You have many options for producing plastic products. The chosen manufacturing process depends on the quantity needed, the product geometry, and your budget. For many, injection molding is the preferred method. This post will cover all of these plus the advantages of injection molding.
Volume and Injection Molding
Because of the tooling cost, it is often thought that injection molding requires high volumes to make it cost-effective. However, Quickparts has options for low volumes, opening up injection molding to those who otherwise would have to rely on other manufacturing methods.
No matter the volume needed, Quickparts has an injection molding tooling solution to meet your needs. For low-volume parts, we offer tooling for Quick Molded Parts (250 Parts) and Prototype tooling (2,500 -10,000 parts). While there are some limitations to the tooling compared to production tooling, it provides an economical solution for many.
High-volume production tooling is used for parts volumes of over 10,000. This durable stainless steel tooling allows for more complex geometries and produces parts with high precision and accuracy.
Part Geometry
Part geometry is dependent on the tooling. Lower volume Quick Molded Parts have less flexibility in terms of design complexity. This is because the benefit of this type of molding is its rapid development. The more complex a part is, the more robust the mold material must be and the longer it takes to manufacture.
Prototyping and production tooling have fewer geometry limitations. However, prototype products are usually limited to about 20x20x4 inches, while production parts can be as large as approximately 60x40x14 inches. In addition, advanced manufacturing processes, such as overmolding and inserting molding, are possible, providing greater flexibility in design.
Budget Considerations
Injection molding tooling can be a considerable amount of your budget, but there are options that make it much more affordable. Quick Molded Parts tooling is aluminum, a lower-cost material than steel, making it an affordable way to get into injection molding when testing a small number of small parts. Prototype tooling uses a unique insert system. The high-grade aluminum insert is owned by the customer and is used with our stainless steel base. Since you don’t have to pay for complete tooling, you save money.
Advantages of Injection Molding
Each level of injection molding has unique advantages, but overall, injection molding provides many benefits that make it a highly regarded production method. Here are some of the advantages of injection molding.
- Efficiency – Injection molding is a highly efficient manufacturing process. Quick Molded Parts and prototype parts ship within weeks of starting a program.
- Detailed and Complex Geometries – With proper tooling and processes, injection molding can create complex products, including parts with textures, undercuts, multiple materials, or inserts, which can be difficult to accomplish with other methods.
- Precision and Consistency: Injection molding provides precise and consistent results, making it ideal for producing complex shapes and tight tolerances.
- Material Variety: Injection molding can be used with a wide range of plastic materials, each offering different properties like flexibility, durability, and resistance to chemicals or heat.
- Reduced Waste: The process minimizes material waste because excess plastic can often be recycled and reused for future production runs.
- Scalability: The scalable process allows manufacturers to produce small runs or high-volume orders, adapting to changing demands efficiently.
Quickparts For Your Injection Molding Needs
Quickparts specializes in providing advanced injection molding services, offering solutions for both low-volume and full-scale production. Our capabilities include traditional plastic injection molding, overmolding, and insert molding, which allows for multi-material components with enhanced properties. With a focus on delivering precise, high-quality parts and fast turnaround times, we are committed to meeting your injection molding needs.
Contact us for a quote.