Injection Molding Magazine

Thermoplastic injection molding is the most widely used of all plastic processing methods. The injection molding machine reduces pelletized raw material and colorants into a hot liquid. This "melt" is forced into a cooled mold under tremendous pressure. After the material solidifies, the mold is unclamped and a finished part is ejected. Injection molding offers the lowest piece prices available, but tooling prices are generally the highest. Thermoset injection molding is similar to thermoplastic injection molding except that uncured thermoset resins are mixed, injected, and held in the mold until cured. As with thermoplastic molding, the price per piece can be low, but the tooling prices are generally very high.

High volume injection molding capabilities and precision tool makers in their China Factory allow us to provide quick-turn service on medium to high volume orders, where they build dedicated long-run production molds. The company specializes in high volume plastics injection molding custom plastics jobs. High-end second-op machining is also available. Their PVC and plastic injection molding factories in China manufacture very high quality products that are extremely cost effective. Their warehousing and distribution facility in Austin, Texas also allows them to service custom injection molding projects in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and other cities across the country very easily.

Cast kirksite cavities from SLA models can provide excellent rapid tools for prototype and bridge to production injection molding parts. Parts can be molded in two to three weeks in any thermoplastic production resin, this technology has been around for many years, but with the growth of stereolithography and the need for rapid turnaround of plastic parts in the correct production material, the kirksite approach has re-emerged. More complex parts can be made using handloads. Injection molding tapers are important and are best incorporated in the master file. One of the advantages of kirksite aluminum/zinc alloy moulds is the ease of making geometry modifications by either welding or adding inserts. Another main benefit is the ability to mold most materials.

The 2-shot injection molding process creates the first plastic component, and the material molded round it, using a single mold and a 2-shot injection molding machine. 2-shot machines have two-barrels (one for each material) and they have the ability to rotate the mold. The machine injects the first shot material into cavities on one side of the mold, rotates the mold 180 degrees, and then injects the second shot material onto the first shot. The first and second shots occur at the same time. When the mold opens, it ejects the completed parts from the second shot cavities and it rotates the mold to position the first shot for the second shot. This is accomplished in a machine running in an automatic cycle. Because the 2-shot injection molding process is fast and highly repeatable, the shrinkage of the first shot is very consistent and two materials can be molded together with virtually no flash. 2-shot molding is the process of choice when molded-in graphics or other fine details are required. The elimination of the shrinkage variable allows 2-shot molding to produce details impossible to achieve with over-mold injection molding.

The company not only runs the plastic parts on custom automotive plastic injection molding machines, they manufacture the tooling for these operations as well, and are able to provide automotive connector molding for many of their clients. This allows the company to provide very competitive pricing on large plastic parts manufactured in China for distribution anywhere in the world. The company is capable of producing custom automotive plastic injection molding products in all types of engineering grade resins requiring close-tolerance specifications with superior quality and aesthetics. They carry various CAD software programs to ensure we can assist you using most of today's programs.