The benefits of plastic injection molds

Mold design and mold-making companies in China allow greater design freedom for parts. They allow for the addition of radii or soft edge areas that would require extra machining on metal parts.

Another element of design freedom is the ability to create highly detailed parts with complex geometry as the plastic material is injected into the mold under high pressure. It fills the cavity completely and is pressed against the mold with more force than other molding processes.

Therefore, the plastic will conform to even minute and complex shapes and details within the mold.

More excellent utility with fewer assembly processes

It is also possible to combine different materials in the same part for more excellent utility with fewer assembly processes. Mold design and mold-making companies in China use plastic and rubber to create a sealing edge. It uses two different colors of the same material.

Insert molding allows a non-plastic component to be incorporated, such as a metal screw embedded in a plastic part.

It enables the complex metal to plastic part conversions. It also reduces total part costs by reducing multiple machining operations in a single injection process. Plastic components are lighter than machined or cast metal parts.

Significant savings in production costs

The plastic injection molding process involves a high degree of automation, providing significant savings in production costs.

There is little or no material waste generated by mold design and mold-making companies in China. Its discarded plastic can be reused. It’s time to re-evaluate your processes and see how plastic injection molding can benefit your business.

What are the drawbacks to injection molding?

As with any process, there are challenges. Although the benefits and efficiency of injection molding are apparent, these considerations still weigh heavily :

The initial cost of an injection mold can be high. Your mold designer and maker should be able to advise you on ways to reduce costs for your molds without sacrificing quality or time if you need a small number of parts. It can be beneficial to use softer steel to produce the cavities and reduce the cost and lead time of the finished mold.

Mold design and mold making company has a longer lead time

Injection molds will have a longer lead time than some other processes. A machining program can generate overnight, and within a day or two days, you can have a sample part for demonstration.

To be competitive in this period, you may need to find a fast prototyping operation that can 3D print a plastic part instead of a part machined from metal or rigid plastic.

Design changes may not be simple for an injection mold.

What should you consider?

Are you designing an injection molding product? If so, a mold design and mold-making company in China has some guidelines that will be helpful as you work through the product and mold design process.

At a minimum, the following key points should consider when developing an injection molding tool:

Injection gate location

The location of the gate is crucial:

When considering the location of the gate, designers will want to place the gate in a thicker intersection area of ​​the part. It can remove without concern for the visual and structural suitability of the design. Plastic flows better from a thick section to a thin section. The injection point will normally be located in the cavity or on the side surface.

The mold design and mold making deserve extensive discussion in its definition. The injection inlet controls the speed with which the molten material enters the cavity and also its packing. These two characteristics will influence the performance and appearance of the molded part.

The parting line is essential to the appearance

When the two halves of the mold separate, there will be a parting line. As with most of these steps, the location of the parting line is very important to the appearance of the final product.

Wall thickness has the most significant impact

When designing a plastic product by mold design and mold making company, wall thickness has the most significant impact on cost, production speed, and the final quality of a part among all aspects of design.

For example, thick walls offer more strength. They also have a greater tendency to warp during the cooling stage of the injection process. While thick walls provide additional strength, there are some advantages to designing thinner walls.

Therefore, maintaining optimal wall thickness is particularly important for high-volume injection molding projects.

Gradual variations for product stability

Wall thicknesses are not subject to any restrictions. It is generally that the goal of mold design and mold making companies in China is to create the thinnest wall possible, taking into account the structural requirements of the part and the size and geometry.

If the walls can’t be completely uniform, gradual variations in thickness are essential to maintain product stability. Uniform wall thickness also allows for the most efficient and uniform flow of resin for optimal processing.

Proper wall thickness is just one of the key design elements that must be maintained for the injection process to work properly.

3D product by mold design and mold making company in China

The addition of a few degrees of tilt means parts will leave the mold much more smoothly. Its minimal friction and scraping between the finished, cooled product and the mold walls. There are minimum requirements needed for any part based on the depth of detail, the material chosen, and the depth of texture applied to the cavity.

The selection of materials

With hundreds of commodity and engineering resins available on the market. The process of selecting materials for plastic injection molding jobs can seem daunting at first. Material selection by mold design and mold making company in China is one of the most critical choices when designing your part. Factors in many aspects of the process include shrinkage factor, cooling time, flexibility, and more.

Different materials have different processing temperatures

Different materials have different minimum/maximum wall thicknesses and require different processing temperatures. Some materials will be harder than others to extract from the mold. It’s important to keep these things in mind during the product design process.

Choosing the best material for a particular purpose is decisive for the functionality and quality of the final product. Typical material choices are ABS, PS, POM, HDPE, PC, and PP.

Basic principles of mold design and mold making company in China

Those are the basics. The points listed above are just the basics and minimums to consider when designing plastic injection molds and products.

If you have new ideas, and you are at the beginning of your process as a start-up, or if you have many decisions to make in materials for your new ideas, manufacturing processes, and especially finding a mold manufacturing partner who can help bring your new ideas to life, we can be of help.

Its Decision Time

When deciding on your design and final solution, here’s everything you need to know about injection molding to make your choice. Then it’s time to call us.