When your project involves manufacturing components with precision, choosing the right method can affect everything including quality, design, product performance, costs and more. Injection moulding is a reliable and effective solution, especially for projects that involve producing high volumes of consistent parts. We’ve put this guide together to help explain why you should use injection moulding for your project as well as the main advantages and disadvantages.
Why Use Injection Moulding?
Injection moulding is a fantastic way to mass produce identical parts quickly, cost-effectively and with great accuracy. Moulding cycles only take seconds meaning manufacturers like Fern Plastics can rapidly create thousands of parts with a wide choice of polymers available that this process can support depending on the properties you’re looking for. If your project involves producing a component in high volumes while adhering to tight tolerances, injection moulding is the perfect manufacturing method.
Advantages of Injection Moulding
Here are some of the main benefits of injection moulding as a manufacturing process:
Cost Efficient
Since the machines used mostly run on automation, there isn’t a high level of human supervision needed which makes the process more cost efficient per part, especially for mass production. Despite creating the initial mould involving an upfront investment, the cost per component will typically decrease significantly as volume increases.
Quick
A high volume of components can be produced exceptionally quickly as a single moulding cycle typically only takes seconds to several minutes depending on how large/small or complex the part being produced is. Moulds that contain multiple cavities can create several parts per cycle.
Consistently Accurate
Injection moulding can produce highly complex and/or detailed designs with a great level of accuracy and consistency from one part to the next. When you’re working with an experienced injection moulding expert such as Fern Plastics, moulds are carefully designed to meet the specific requirements e.g. shapes, dimensions, surface details etc so that those can be replicated accurately throughout the production run.
Wide Choice of Materials
There’s quite a broad selection of thermoplastics that can be used for injection moulding which allows us to match the specifications and end use requirements to a suitable material. A wide range of requirements can be accommodated including properties such as strength, flexibility, heat resistance, chemical resistance, durability, etc. Different colours and textures that may be needed can also be incorporated into the design to achieve specific visual/functional requirements.
Minimal Waste
Injection moulding uses a controlled amount of material to fill each mould which means production waste is kept to a minimum with any excess material produced through runners, sprues, rejected parts etc. often being reused where the material and quality requirements allow.
Accommodates Complex Designs
Since molten material is injected directly into the mould under pressure, it can fill even the most narrow of spaces meaning injection moulding can reproduce very intricate shapes and tiny design features that are quite difficult to achieve using other production methods. This allows features like ribs, bosses, clips, lettering, detailed surface patterns etc to be directly incorporated into the mould design.
Minimal Finishing Required
Components produced using this method rarely need too much finishing or post-processing as colours, textures, branding and decorative details are all incorporated into the moulding process while the tooling can create various surfaces from smooth to textured.
Multiple Features in One Component
Injection moulding can allow several features or functions to be incorporated into the component e.g. clips, hinges, threads, mounting points, etc instead of being manufactured and attached separately. This can reduce the number of individual parts needed and can also help create a more efficient product design overall.
Disadvantages of Injection Moulding
When considering injection moulding for your project, it’s also important to be aware of some of the potential limitations, however most of those can be managed through careful planning and the support of experts:
Higher Initial Costs
Creating the bespoke tooling for injection moulding will require an initial investment, however the tooling cost is spread over every component produced meaning the cost per part actually becomes very competitive for larger volumes.
Initial Setup Can Be Longer
Before production begins the mould needs to be designed, manufactured and tested which can take some time however when you’re working with an experienced injection moulding company like Fern Plastics, this process is streamlined significantly. Experts will make sure the mould is designed correctly and identify any potential issues early on.
Not Ideal for Every Production Volume
Generally, you’ll be able to benefit from the greatest value of injection moulding when producing components at medium to high volumes. For more limited runs, choosing simpler tooling or using a multi-cavity mould to produce multiple parts during each cycle may be more economical.
Some Design Restrictions Apply
Despite supporting highly complex components, injection moulding requires designs to follow certain principles to make sure the part is able to correctly fill, cool and release from the mould. This could include features like consistent wall thicknesses, suitable draft angles and carefully positioned parting lines, etc. Expert injection moulding companies however can usually address these while preserving the part’s intended function and visual appearance.
Why Use Injection Moulding Services from Fern Plastics?
Fern Plastics is a leading plastic injection moulding company in the UK with over six decades of experience in the industry. We’ve worked with various sectors always ensuring components meet exact specifications in size, shape and material properties. We boast a vast stock of materials including sustainable options and collaborate closely with clients to deliver efficient results. Get in touch with our team today if you have any questions or to get started on your injection moulding project!