Plastic injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing large quantities of parts. It is most commonly used for large-scale bulk production of identical parts, generally in the tens of thousands or even millions.
One of the main advantages of plastic injection molding is the ability to scale up production significantly. Once the machine and molds are set up, the cost per unit product during the production process is very low. As more parts are produced, the cost also drops sharply.
Compared to traditional manufacturing processes, such as machining,plastic injection molding produces a low waste rate and can reduce the majority of the raw material or sheet material. The additive manufacturing process of 3D printing, which has a relatively lower waste rate, may be slightly higher. The waste plastic in injection production usually comes from the runners, gate locations, and any overflow from the part cavity.
Simply put, runners are channels that allow molten plastic to flow from the nozzle of the injection machine to the gate of the entire injection mold. It is separated from the mold itself. The runner is a channel system connected to the gate that guides the molten plastic into the cavity of the mold. After the injection mold is filled (usually only a few seconds), the entire molten plastic will cool, leaving solid plastic in the runner, gate, and cavity itself, and may overflow at the edge of the part (if the seal is poor).
Thermoplastic material is a recyclable material. Crush the runners/gates and any scrap parts. Then add these recycled materials to new raw materials in proportion. (Some performance characteristics of plastics will decrease with each molding). Recycled materials are used for low-quality parts that do not require high-performance characteristics.
Plastic injection molding is a highly repeatable process. That is, the second part produced will be identical to the first part. This is good for product consistency and component reliability in mass production.
The wall thickness distribution of the model can be precisely controlled by using injection molds, so that the wall thickness of the obtained container is relatively uniform, avoiding the thinning phenomenon that is easy to appear in the corner part of the general blow-molded product. The weight of the product can be controlled within ±0.1g, and the accuracy of the thread can be controlled within ±100μM. The size of the mouth is accurate, and the precision of the thin-necked product forming is high;
The products obtained by plastic injection molding do not require E-times processing, and there are no seams, saving the product's finishing time;
The molded blanks obtained by injection can all enter the blow-molded mold for blow molding, and there is no waste generated during the processing, reducing the waste of molding materials;
Smooth products with no scratches, clear surface text and patterns can be obtained;
It is economical for small-scale production;
Wide range of applicable plastic varieties;
High degree of automation, can produce multiple molds, high production efficiency.