Injection Moulding
Among other 3D technologies our company offers batch or mass production of injection moulding parts via our trusted manufacturers offering guaranteed high quality of end-user components.
What is injection moulding
Injection moulding is one of the most cost-effective manufacturing ways to produce a part among a wide variety of materials with quality consistency by injecting molten material into a mould. It is also a process that offers the choice for colour selection and volume. In medium and high volumes (>1,000 parts) becomes the cheapest method compared to 3D printing, CNC machining and even vacuum casting. Injection moulded parts could have customised cosmetics, surface finishes and textures. Injection moulding materials included metals, glasses, elastomers and both thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers.
How does it work
Step 1
The process starts of the creation of the mould, which commonly is made of metal such as aluminium or steel. The mould will have to be precisely machined to absolutely match the geometry of the final product that is meant to produce.
Step 2
The material for the final part is fed into a heated barrel and mixed under the pressure of a helical screw while is been heated when inside the barrel and melts.
Step 3
The molten material (hot resin) then moves to the mould cavity where it cools and hardens obtaining the geometry of the mould. The cooling of the part is crucial and depends on many factors; it can be reduced substantially through the use of precisely designed cooling channels which will be responsible to circulate the water or oil from an external temperature controller
Tip
In injection moulding more than one material can be combined to produce one part and, in this case, it is called a two-shot mould. This technique can be used to add a soft texture to plastic components, add colouring to the manufactured part or even produce parts with different mechanical characteristics.
Moulds
The moulds made in aluminium alloy or stainless steel they may have simple or complicated geometries with multiple cavities. A mould with multiple cavities can potentially produce identical parts out of each cavity or can create parts of different shapes
Usually for high volume with tight geometric tolerances, the more durable stainless-steel moulds proven to be the reasonable choice. Aluminium moulds are good for smaller volumes with reduced geometrical accuracy. When plastic liquid enters into the mould, it cools and shrinks. The percentage of shrinkage is a function of the time, the size of the part and the resin been used in the manufacturing process. Although a part’s shrinkage is highly predictable, it mostly depends on size of the part as the variation gets proportionally bigger to the increase on the size of the part under injection moulding
Can we handle it?
Yes! 3DTechnologies4u has such a manufacturing trusted network that can handle large components as well as tiny parts, regardless the size of the order and geometry
3Dtechnologies4U offer injection moulding in the following range of materials:
| PEI : ULTEM1000, ULTEM2200, TLEM9085 | TPU : In customized shore hardness |
| POM : Acetal/Delrin | ABS : ABS Natural, Polylac PA-746 and more |
| PP : Profax 6323, Polypropylene Natural | HDPE : TAB CONTENT |
| PPA : High Performance Polyamide Natural | NYLON : Nylon 66, 13% GF Nylon 66, 15% GF Nylon 66, 33% GF Nylon 66, Nylon 46 |
| PPE : Noryl 265, PPE/PS Natural | PBT : Valox 357, 30% GF filled |
| PPS : PPS, PPS with 40% GF Natural | PC : Hylex P1025L, Polycarbonate – Clear, Polycarbonate – Translucent, filled by 10% GF, filled by 20% GF |
| PS : Styron 666D, Styron 498 Natural | PEEK : Victrex 450G |
| PVC : PVC |
Applicable Manufacturing Tolerance
Typical manufacturing tolerance in aluminium or stainless-steel moulds is 0.005" (0.127mm) unless a tighter tolerance is specified and requested by the customer.
| Part Size (mm) | Dimensional Commercial Tolerance (± mm) |
|---|---|
| 1 – 20 21 - 100 101 - 200 200 - 400 | 0.05 – 0.10 0.10 – 0.17 0.20 – 0.40 0.40 – 0.50 |
| Part Size (mm) | Straightness / Flatness (± mm) |
| 0 - 100 101 - 150 151 - 200 >200 | 0.15 – 0.35 0.20 – 1.00 0.35 – 1.50 0.60 – 1.60 |
| Dimension (mm) | Hole Diameter Tolerances (± mm) |
| 0 – 3.00 3.10 – 6.00 6.10 – 14.00 14.01 – 40.00 | 0.05 0.05 – 0.08 0.05 – 0.10 0.08 – 0.15 |
| Dimension (mm) | Concentricity / Ovality Tolerances (± mm |
| ≤100 101 - 400 | 0.13 – 0.23 0.17 – 0.30 |
If you don’t find the material you need, please contact us at [email protected] to discuss your product requirement and we will do our best to resource it.
On the guides section you can find a detailed design guide with bestpractices and design tips can to assist you in the design engineering process and to create complex shapes while:
High precision and repeatable
Fast speed
Uniform products
Wide range of materials
Reliable endurance
Large volume production
Some products made in injection moulding
