Benefits of Plastic Injection Molding

Plastic injection molding is probably the best method for creating high volumes of plastic objects. When you balance pros and cons, it is safe to say that the pros outweigh the cons, especially when you take production cost and speed into account.

Fast production rate does not diminish the quality of the product making plastic injection the best option when you need hundreds of thousands of identical plastic parts.

I wanted to further explore the benefits of this method so I went to injection molding veterans Wunder Mold. Here’s why plastic injection molding is a good pick for your product:

Production Speed

This is one of the key elements that put this method at a high demand on the market. The process of production is rather fast without losing the quality. The speed can vary depending on the complexity of the object, but one cycle can take from 20 to 150 seconds, and when you put this on paper you understand how fast you can get your product.

Automated Process

Mold injection does not require big labor costs and people to monitor the machine. The process is automated, meaning that you need only 1 person to keep watch, which in turn reduces the cost of production significantly.

Attention to Detail

Even though you are dealing with plastic, moulds themselves withstand extreme pressures, allowing for highly detailed touches on the plastic.

This means that the production speed does not hinder the amount of detail you want in your object. It might be somewhat slower, but the important part is that the moulds have full control over the plastic.

Maintenance

One of the huge benefits is the maintenance. Every machine needs one, but you can complete between 250000 and 500000 cycles of basic action before having to clean the machine. It is recommended to perform regular maintenance once every 100000 cycles, because there are more complex designs involved that additionally strain the moulds.

Material Flexibility and Color

You don’t need to be stuck with only one type of material. There’s a plethora of different polymers you can choose from, and you can mix different materials and mold them simultaneously without having to wait extra.

Additionally you can choose any color you can imagine with the use of masterbatch.

Recycle Value

The amount of scrap that comes through when the production is completed is rather small. Even better, this plastic is not ruined and can be reused, so nothing goes to waste.

Reliability

The process consists of repeating the same operations in quick succession. You can rest assured all the components will be identical with little to no room for error. The most significant benefit is probably the ability to fully rely on the process and expect high quality products with a strong build that’s going to fulfil its purpose, on top of that, you get thousands of replicas of the same properties.

Almost No Finishing Touch

The production is very detailed with very little effort required when the product comes out of the machine.

Material Strength

You can even customize the strength of the material by reducing its density during molding. This way you can achieve more durability without losing any of its intended properties.

Cons

Plastic injection molding can be costly if only a small number of products, mostly because tooling is complex, and maintenance and setup can take a while before the machine is ready. There are some limitations in design: for example, you need to stay away from sharp edges and undercuts. It is recommended to implement draft angles to encourage smoother de-molding.