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Plastic Injection Molding Machine Process - How To Mold a Plastic PartThe Basic Injection Molding Process
The basic injection molding process, which is the process taking a polymer or generically a “plastic resin” from a solid state, heating it and changing it to a semi-liquid state, forming it into something, and cooling it back to a solid state. Injection molding is an extremely versatile and popular form of molding. Other processes include extrusion, thermoforming, and blow molding. This process can be used to create untold types of products including toys, everyday items we use, medical items, and car parts. It’s uses are almost limitless and are ever expanding day by day, as new technologies for both injection molding machines and engineered resins are developed and implemented.
But, that’s not why you are here visiting this page. We could spend all day discussing the different types or resins, their uses and applications, the various types of machines and their processes but we won’t at this time. I hope that you are here because you want to understand the basic injection molding process and how it works. Based on that, we are going to take a very simplistic approach to this process and keep everything very generic. You can get training through most of the injection molding machine manufacturers and it can often be done as onsite training vs. offsite, but if you choose to do onsite training, it is important that you can create an environment where the staff that is being trained, can do so uninterrupted by their normal daily tasks. I have seen many failed attempts at using onsite training because proper arrangements were not made to cover the personnel involved in the training, and interruptions rendered the training useless. If you are looking for a more advanced explanation of injection molding, you will need to take some classes, seminars, workshops, or other more advanced training in the area of injection molding. You would then learn about basic polymer chemistry all the way through advanced polymerization and processing conditions and much more. This is not intended to be an answer to all your problems, nor will it be 100% applicable to all equipment or processes, but it should give you something to start with. So with that in mind, off we go.
The basic injection molding machine is comprised of a few unique major components. The major components of an injection molding machine are: the feed hopper or hopper, the screw and barrel, the barrel heaters, the nozzle and nozzle tip, the platens, the tie bars, the clamp, or clamping mechanism (usually toggle type or hydraulic), the mold, and a whole lot of electronics, hydraulics, and/or servo motors and controls, to make it all do what it is designed for, over and over again. You also will have a number of external auxiliary equipment units, such as material dryers, mold heater or thermolators units for temperature control, hot runner controllers, valve gate controllers, and other items required for your unique processes.
Written by: WM8C, July 28th, 2006. Not for use without written permission
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