Plastic injection molds are used for making all kinds of components for everything from aerospace to consumer electronics. The process can produce parts with holes, springs, threads, hinges and other finely defined uses. Sophisticated tooling can be rendered accurately to 100th of a millimeter. Parts can be as simple as a toothbrush or set of nails or as complex as a lipstick or laparoscopic surgical instrument.
Flawless Products
Whether flexible or rigid, small or large, objects made through a plastic injection mold are generally flawless. Injection molded products can also be textured, polished, plated or colored. The range and capability of the injection molding process is matchless. Customized machines of all sizes manufacture multiple products that we use on a daily basis and parts for use in specialized applications.
The Injection Molding Process
Integral to all industries, the injection molding process begins with heating thermoplastics to the temperature best suited for its application. Frictional heat and external heating bands convert dry materials into molten plastic. This is injected into a plastic injection mold at high speed, with pressure. Inside the mold, the molten plastic cools and solidifies to form the part. Depending on the scale and complexity of the part, the system is either highly automated or involves human interaction.
Accurate Plastic Injection Molds
Finely tuned measuring devices exist in the injection molding process, to form for example, a foam cup and its tightly-fitting plastic lid. Lego is another example of a precision product available in many colors, shapes and sizes and made purely with plastic injection molds. Today there is outstanding software that allows precise measurement of 3D objects. This technology is widely used in injection molding to measure surface and form profiles for enhanced accuracy.
Measurement Devices
Dimensions of injection molded components need to be precise to prevent faults from occurring when the part is in use. For example micro gear drives used extensively in motor vehicles and household appliances can be troublesome if not accurately made. Automatically identifying potential flaws and faults using specialized measuring devices allows for improvements to the part during the development process. The plastic injection molds created using these measurements can be optimized and corrected.
Inner Geometry
Highly sophisticated measuring devices detect the inner geometry of injection molded parts. Surface inspection can be performed in a non-destructive way. Components of every type can be measured in their full form through 360 degrees of rotation. By detecting typical component errors, plastic injection molds can ensure repeatability with remarkable accuracy. peek molding