5 Major Benefits of Plastic Injection Molding
Plastic injection mold manufacturing is a widely-used process that companies rely heavily on in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets. The process involves turning molten plastic into a finished part. As a manufacturing process, plastic injection molding provides several advantages to companies looking to produce robust, durable, and dependable products. Here are five of the most significant benefits:
1. Cost-Effectiveness
Injection molding is a cost-effective manufacturing process that can produce a large volume of products per hour or day. Initial costs cover the mold or cavity the plastic will be molded from in addition to the initial setup of the molding process. The next expense includes the plastic resin. Various resins and colors can be used alongside different molding parameters to produce your desired part.
Once these initial costs are covered, production is entirely automated. Single cavity molded components don’t require labor for assembly. The molding machine will run continuously until the production run is complete, further driving down the costs for each molded part. Finally, plastic molding produces very little waste, so material costs are lower.
2. Consistency
All manufacturers need to be able to quickly produce high-quality components with minimal defects and dimensional inaccuracies. Unfortunately, manual labor processes always include human error, which do lead to defects or out-of-tolerance finished goods. However, neither of these is a concern when using plastic molding.
With plastic mold manufacturing, you’re producing the same high-precision component every time. The molded part comes from the cavity’s design. This means plastic injection molding can make high-volume production runs with detail and accuracy that rivals any other process.
3. Versatility
Similar to repeatability, many manufacturers must also be capable of quickly producing a wide range of components.
WIth plastic injection molding, there is no shortage of materials, colors, processes, or finishes that can be used. It’s a process that can be used to produce all types of components.
Companies can use single-cavity molding to produce stand-alone finished goods or dual-cavity molding to produce more complex products. In fact, with injection molding, companies can make multi-colored products with a much shorter lead time than most manual labor and assembly processes.
4. Efficiency
As previously mentioned, plastic injection molding gives manufacturers the ability to quickly and consistently produce a large number of simple to complex components. This ability makes it a highly efficient manufacturing process.
Most injection-molded components are lightweight, so transportation, handling, and storage costs are low. Aside from the high volume of parts produced within an hour or day, the cycle times to make those parts are extremely low and measured in seconds instead of minutes or hours.
5. Sustainability
Lastly, with plastic molding, the amount of waste produced is extremely low. Typically, only one operator is needed on a given molding machine, and some molded parts can be made from recycled plastic or resins. This helps to reduce costs while being a favorite choice for environmentally-conscious enterprises. Additionally, automated production and rapid prototyping ensure that companies have access to finished parts and prototypes with minimal lead times.
Are There Any Challenges to Consider?
The run size is probably the biggest injection molding challenge to overcome. Companies must cover the cost of the resin, cavity design, initial setup, and product run. This means small run sizes can have higher-than-normal prices when compared to large production volumes. Companies should weigh the additional costs for small production runs against the benefit of having parts delivered with a shorter lead time.
Several businesses prefer working prototypes on hand and will therefore choose to move forward on smaller runs regardless of the extra costs. For these enterprises, it’s a question of time; prototypes made from plastic molding have much shorter lead times when compared to other manufacturing processes. Getting working prototypes faster helps to reduce the product’s overall time to market.
Let Silver Basis Engineering Handle Your Next Plastic Injection Molding Project
With over 511 patents and 20 National Fine Model Awards, Silver Basis Engineering is recognized as an innovator, designer, and manufacturer of cutting-edge molded components, subcomponents, assemblies, and finished goods. Our global footprint allows us to service any requirement at any time. We have developed an unsurpassed reputation within the automotive and industrial markets for performance, speed of response, and on-time delivery.If you have questions about plastic injection molding or would like to request a project consultation, contact us today.