Injection Molding is a manufacturing process that involves the production of thousands and millions of items/products/parts within a short period. This manufacturing process is mainly used to manufacture products in large volumes. With the injection molding machine, you can produce as many items/parts as you want while saving production costs.
Why You Might Want to Use Injection Molding?
The reason most people opt for injection molding is that it manufactures products en masse, except in cases where some parts have to be created separately. After covering the cost of designing and building the injection molding machine, production costs become relatively low. Also, you spend less as you proceed to produce more parts within the time range you would have used in producing one. Other advantages of using injection molding include:
1. Low Scrap Rates with Injection Molding
Injection molding generates low scrap rates compared to conventional manufacturing processes like CNC machining, which removes significant percentages of an original plastic block or sheet. The injection molding low scrap rates may not be up to the standard of additive manufacturing processes like 3D printing that generates even lower scrap rates.
The injection molding machine releases wastes during manufacturing from these areas:
- The sprue
- The runners
- The gate locations
- Any spillover material that escapes out of the part cavity (also referred to as flash)
Thermoset material like epoxy resin restores after exposure to the atmosphere is a material that restores. It will burn after restoring if one attempt is made to melt it. Thermoplastic material, on the other hand, is a plastic material that is easily dissolved, cool, hardened, and then melted again without burning it.
Thermoplastic materials can be easily recycled and used for production again. The materials don’t have to go through any process before they’re used again; sometimes, in the factory, they grind up the sprues and other rejected parts. Then they add these materials back into the main raw materials for production and feed them into the injection molding press. This material can also be called “re-grind.”
However, note the control department will keep the amount of regrind that’s added back into the injection molding press under control. Because an excess of regrind can lead to manufacturers’ error ( it may lead to a reduction in the performance properties of the plastic). Also, if the regrind is in excess, a factory can sell it to another factory in the same line of products for a fee. Generally, regrind material produces less-quality parts that don’t require high-performance properties.
2. Injection Molding Leverages Repetition & Consistency
Injection molding can be repeated severally, which means that the second part you produce will be as exact as the first one. This is an excellent feature to look out for to maintain consistency in your brand and increase reliability in high-volume parts production.
Conclusion
Injection molding is a modern technology for producing products in high volume. It is also the best option for finalizing prototypes used for development and consumer testing.
