Over the years, we at FAIST have developed skills and abilities in supplying plastic components, in order to satisfy market demand and improve our operations in die-cast and moulded components, via the installation of a vast range of machinery.
For this very reason, we are now specialised in plastic injection molding.
Let’s find out what exactly is involved in this industrial production process.
What is plastic injection molding?
Plastic injection molding is a common process used to make plastic components which are used by various industries.
It is a speedy production process, which permits the production of high quantities of the same plastic product in a short time frame.
The high-performance qualities of plastic materials able to resist at high temperatures are replacing the metals which are traditionally used in the production of plastics.
Plastic injection molding is a well-used process in the production of plastic components for the medical, aerospace, automobile and toy industries.
How does plastic injection molding actual work?
Plastic (either in pellet or gain form) is molten within the machine used for the injection molding and is then injected into the mould under high pressure.
Afterwhich, the material is cooled down, it solidifies and is then released by opening the two halves of the mould.
This technique, therefore, allows the production of a fixed-sized pre-defined plastic product.
For this reason, in order to facilitate the process, the parts used within the injection molding process need to be designed very carefully by either a qualified designer or specialised engineer.
Afterwhich, a tool-maker needs to create the mould, according to the design, usually using materials such as steel or aluminium.
So, the injection molding process actually can be sub-divided into three phases:
- Injection time
- Cooling time
- Resetting time
By reducing these times, production costs go down, making the whole process more profitable.
Conclusion
Plastic injection molding may appear, to someone outside the field, as an extremely complex process used to make sophisticated products, but this is just not the case.
In reality, many commonplace products, including many disposable products are made using this industrial technique, for example, Lego bricks and plastic tableware.
Thus, applications are innumerable, and the potential products that can be produced are infinite, bearing in mind of course that the process must be carefully designed and accurate moulds produced.
To find out more, we suggest that you watch this video created by William S. Hammack, an American chemical engineer and professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.
