Tips On Injection Mold Tailored for Rapid Prototyping
Injection mold is a standard production process for fabricating plastic parts. Creatingway has incorporated this process in the production of products of varying sizes, complexity, and applications. The injection molding process mainly involves a raw plastic material, an injection machine, and a mold. The plastic is melted inside the molding machine and then injected into the mold for cooling and solidification into the final desired product. Hence, we have perfected this process and can produce at a low cost and of very high quality, plastic molding products such as plastic housings.
In order to better understand the process, so, we have broken it down into describable subparts which include:
- Capabilities
- Process Cycle
- Equipment
- Tooling
- Possible Defects
Plastic production is dependent on different types of molding processes. These processes include injection molding, casting, blow molding, compression molding and rotational molding. Injection molding of plastic produces superior 3D prototypes that comply and satisfy our customer’s needs. It commences with the melting of plastic in a hopper. We push the molten plastic into a firmly closed, cooled mold. The client’s specifications often determine the shape, then it results in plastic formation.
What’s injection mold capabilities?
It varies according to the following aspects:
- Shapes – can be thin-walled:, cylindrical, cubic and complex
- Part size: envelope: 2-1500mm and weight: 1-5000g.
- Materials: Thermoplastics
- Maximum wall thickness :0.5-6.5mm
- Quantity: 1000- 1,000,000 or more
- Lead time: 15 days or months.
Advantages
- Excellent dimensional accuracy
- Low cost of labour
- Recyclable scrap
- High production rate
- Good surface finishing
Disadvantages
- Increase in lead time
- High equipment cost
- Limited mainly to thin-walled parts
What’s the processing cycle of injection molding?
Creatingway usually carries out this short process involving 4 significant steps:
- Clamping – The closing unit secures the two halves of the mold before the injection of material. We utilize a hydraulically powered clamping unit to push the molding halves together, which provides enough force for securing the mold while pushing in the material. Creatingway has specialized in this procedure for the best quality outcome.
- Injection –Pellet forms of the raw plastic material are fed into the injection molding machine during which the plastics are heated and pressurized to melt. Monitoring of this step is crucial, at Creatingway, we have perfected it. Variables monitored include amount injected called the shot, injection power, and pressure.
- Cooling – Molten plastic cools as soon as it encounters the interior of mold surfaces. Solidification occurs in the desired shape and specifications that our experts have carefully pre-set. Notably, some shrinkage occurs during cooling. Therefore, we have circumvented this problem through our trademark packing in the injection stage, allowing additional flowing of material into the mold. Proper cooling time has been further accurately estimated based on the thermodynamic characteristics and maximum wall thickness of the part.
- Ejection –The ejection system removes the cooled product through the rear part of the mold. The necessary amount of force applied in ejection is carefully monitored by our experts to avoid distortion of the product. So that our company takes further action for mold release such as polishing the surfaces of the mold cavity before material injection.
What’s the injection machines?
Creatingway’s production line utilizes state of the art injection molding machines, with varying configurations including horizontal and vertical. However, regardless of the design, the essential components comprise an injection unit, mold assembly, clamping unit, and a power source.
- Injection unit; its sole responsibility is to heat and inject material into the mold.
- Clamping unit; we use it to secure the two halves of the mold before injection of the molten plastic. So that It is followed by mounting of the mold on a stationary platen which, aligns it with the injection unit’s nozzle. The mold core is placed onto a movable plate that slides along tie bars.
What’s the injection machine Specifications?
Characterization of our injection molding machines is by the tonnage of the provided clamp force. Professionals at Creatingway have established that the projected area of mold parts and pressure of the injected material dictates the clamping force. Therefore, a larger part needs a larger clamping force. Other machine specifications taken into consideration include:
Platen size (ton):
- Babyplast – 6.6
- Powerline – 330
- Maxima – 1000
Shot capacity (oz):
- Babyplast – 0.13-0.50
- Powerline – 8-34
- Maxima – 413-1054
Platen size (in.):
- Babyblast – 2.95*2.95
- Powerline – 40.55*40.55
- Maxima – 122.0*106.3
What’s the Injection Mold material included?
Steel and aluminum are the custom tooling material used in our injection molding process. The mold has two halves, with the two main components being the mold cavity and the mold core. A space between the mold cavity and mold core is left and is filled with molten plastic to produce the desired part.
What’s the possible defects of injection mold?
Over the years, our company has identified common defects and their possible causes during the injection molding process.
- Ejector marks; Likely caused by short cooling time and a very high ejection force
- Poorly filled parts; Possibly caused by low shot volume and low flow rate of material
- Warping; Ideally caused by the non-uniform cooling rate.
- Bubbles; A widespread defect caused by high injection temperature, too much moisture in the material, a non-uniform cooling rate.
- Flash; Caused by high injection pressure and low clamp force.
Creatingway has perfected the art of injection molding through our standardized calibrations of the numerous variables involved in the process. Further research is underway to cater for possible arising defects and to enable improvement in our production line. Hence, for the best quality product, then without a doubt, we are the right company for you.
Creatingway is concentrated on CNC machining manufacturing, prototype machining, low-volume manufacturing, metal fabrication and parts finishing services, provide you the best support and services. ask us one inquire now.
Any questions or RFQ for metal& plastic technology and custom machining, welcome to contact us below
Call +86-0(755)-89492523 or send an inquiry to us
Welcome visit us, any metal and plastic design and machining questions, we are here to support you. Our services email address:
