Authored By: SDI Plastic

The Plastic injection moulding phase is the final part of the manufacturing process in delivering a finished product. Making a plastic product using injection moulding involves melting plastic granules, pressing them into the hollow of a blank under intense pressure, cooling them down, and then solidifying the plastic granules, to produce a plastic component.

The method can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals, glasses, elastomers, confections, and most commonly thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers. Some plastics, like thermosets, have various properties when heated and hardened. Polyolefins, for instance, are liquified by heat and then moulded under pressure. As a result, the procedure must constantly be tailored to the particular plastic.

Plastic injection moulding allows for the mass production of a wide range of products. This makes injection moulding a popular solution and cost effective method for the mass manufacture of plastic components.

Plastic injection moulding is everywhere, from toys, packaging parts, to space shuttle turbine blades. It could be a fabrication process that produces expansive volumes of parts by infusing liquid plastic into a metal form, after which it is cooled down to a strong state. It is reliable, efficient, and also easy to implement. The automobile and medical industries both depend on this method of producing plastic parts. 

However, why and how can injection moulding help your company’s production and what are the main benefits of this manufacturing process? In this blog post, let’s discover more about it!

What are the plastic injection moulding process’s undeniable benefits?

Due to its advantages, this production method is preferred over many other alternative manufacturing processes. The process is full proof, dependable, effective, and is highly efficient.

What is the purpose of plastic injection moulding?

Today, plastic injection moulding is used in many industries, including packaging, consumer goods, construction, automotive, construction, mining & engineering, transportation, medical, aerospace, defence, electrical and sporting industries, to name a few.

Let’s discuss the various ways in which plastic injection moulding can benefit your business.

• Strength & durability

Plastic injection moulding is more durable than other production techniques as it is produced under pressure using well calibrated techniques. It offers a wide range of options for how durable and robust you would like the plastic component to be.

• Effectiveness

The mould design takes the most time in plastic injection moulding.

It must be made as per the customer’s requirements and pre-programmed presses. Due to its high output rate, this manufacturing process is more efficient and affordable than other approaches. Although hot-runner injection moulding methods often create parts more quickly and with higher quality consistency, it can be challenging to accommodate heat-sensitive polymers and change colours.

• High efficiency and mass production

The injection moulding process is an excellent way to produce products at scale and with efficiency. Once the customer completes the project lifecycle from inception through to tooling, the injection moulding process commences. Plastic injection moulding is frequently used for large volume production, allowing for complex products, produced at a high quality, exact specifications and durability. It is the most cost effective and time efficient method of producing plastic products in large quantities.

• Versatility

The adaptability of plastic injection moulding is a significant benefit. Several different plastics can be used simultaneously. For example, when various polymers are injected into the same mould, the process is known as co-injection moulding. Several thermoplastics, polymers that melt at very high temperatures and solidify at lower temperatures, are used in plastic injection moulding.

• Complexity

The mould must withstand exceptionally high pressures during the plastic injection moulding process. As a result, compared to other production procedures that use moulds, the plastic in the mould is compressed harder against it. This pressure makes the inclusion of details during the production process possible.

Additionally, you may create highly delicate and complicated structures that would otherwise be too difficult and expensive to produce using standard production procedures. Secondary operations, familiar with other functions, can be eliminated by adding features like side holds or threads.

• Flexibility

Choosing a suitable material and colour for a project are important aspects of making plastic components. The possibilities are limitless due to the wide variety of choice for both. The variety of materials mainly include metals, glasses, elastomers, confections, and most commonly thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers. Polymer advancements over the years have contributed to developing a diverse range of resins from which to choose. Working with an injection moulder with experience with a wide range of resins and applications, including FDA, RoHS, REACH, and NSF-compliant resins, is critical. 

When selecting a resin for your project, keep the following factors in mind:

• Impact strength
• Tensile strength
• The flexural modulus of elasticity
• Heat deflection
• and water absorption

• Lightweighting

Lightweighting is predominantly used in the automotive industry and has become a recent phenomenon, whereby lightweight plastic components replace car parts that have previously been a much heavier material. Lightweighting involves building cars and trucks to be lighter, as a way to achieve better fuel efficiency and handling. By using one of the many available materials and resins that offer the necessary characteristics at a reduced weight, plastic injection moulding allows for the weight reduction of a specific part without compromising the required flexibility, strength, or durability, in particular to meet the safety standards of the vehicle. Plastics and other lightweight materials can reduce the strain on the engine, improve gas mileage, and improve handling.

• Minimal waste

With its accuracy, the injection moulding method is a preferred option for manufacturing, producing minimal waste. If there are plastic parts produced, which do not meet the high quality and standards, or sprues, they are essentially broken down, grinded and recycled back into the manufacturing process. The ultimate goal is to reduce waste and recycle rejected or unused parts.

And finally..

Plastic injection moulding is extremely popular and widely accepted for a good reason. The points mentioned above highlight the numerous advantages that injection moulding manufacturing provides. Hence, it is one of the best options for producing precision plastic parts for mass manufacturing that is cost effective, flexible and efficient.

Plastic injection moulding, is by far the preferred method of choice, when it comes to the manufacturing of products and components. Whether you are producing an intricate and complex product, or ready to be involved in mass manufacturing, the benefits are exceptional. As mentioned above, undoubtedly, plastic injection moulding has much to offer businesses today across a wide variety of industry sectors. 

If you would like to partner with a knowledgeable plastics injection moulding manufacturer, SDI Plastics can most definitely help. Our team are experts who can assist you through the full product lifecycle, from inception through to final production and delivery. 

To find out more, please call our talented team on (07) 3807 8666 for a confidential discussion.