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Advantages And Factors To Consider When Using Thermoplastic Injection Molding

Ontario Thermoplastic Injection Molding

Thermoplastic injection molding has come a long way. John Wesley Hyatt invented the first patented plastic injection mold in 1868. He created it to mold billiard balls. In 1946, James Hendry built the first screw injection molding machine. And there have been many advances since then, but fundamentally all modern molds are based on this model.

Although thermoplastic injection molding began with the humble billiard ball, thermoplastic injection molding can now create anything from cell phone covers, to medical devices, to automobile and airplane parts. The sky is, quite literally, the limit. Thermoplastic injection molding has made incredible advances in the last century, but there are still distinct advantages and possible considerations to using this manufacturing method. Determining whether thermoplastic injection molding is right for your project is an important decision that requires careful consideration. Here are some of the advantages and factors to consider when using thermoplastic injection molding for your next manufacturing project.

Advantages Of Choosing Thermoplastic Injection Molding

Here are some of the major advantages of choosing thermoplastic injection molding for your project:

  • 1. A Variety Of Surface Finishes:

    Thermoplastic injection molding offers a variety of resin in various finishes. This process can produce a smooth surface finish to a rough or pebbled texture, based on need and preference.

  • 2. A More Accurate Part:

    Your trusted contract manufacturer can create thermoplastic molded parts with pinpoint accuracy. Tooling a class 105 mold creates a prototype that is closer to the original part, which makes the testing process more accurate. It can also create several copies, which allows for multiple testing. 3D printers can create prototypes without a mold, but not only is each build as costly as the next, but it is also more difficult to create an accurate, testable part.

  • 3. Production Speed:

    If a mold already exists, a reputable contract manufacturer can turn around an injection molding job in a few days. Once a mold is prototyped and tooled, thermoplastic molding is the fastest and most efficient way to manufacture parts.

Factors To Consider

Here are some of the factors to consider when choosing thermoplastic injection molding for your manufacturing project:

  • 1. The Cost Of Tooling:

    Cost is the biggest drawback to using thermoplastic injection molding. The upfront cost of tooling a mold can be expensive, however once a mold is tooled, especially if it’s class 101 or 102, it can last for 500,000 cycles or more.

  • 2. Slower Prototype Process:

    It’s true, when a class 101 mold is cast, it can run a million cycles, maybe more. This makes for fast, relatively inexpensive manufacturing. However, tooling and perfecting a prototype mold can take some time. Although creating a class 105 prototype mold is the most accurate way to produce a part, as we mentioned earlier, companies often turn to 3-D printing to create a prototype. This can take hours, as opposed to the days involved in perfecting and tooling a class 105 prototype mold and then running a short cycle to produce the prototype parts. But again, like we mentioned above, spending the time to tool and perfect a class 105 prototype mold does produce a more accurate prototype.

  • 3. Trust In Your Contract Manufacturer:

    It’s important to establish trust with your contract manufacturer, because they will be both manufacturing and shipping your product. Make sure there is clear communication between your company and your contract manufacturer. Check credentials and testimonials to determine how they interact with other companies and clients.

Trust Baytech For All Of Your Thermoplastic Injection Molding Needs

Baytech Plastics, your thermoplastic injection molding specialists, will guide you through the process of prototyping and tooling your molds and ultimately producing a superior part, whether you’re manufacturing billiard balls or airplane parts. Contact us, we’re here for all of your thermoplastic molding needs.