Injection molding benefits：
OEMs across many industries can attest to the benefits of plastic injection molding. It’s ideal for consistent, affordable production of a wide range of high-quality complex plastic parts that can withstand about any environment.
That’s reason enough to rank injection molding high on the list of go-to solutions, but there’s more. To better understand how and why manufacturers use the process, let’s take a look at the individual merits of the top 14 benefits of plastic injection molding (listed in no particular order):
1. ABILITY TO PRODUCE DETAIL/COMPLEX GEOMETRY
With the right tool design and a scientific molding approach to process optimization, injection molding can help manufacturers produce highly complex, detailed plastic parts in large volume with virtually no deviation.
2. EFFICIENCY
An experienced custom injection molding partner provides manufacturers with a decided advantage in terms of efficiency. The molder’s teams — from engineering through production — likely have decades of expertise to draw upon when determining how to optimize part design and manufacturing. Implementing best practices like focusing on design upfront to minimize problems later on, and incorporating value-added services to combine production process steps generally streamline time and cost commitments.
3. STRENGTH
The strength and durability of plastics has greatly increased over the years, and today’s lightweight thermoplastics can withstand even the harshest environments on par with — or better than — metal parts. There are more than 25,000 engineered materials to choose from for constructing complex injection-molded applications. High-performance blends and hybrids can also be formulated to meet very specific part requirements and characteristics, such as high tensile strength.
4. ABILITY TO SIMULTANEOUSLY USE MULTIPLE TYPES OF PLASTIC
It’s not uncommon for complex part designs to require components made of different materials. While seemingly a matter of simple choices, safely combining plastics can be extremely complicated. By ensuring compatibility under all circumstances, plastics expertise from the molder’s project engineers is instrumental in mitigating defects, injury risks, and warranty claims.
5. COST SAVINGS
There are several ways that injection molding can help OEMs experience lower costs, from plastic part consolidation to overmolding. However, the number one way to manage costs is collaboration between OEM and injection molding engineering teams well before production is set. Focusing on Design for Manufacturability (DfM) and other detailed processes during the design phase significantly reduces the number of problems sometimes encountered with moldability — minimizing the need for expensive tooling changes, downtime, and other production delays.
6. PRECISION
For OEMs with complex part designs requiring tight tolerances, injection molders can achieve designs accurate to within +/- .001 inches. These measurements are not only possible, they’re repeatable across production runs and equipment.
7. SHORTEN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE
Different skill sets of injection molding engineers can help OEMs achieve a shorter product development timeline. Doing so ensures faster production cycles and getting defect-free parts to market faster — a decided competitive advantage for manufacturers.
8. MULTIPLE FINISHES
Most injection-molded parts are produced with a smooth surface finish very close to the desired final look. However, a smooth appearance isn’t appropriate for every application. Depending on the physical and chemical properties of the plastics used, injection molding allows for surface finishes that don’t require secondary operations — from matte finishes and unique textures to engraving and more.
9. HIGH-OUTPUT PRODUCTION AND CONSISTENCY
High-output production of complex plastic parts requires a consistent, repeatable process to achieve designs with tight tolerances. Injection molding helps ensure a consistent quality by repeatedly using the same mold for each part, backed by an injection molder’s continuous improvement practices that incorporate current leading-edge technologies.
10. COLOR CONTROL
From clear to any color an OEM needs, injection molders can make it happen by aligning plastics, additives, and biocompatibility to achieve desired coloration. Often, multiple colors are needed in one product. In that case, overmolding is the solution provided the injection molder has the requisite experience in multi-material injection molding.
11. FLEXIBILITY
Injection molding is all about flexibility, whether ascribed to some plastics’ properties or the ability for OEMs to make custom color choices or meet specific project requirements. Injection molding gives OEMs freedom in design choices, — especially when compared to metal.
12. REDUCED WASTE
At Kaysun, we’re proud to be a part of several green initiatives that positively impact the environment, but our commitment to the planet doesn’t end at corporate social responsibility. We understand the ecological and economic advantages of sustainable practices like using plastic regrind, which minimizes waste and directly benefits OEMs.
13. LOWER LABOR COSTS
Much of the injection molding process is automated by machines and robots, and controlled by a sole operator or technician. This streamlines labor costs and also greatly reduces the risk of rework caused by part defects or human error — both of which save OEMs money.
14. LIGHTWEIGHTING
Although probably most prevalent in the automotive industry, lightweighting is used by OEMs in a number of industries. Simply put, using plastic parts helps reduce the weight of metal parts. Today, high-strength, lightweight thermoplastics can be used to replace metal components with virtually no difference in strength or dependability.
I want to share 6 types of injection molding technology：
1. Thin Wall Molding
Thin wall molding is an injection molding technology that achieves a plastic part with a very thin wall. It is often used in test apparatuses, electronics, vessels, tubes, and other enclosures. Plastic injection molders who do thin wall molding have to consider every aspect of the part design, mold design, and processing in detail to ensure that the thin wall geometry will hold up without quality issues. Here at Micron, we use a sophisticated vision system to examine each completed part to ensure that no cracks have appeared.
2. Gas-assisted Injection Molding
The trouble with any thick plastic injection-molded part is that it runs the risk of distortion as it cools. Gas-assisted injection molding helps solve this issue by shooting gas into a plastic material-filled injection mold. This allows the plastic on the outside of the mold to maintain a smooth and finished appearance while the inside stays porous or hollow. This not only keeps the part from deforming during the cooling stage, but also lessens the cost of the part (as you’re using less material).
3. Metal Injection Molding
Plastic isn’t the only thing that can be injection molded—metal can as well. This new technology is substantially more expensive than plastic injection molding and usually serves a niche market. The cell phone market, for example, sometimes uses metal injection molding to shield the cellular electronics from radio or microwaves.
4. Liquid Silicone Injection Molding
The majority of plastic injection molding is thermoset, meaning cold material is injected into an extremely hot mold to create a part. This process cures the part so it can never be melted again. But if you need a part to withstand very high temperatures or chemical agents—as you might with certain medical devices or car parts—you may need thermoplastic injection molding, which frequently uses liquid silicone.
5. 3D Printing
3D printing is a notable injection molding technology because of the role it plays in prototyping an injection molded part. Here at Micron, we create a 3D-printed prototype of a client’s part before we move the design to production. This allows us to discuss potential improvements in more depth than we could while reviewing an online rendering, for example. It’s also worth noting that 3D printing can be used to print actual injection molds using plastic or metal. Currently, the available 3D printing technology does not enable us to print with the narrow part tolerances required in an injection mold—but we imagine it may in the future.
6. Unique Material Formulations
While this isn’t a plastic injection “technology” in the traditional sense, the use of unique material formulations does advance molding capabilities. Injection molding companies may, for example, use a carbon or mineral filler, a blowing agent, and a lubricity additive to add certain properties to a part. For example, here at Micron, we have run 40% carbon-filled ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) to achieve a degree of electrical conductivity in a plastic stud or sensor. The temperature of the mold and the plastic material are both important when adding a filler, additive, and blowing agent, so we are constantly refining our process to achieve the best advantage for these unique materials.
Injection molding benefits：
OEMs across many industries can attest to the benefits of plastic injection molding. It’s ideal for consistent, affordable production of a wide range of high-quality complex plastic parts that can withstand about any environment.
That’s reason enough to rank injection molding high on the list of go-to solutions, but there’s more. To better understand how and why manufacturers use the process, let’s take a look at the individual merits of the top 14 benefits of plastic injection molding (listed in no particular order):
1. ABILITY TO PRODUCE DETAIL/COMPLEX GEOMETRY
With the right tool design and a scientific molding approach to process optimization, injection molding can help manufacturers produce highly complex, detailed plastic parts in large volume with virtually no deviation.
2. EFFICIENCY
An experienced custom injection molding partner provides manufacturers with a decided advantage in terms of efficiency. The molder’s teams — from engineering through production — likely have decades of expertise to draw upon when determining how to optimize part design and manufacturing. Implementing best practices like focusing on design upfront to minimize problems later on, and incorporating value-added services to combine production process steps generally streamline time and cost commitments.
3. STRENGTH
The strength and durability of plastics has greatly increased over the years, and today’s lightweight thermoplastics can withstand even the harshest environments on par with — or better than — metal parts. There are more than 25,000 engineered materials to choose from for constructing complex injection-molded applications. High-performance blends and hybrids can also be formulated to meet very specific part requirements and characteristics, such as high tensile strength.
4. ABILITY TO SIMULTANEOUSLY USE MULTIPLE TYPES OF PLASTIC
It’s not uncommon for complex part designs to require components made of different materials. While seemingly a matter of simple choices, safely combining plastics can be extremely complicated. By ensuring compatibility under all circumstances, plastics expertise from the molder’s project engineers is instrumental in mitigating defects, injury risks, and warranty claims.
5. COST SAVINGS
There are several ways that injection molding can help OEMs experience lower costs, from plastic part consolidation to overmolding. However, the number one way to manage costs is collaboration between OEM and injection molding engineering teams well before production is set. Focusing on Design for Manufacturability (DfM) and other detailed processes during the design phase significantly reduces the number of problems sometimes encountered with moldability — minimizing the need for expensive tooling changes, downtime, and other production delays.
6. PRECISION
For OEMs with complex part designs requiring tight tolerances, injection molders can achieve designs accurate to within +/- .001 inches. These measurements are not only possible, they’re repeatable across production runs and equipment.
7. SHORTEN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE
Different skill sets of injection molding engineers can help OEMs achieve a shorter product development timeline. Doing so ensures faster production cycles and getting defect-free parts to market faster — a decided competitive advantage for manufacturers.
8. MULTIPLE FINISHES
Most injection-molded parts are produced with a smooth surface finish very close to the desired final look. However, a smooth appearance isn’t appropriate for every application. Depending on the physical and chemical properties of the plastics used, injection molding allows for surface finishes that don’t require secondary operations — from matte finishes and unique textures to engraving and more.
9. HIGH-OUTPUT PRODUCTION AND CONSISTENCY
High-output production of complex plastic parts requires a consistent, repeatable process to achieve designs with tight tolerances. Injection molding helps ensure a consistent quality by repeatedly using the same mold for each part, backed by an injection molder’s continuous improvement practices that incorporate current leading-edge technologies.
10. COLOR CONTROL
From clear to any color an OEM needs, injection molders can make it happen by aligning plastics, additives, and biocompatibility to achieve desired coloration. Often, multiple colors are needed in one product. In that case, overmolding is the solution provided the injection molder has the requisite experience in multi-material injection molding.
11. FLEXIBILITY
Injection molding is all about flexibility, whether ascribed to some plastics’ properties or the ability for OEMs to make custom color choices or meet specific project requirements. Injection molding gives OEMs freedom in design choices, — especially when compared to metal.
12. REDUCED WASTE
At Kaysun, we’re proud to be a part of several green initiatives that positively impact the environment, but our commitment to the planet doesn’t end at corporate social responsibility. We understand the ecological and economic advantages of sustainable practices like using plastic regrind, which minimizes waste and directly benefits OEMs.
13. LOWER LABOR COSTS
Much of the injection molding process is automated by machines and robots, and controlled by a sole operator or technician. This streamlines labor costs and also greatly reduces the risk of rework caused by part defects or human error — both of which save OEMs money.
14. LIGHTWEIGHTING
Although probably most prevalent in the automotive industry, lightweighting is used by OEMs in a number of industries. Simply put, using plastic parts helps reduce the weight of metal parts. Today, high-strength, lightweight thermoplastics can be used to replace metal components with virtually no difference in strength or dependability.
I want to share 6 types of injection molding technology：
1. Thin Wall Molding
Thin wall molding is an injection molding technology that achieves a plastic part with a very thin wall. It is often used in test apparatuses, electronics, vessels, tubes, and other enclosures. Plastic injection molders who do thin wall molding have to consider every aspect of the part design, mold design, and processing in detail to ensure that the thin wall geometry will hold up without quality issues. Here at Micron, we use a sophisticated vision system to examine each completed part to ensure that no cracks have appeared.
2. Gas-assisted Injection Molding
The trouble with any thick plastic injection-molded part is that it runs the risk of distortion as it cools. Gas-assisted injection molding helps solve this issue by shooting gas into a plastic material-filled injection mold. This allows the plastic on the outside of the mold to maintain a smooth and finished appearance while the inside stays porous or hollow. This not only keeps the part from deforming during the cooling stage, but also lessens the cost of the part (as you’re using less material).
3. Metal Injection Molding
Plastic isn’t the only thing that can be injection molded—metal can as well. This new technology is substantially more expensive than plastic injection molding and usually serves a niche market. The cell phone market, for example, sometimes uses metal injection molding to shield the cellular electronics from radio or microwaves.
4. Liquid Silicone Injection Molding
The majority of plastic injection molding is thermoset, meaning cold material is injected into an extremely hot mold to create a part. This process cures the part so it can never be melted again. But if you need a part to withstand very high temperatures or chemical agents—as you might with certain medical devices or car parts—you may need thermoplastic injection molding, which frequently uses liquid silicone.
5. 3D Printing
3D printing is a notable injection molding technology because of the role it plays in prototyping an injection molded part. Here at Micron, we create a 3D-printed prototype of a client’s part before we move the design to production. This allows us to discuss potential improvements in more depth than we could while reviewing an online rendering, for example. It’s also worth noting that 3D printing can be used to print actual injection molds using plastic or metal. Currently, the available 3D printing technology does not enable us to print with the narrow part tolerances required in an injection mold—but we imagine it may in the future.
6. Unique Material Formulations
While this isn’t a plastic injection “technology” in the traditional sense, the use of unique material formulations does advance molding capabilities. Injection molding companies may, for example, use a carbon or mineral filler, a blowing agent, and a lubricity additive to add certain properties to a part. For example, here at Micron, we have run 40% carbon-filled ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) to achieve a degree of electrical conductivity in a plastic stud or sensor. The temperature of the mold and the plastic material are both important when adding a filler, additive, and blowing agent, so we are constantly refining our process to achieve the best advantage for these unique materials.