Plastic Injection Mold Making has advanced significantly since its conception and popularization during the 1930s and 1940s. However, the basic process has not changed, regardless of the plastic mold maker you use. To successfully create a mold that will meet your needs, you will need to follow the following process steps:
- Review of standards and requirements
- Communication with the injection mold maker
- Design, including reviews
- Testing and prototyping
- Production and initial testing
- Mass Production
Communication and Design
You need to know what your requirements are for the mold so that you can communicate it to the engineers at the injection mold maker who will use the data you provide to create the design. Your team and the plastic mold makers will review and discuss the design. Once you are satisfied with the design, it is time to test the mold.
You will also need to decide what type of mold you would like to use:
- Hot runner molds
- Cold runner molds
- Stack molds
The plastic injection mold making process is slightly different for each of these mold types and each of these molds has their own pros and cons.
Testing and Prototyping
Typically, you will decide during the design process if you want to work with a prototype or if you want to start testing with the completed version. If you opt to have a completed version, there will be a shorter testing time as the design is meant to be correct from the start. Prototypes allow you to test the design using a mold that is typically made from cheaper materials to reduce the cost of having multiple versions.
Production
Once the final version of the mold has been verified, the mold will go into production. You will want to conduct a sampling on the first set of your product to ensure that it meets your requirements and standards before making the final purchase. The cost of sampling will vary based on if you use a foreign or domestic injection mold maker.
Topics: Injection Mold Making