“Injection moulding is a
manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting material into a mould.
Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials, including metals,
glasses, elastomers, confections, and most commonly thermoplastic and
thermosetting polymers. Material for the part is fed into a heated barrel,
mixed, and forced into a mould cavity where it cools and hardens to the
configuration of the cavity. After a product is designed, usually by an
industrial designer or an engineer, moulds are made by a mould-maker (or
toolmaker) from metal, usually either steel or aluminium, and
precision-machined to form the features of the desired part. Injection moulding
is widely used for manufacturing a variety of parts, from the smallest
components to entire body panels of cars.”
Plastic housing is one of the most
common finished products of injection moulding, used to produce thin-walled
plastic parts. Plastic housing is a thin-walled enclosure, many a time
demanding many ribs and bosses on the inside. These houses are used in an array
of products including household appliances, consumer electronics, power tools,
and as automotive dashboards. Injection moulding is also used to manufacture
valves and syringes that are used in the medical industry.
The moulding procedure is complex.
Hence, parts to be injection moulded needs to be designed with enough care
keeping into account, the substance used for the part, the desired shape and
features of the part, mould material and the various properties of the moulding
machine.
An interesting variety of injection
moulding is Compression Injection Moulding.
Compression Injection Moulding (CIM)
aims “to combine the high productivity of Conventional injection moulding
with the Stress-Free moulding obtained by Compression Moulding. It is well
suited for articles with a high Flow path/wall thickness ratio. It is possible
to mould articles on a lower Clamp tonnage than conventional Injection
moulding.”
If we investigate the past,
compression moulding would come out to be the initial grounds on which moulding
of plastics began to develop itself from. Most Thermosets are compression
moulded till date, though most thermoplastics are indeed injection moulded.
They are melt-processible, making it ideal for injection moulding.
The plastics industry, especially
injection moulding companies have witnessed an aggressive change in the
economics. With the automotive and electronics business eyeing the east and a
continual necessity to keep costs at check, it becomes imperative to better
operations within the industry. A possibility could be building a new profile
of potent customers in a new feasible market environment.
Let us talk about moulding in the
medical industry.
And why not? If one would like to
explore such avenues CEOs and CFOs must be ready to be able to make those
crucial decisions.
Medical Injection Moulding (MIM)
is a process that is much more than the field of just plastics. It has a
process that involves more than just a machine, mould or any other material.
Quality control capacities and operation-controls – these are aspects that just
cannot be compromised. An ISO system of checking or standardizing quality is
being followed and mostly that is at an ISO-13485 mark. This means that for
standing out to medical devices buyers, one would need such quality control
system compliant output.
Raw materials are significant too- a
thorough review of the material used that includes colourants, processing aids,
stabilizers, etc is mandatory. Maintaining records and bringing in a
lot control is another requirement. Cleanliness and hygiene again are crucial
in the medical industry. There are separate standards for these as well that
need to be maintained in production units. Design of the final output – can
either be a contribution chance or an impediment!
When it comes to technology, one
would want to look at hygiene, process control and automation, data
retention/control and other equipment that would contribute largely to the
total moulding, process.
In a nutshell, injection moulding can
well be “moulded” according to needs of the market and demand.
