Guide to Plastic injection Molding and Its Benefits
A process called injection molding is used for making most of the products we use today, particularly components of large products. How these products are done is through the use of mold cavities where molten materials are poured and solidified, and some examples of these products are ice trays, bottle caps, and bins.
Glass, metals and thermoplastics are the materials that can be used for injection molding. Below we will look at plastics and how this material is the best in terms of cost and recyclability.
The best and low cost alternative to metal, which is expensive, and glass, is plastic. Plastic is durable, rust-free and very tough considering that it is low in density. Producing complex shapes at a much lower cost than other materials is possible with thermoplastic. Its pliability allows it to take o almost any shape but hardens when cooled. In order to reduce brittleness when plastic is exposed to very cold temperatures, additives are added. Reheating the finished product will allow you to change the form of its shape.
If you have to make plastic products by hand, what could be the result? These products can come out misshapen and structurally weak objects. Injection molding helps to achieve design precision and maintain structural soundness. The process of injection molding has other benefits like the ones given below.
Minimizing or eliminating scrap is one of the benefits of using injection molding because the cavities can only contain the amount of plastic that is needed. You save money with this and you will have less problem with waste management.
If you have waste plastic then they can be used to form other important parts and components. The quality of this waste plastic is the same as with virgin plastic. There is a great minimization of waste.
Labor cost for using injection molding is a lot lower than what it would cost to mold plastic by hand. There is high productivity and the time taken to manufacture products is drastically cut down.
Injection molded plastics usually have very little or no defects. Sometimes there are defects in the resulting plastic product with the common defects being burrs, uneven layers, blisters, voids, and empty spaces on the surface. If the product is defaced then they are remade.
People think of plastic as bad because it is non-biodegradable but it is highly recyclable like plants can use discarded and unused plastic parts.
With injection molding there is a shorter finishing time because the process always takes care of most of the work. The cost of labor and time is reduced further.
The only solution where metal and glass cannot be used in certain applications is the use of plastic injection molded products. It is on a regular basis that plastics are used in industries like automotive, oil, gas, and electronics.
Source: http://www.succeedinginsmallbusiness.com/3-ways-to-take-the-pressure-off-you-as-a-small-business-owner/#.WFMOp6KLRE5