Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Applications For Injection Molding Technologies

By Henry A. Parker


Think about injection molding and your mind immediately goes to plastic army men and other tiny toys and accessories that toddlers love to cram in their ears, nose, throat, etc. The process, injecting fluid material into a mold, applies to all sorts of other materials, too. Metals, glass, confections, polymers and elastomers can all be molded and then custom machined to produce everything from a jelly snakes to car doors.

Chocolates, futuristic plastic chairs, dustpans and even shoes may be made by injecting some material into a mold. Molds are designed by designers and engineers and then handed over to a moldmaker to transform the design into a metal mold, which is finally precision-machined. The process, which has been around since the middle of the 19th century, is extremely versatile and gives rise to an infinite number of widgets and parts for sewing machines, automobiles and rocket ships.

One use for the IM process to which we can all relate is in the production of toy soldiers and collectible military miniatures. There are miniature troops to match practically every war in history. The price of the piece often corresponds to the seniority of the figure. The Duke of Wellington, for example, will cost more than his minions, although Richard Sharp would probably fetch a pretty penny.

Electric train enthusiasts are another market for this genre of art and technology. Along with little engineers and little villagers, trees and parts of buildings can be manufactured in this manner. The level of detail and authenticity can be very impressive. These are usually the product of a metalworking process.

To produce metal parts, a fine metal dust is created and blended with a binder to produce a feedstock material that will go through machinery made from plastic. Surgical blade holders are manufactured using this process, as are engine parts for everything from motorcycles to airplanes.

The range of objects that can be manufactured using this technology is amazing. There are a lot of parts that one would not intuitively think were made this way. Even the parts for the machines that do the injecting and molding have injected and molded parts inside them.

The industry relies on a vast number of other industries for its survival. Software, polymers, additives and the molding machines themselves are all related industries. It is going to be fascinating to see how this industry stands up to new developments in 3D printing technology.




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