Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Using Injection Molding In Manufacturing

By Genevive B. Mata


Creating plastic toys, pieces and components can be done in a number of ways, depending on certain factors such as to what the purpose of that item is to be. Each aspect of this procedure has to be carefully calculated to accommodate for each product's specific structural and functional issues. One method that proves most effective in many circumstances is injection molding.

This is a manufacturing process by which items are produced when the fabricating materials are injected into a mold. There are several substances that can be used to create the parts and multiple methods by which to do it. Which of these combinations is best will be determined by the performance specifics of the finished product.

This is the most common method used for creating plastic items whether for a single piece or for manufacturing a mass of duplicates. Things like kitchenware, toys, bottle caps, combs, containers, machine components and electronic housings are often made in this manner. Even car parts, those as small as tiny connectors as well as an entire side panel, are fabricated through this unique process.

Two of the advantages of this method are a huge selection of materials to use and a lower cost for labor. The molds make it easy to produce thousands of replicas with ease, and when the right substances are used, items made through this process have a high stress tolerance. Very little waste is generated because the pieces are so precisely formed that it is rarely necessary to cut excess from the whole for finishing.

Unfortunately, there are also a few disadvantages to this procedure. To begin with, the process itself has particular limitations due to the way it must be set up and how it operates. There is also the issue of the initial tooling investment for new pieces being quite expensive, though they do tend to pay for themselves when molds are used multiple times.

Practically any polymer, including thermoplastics of all types and several different thermosets and elastomers, are great for this process. With so many different types of materials available, the fabrication choices are beyond numerous. The individual substances can be blended or mixed with alloys to create designer formulas to best suit the purpose.

The purpose for which a piece is intended will have a huge impact on what materials would best to use in fabrication. Different compounds and mixtures will help meet certain requirements such as the need to withstand extreme temperatures or a higher amount of stress. The range of substances and combinations allow for a wider array of products that may be created in this way.




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