Plastic Injection Molding is a manufacturing process that creates plastic parts by injecting heated material into a specific, often custom-made mold. Custom-designed molds mean custom-delivered products. Molds are made from specific designs, giving the customer maximum flexibility, control, and accuracy over the end product. The process can be used for various metals and even glasses. It is among the most highly effective methods for creating custom injection molded plastics. Plastic Injection Molding is an incredibly effective way to manufacture accurate plastic parts and components. It’s quick, saving you valuable production time. It’s accurate, meaning you waste fewer materials. And it’s consistent – you can count on receiving exactly what you ordered.
Fine-Parts offers production from clean, organized facilities totaling 16,000 square meter with 38 molding presses ranging from 80 to 400 tons. Our capabilities include: insert molding, overmolding, scientific molding, two-shot molding, cleanroom molding, and lens molding. Our expertise includes: small and large part molding, high-volume production, automation and robotics, and quality control programs and processes. We manufacture parts ranging from <1 g up to larger parts weighing 4 kg. We can provide rapid prototyping as well.
Key Plastic Injection Molding Differentiators
- Two-Shot Molding: for multi-material, multi-color, and multi-component possibilities
- Automation Processes: reducing production work with little to no finishing needed
- Allows for injection molding over existing components
- Use fillers for added strength (optional)
- Provides tight tolerance on small, intricate parts
Types of Plastic Injection Molding Services
- Tooling, Part Design, and Development
- Precision Injection Molding
- Thin Wall Molding
- Insert and Overmolding
- High-Temperature Molding
- Cleanroom Molding: ISO Class 8
- Prototyping
How Plastic Injection Molding Works
Once the mold prototype for your plastic molding job has been created, the production process gets underway.
6 Steps for Producing Plastic Injection Molding Parts
- Clamping the Mold
- Injecting Melted Plastic
- Dwelling Phase
- Cooling Phase
- Ejection
- Cleaning
Polymer resin pellets are fed into the machine down an auger into a heated cylinder. A combination of restricted flow and pressure creates heat that helps melt the polymer, preparing it for injection into the mold. The mold is held by clamps that maintain the exact pressure required throughout the process, ensuring that the molded product is finished to specifications. Clamping pressure exerted by the press can range from 80 tons to more than 400 tons. The next step, of course, is for the molten, melted plastic to get injected into the mold. To ensure that all of the cavities are filled with plastic, the injected plastic remains in the mold during the dwelling phase, and stays in the clamped mold to cool. Once cooled, it solidified and is ready to be ejected from the mold and cleaned of any excess plastic. Complete cycles range from 15 to 30 seconds.
We employ multi-tiered quality assurance steps throughout our manufacturing group. Total Quality Management is an overarching approach and principles like integrity, training, communication, and teamwork guide our operating procedures, and process instructions.
Value-Added Services
- Part Joining: adhesive bonding, heat staking
- Ultrasonic Welding
- Pad Printing
- Hot Stamping
- Silk-Screening
- EMI/RFI Shielding
- Supply Chain Management
- Packaging
- Full Contract Assembly and Testing
How Plastic Injection Molding Parts Increase Your Production Efficiencies
- Allows for high production output rates
- No waste—scrap can be ground and reused
- Fully automated—lower labor costs
- Quick—cycle times average 15-30 seconds
- Accurate
- Consistent
Key Attributes
- Custom-made designs ensure custom-made products
- Flexibility in material and color
- Able to replicate a high tolerance levels
- Detailed features and complex geometry
Markets Served
- Electronic Equipment
- Industrial
- Medical
- Defense
- Transportation
- Unique, Custom Applications
Multiple Engineering Resins and More
- Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCP)
- Polyphenylene Sulfides (PPS)
- Polysulfone
- Polyether Ketone (PEEK)
- ABS/PC Blends
- Polycarbonate, Acrylic
- Nylon
- Acetals
- Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE)
- High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
- Glass-, Carbon-, or Steel-Filled Materials
- Polypropylene, Polyethylene, Polystyrene, Polyurethanes, PVC, PVDF, PBT, Ultem™
Fine-Parts practices lean manufacturing principles, uses integrated quality management systems, and is ISO 9001:2008 certified.
Plastic Injection Molding is one of the many ways Fine-Parts can provide one source solutions for you. With 15 years of experience and valued partners, all leaders in the high-precision component manufacturing segment, we can easily deliver the customized parts and components best suited for you. Our experienced engineering team is ready to work with you to find the best one-source solution for your needs. Contact Fine-Parts to get the conversation started.