Latest Trends In Injection Molding

Injection Moldings or Molding is one of the prime processes for producing plastic articles. It's a fast process used to produce large numbers of identical items from disposable consumer goods to high precision engineering components. You must be wondering, what actually happens in injection molding? The plastic material, usually in the granular form is melted until it's soft enough to be injected under pressure to fill a mould. The outcome of the shape is exactly copied. The injection mould opens releasing the part, once the plastic moulding has cooled sufficiently to harden. This process of injection moulding then repeats.

The benefit of injection molding is, it ensures if it requires any work for the parts manufactured hardly after the production. The reason behind could be the parts may have more or less of a finished appearance, after the ejection from the injection molds. These days, plastic injection molding is an environment-friendly process. We can say, injection molding as a versatile process, that has made production of high and low cost plastic parts easy. Let's get to know some of the new technologies and advancements in the world of injection molding through this article.

A) Injection Using Foam

When the manufacturer wants to achieve high resistance and structural rigidity in the final product, this latest trend of injection molding is very important. Another benefit of using this method is it leads to thermal isolation and superior chemical resistance. This process of injection molding is mostly used in the manufacture of light vehicle panels.

B) Micro Injection Molding

Have you ever heard of the term micro molding? Well, it’s a frequently used buzzword in medical device manufacturing. Like some way, exactly what it sounds like, it's a practice of injection molding parts at a microscopic scale. It sometimes takes dimensions down to the micron level. However, micro molding is much more than that, and that's the reason why it's become so much in-demand.

These microscopic injection molded parts are essential, as other medical device technologies enable smaller and smaller assemblies, that are able to perform less and less invasively, incredible, lifesaving procedures. However, at such a tiny scale, a suitable micro molding vendor must not be able to mold parts. That's because the margin for error is nearly non-existent and must be able to analyze and measure part errors, tolerances and defects. Thus, in addition to the manufacturing capability, quality control and measurement tools in-house are the key for a micro molding provider. The advances in availability and equipment have made it much easier for suppliers to meet this need.

C) Injection Molding Using Gas

Nitrogen is the most commonly used gas in this injection molding process. With the assistance of pressure from gas, the plastic is injected into a mold in this process. As pressure from gas pushes plastic content, various parts of the mold get filled. To push melted plastic, pressure can be injected through a nozzle or into the cavity of the mold. The plastic industry has gained a lot of help by this pressure assisted molding because of its effectiveness.

D) Eco-Materials

For many manufacturers and entrepreneurs, sustainable materials can be a vital component and social concern. The ability of thermoplastic material to be easily reclaimed by re-integrating and melting any scrap has been seen as a worthy environmental benefit. Developing non or less plastic materials that produces less of a burden on the environment in their production, would be taken as a step further by materials manufacturers.

E) Multi-Component Method

More than one material with varying colors in the same mold is involved in this process. A mold with different shape, texture and color is advantageous because it leads to parts that have greater mechanical, chemical and thermal resistance. Different dyes or materials are combined to produce high-quality plastic parts. With this, you can improve the function and design of products cost effectively and automatically.

So far, these are the major technological advancements that have been seen in the world of injection molding. Over the time, with more ideas and thoughts being implemented into injection molding, the future definitely looks bright.