Q. What is a plastic injection molded product?
A. There are many processes used to make plastic products. Listed below are a few common plastic manufacturing processes:
•
Injection molding
Injection molding•Blow molding
Blow molding•Thermoforming
Thermoforming•Vacuum forming
Vacuum forming•Extrusion
Extrusion A typical plastic injection molded product is similar to your home phone or your hair dryer. It is plastic and somewhat thick. Size is important when considering plastic injection molding. Most parts are less than 20" x 20" if you look at their shadow.
Blow molding is a process used to make thin, usually hollow, products like bottles.
Thermoformed products are ususally thin and are formed from a heated, flat sheet of plastic. Some plastic yard toys are thermoformed.
Vacuum formed items are usually very thin and often disposable. Packaged cookies are often packaged in a vacuum formed tray.
Extrusion is used to form continuous shaped products like sheet or trim. A plastic window frame is often made of an extruded contoured plastic.
Q. Is plastic injection molding expensive?
A. Typically, plastic injection molded products are very inexpensive. However, a plastic injection mold is required to make the product. Plastic injection molds can be very expensive. The mold is typically custom-designed and built to meet the requirements of the product. Here are some considerations when defining the mold requirements:
•Type of plastic the part will be made of
Type of plastic the part will be made of•How many parts you want to make before it wears out
How many parts you want to make before it wears out•How large is the part
How large is the part•The budget for the cost of the molded plastic part
The budget for the cost of the molded plastic partCopyright 2010 New Phase Dev: Inventor Services. All Rights Reserved.
