacture.
Once the injection moulds have been designed to the customer's specifications and the presses pre-programmed, the actual moulding process is very quick compared to other methods of moulding. Plastic injection moulding process hardly takes times and this allows more parts to be manufactured from a single mould. The high production output rate makes plastic injection moulding more cost effective and efficient. Typically, hot-runner ejection mould systems produce parts with more consistent quality and do so with faster cycle times, but it's not as easy to change colours nor can hot runners accommodate some heat-sensitive polymers. Learn more about the key differences between hot-runner and cold-runner systems.
In plastic injection moulding, it is possible to use fillers in the injection moulds. These filler reduce the density of the plastic while it being moulded and also help in adding greater strength to the part after it has been moulded. In fields where parts need to be strong and durable, plastic injection has an option that other moulding processes do not offer.
One of the major advantages of using plastic injection moulding for manufacturing parts is the ability to use different types of plastic simultaneously. This can be done with the help of co-injection moulding, which takes away the worry about using a specific type of plastic.
Plastic injection moulding is an automated process. A majority of the injection moulding 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 labour 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 moulds. Computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacturing (CAM) allow close tolerances during the making of the moulds.
Using injection moulding 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 moulds.
Today, plastic injection moulding 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.