Plastics is a material that is widely used in many industries. Products such as toys and medical devices are always made of plastic. In order to produce a plastic part, it must be formed into the desired shape by a method called plastic injection molding. With plastic injection molding, you can produce plastic parts in many sizes and shapes and copy the same part multiple times using the same mold.
Processes of Injection Molding Process
Injection molding is one of the most common manufacturing methods used to manufacture plastic products. Since the same part can be reproduced thousands of times, there is a high demand for injection molding by companies. Before starting the Molding Process, the engineer creates a three-dimensional CAD model. The part made of aluminum, steel or alloy is then attached to the injection molding machine. However, before installing this part, this selection must be made, taking into account that the part will shrink when cooled and based on all the characteristics of the part. The selected material begins processing as a plastic granule and is then processed on an injection molding machine. The granules pass through a heated area where they are melted, compressed and then injected into the mold cavity. Then, after the part has cooled, the two halves of the mold are opened to remove the part. The machine is then reset to restart the process.
Injection Mold Components
The injection mold is made of steel, aluminum or alloy. These metal molds can be used thousands, sometimes millions of times. There are two different parts of the injection mold, one half of the mold is the “best” side and the other half is the spade side which will have some visual flaws in the ejector pins. An injection mold also consists of support plates, ejector box, ejector rod, ejector pins, ejector plates, runner bushing, and a locating ring.