Prototype injection molding is a common manufacturing method for plastics. As the name says itself, prototype mold is specially designed for the rapid production of prototypes. This method came into being to produce economic and quick samples, prototypes, and small series. Prototype injection molding services are provided by many companies and you can reach them out easily.

WHAT IS RAPID INJECTION MOLDING?

When companies need to produce parts as rapidly, they use rapid injection molding. The parts produced in rapid injection molding are used for creating prototype parts for the design analysis. The parts produced with this method, are not used as a finished product but it can work as a bridge to production that produces parts for production while the production mold is being made or in process. Instead of being a primary production process, rapid injection molding is more of a research and development process.

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WHAT IS PROTOTYPE TOOLING?

Prototype tooling is an already common method in the injection molding industries and provides less cost tooling. A high number of parts allow for use of the production material. It is usually built with aluminum cores and cavities. There are several different options for prototype tooling, but tools and samples can be turned around in a few weeks. It can be the option for quick prototype builds if the parts are simple, tolerances are easy and loose, and functions are not critical. Prototype tooling somehow has limited ability for design or dimensional changes once the tooling is complete and sampled.

HOW DOES INJECTION MOLDING WORK?

Injection molding services are also done by many industries and follow the same procedure. Material granules for the part are inserted by a hopper into a heated barrel, melted through heater bands, and the frictional effect of a screw barrel. The plastic is then injected through a nozzle into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the desired configuration of the cavity. The mold tool is mounted on a moveable plate when the part is solidified, the platen opens and the part is taken out with the use of ejector pins. After the product is designed and finalized, molds are made from metal, from steel or aluminum, and precision machined to design the features of the desired part.

STEP BY STEP INJECTION MOLDING PROCESS

There are various stages in the injection molding process that are:

1. The mold closes: The injection molding cycle timer starts when the mold closes

2. Injection: The hot plastic is injected into the mold. As quickly as the melted plastic enters the mold, the dispersed air escapes through vents in the injection pins and through the part line. Gate, runner, and vent ensure the mold is properly filled.

3. Cooling: Once the mold is filled, the part is allowed to cool for the exact amount of time need to harden the material. Each and every mold is designed with internal cooling and heating lines where water is cycled through the mold to maintain a proper temperature.

4. Plastering the resin: While the part cools down the temperature, the barrel screw retracts and draws new plastic resin from the material hopper. The heater bands maintain the needed desired temperature for the type of resin that is being used.

5. Ejection: The mold opens and the ejector rod moves the ejector pins in a forwarding direction.

6. Removing runner and packaging: Periodically the machine operators or robots separate the usable parts from the leftover runner. The runner is the route that the plastic takes to fill the vacant mold cavity. The usable parts are then counted, weighed, and packaged for assembly and shipping.

HOW MUCH IS A PLASTIC INJECTION MOLD:

A small, cavity plastic injection mold usually costs between $1,000 and $5,000. Very large or complex molds may cost between $80,000 and more. So, according to a rough estimate, a typical mold costs $12,000.

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF INJECTION MOLD?

1. Feeding System

2. Number of Cavities

3. Mold Opening

If you are looking for high-precision plastic mold injection molding, call Ruiyi CNC Machining.