Month: November 2016

What Is A Quality Injection Mould Maker

Klarm Mould

An injection mould maker is a machine for producing parts by injecting at high pressure, usually plastic material into a mould. The plastic used are thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers. Material for moulding is conveyed into a heated barrel where it is mixed and then injected into a mould cavity where it hardens by cooling into the shape of the mould. Mould makers may be made of steel, aluminium and are themselves made with extreme precision so that the desired parts are created to match the design. Vice versa, those parts are also designed so that they are well suited  for injection moulding. The adaptability of injection moulding lies in this breadth of design consideration and possibilities, of both the injection mould maker and the item to be moulded.

Quality Injection Mould Maker
Quality Injection Mould Maker

Injection moulding finds application in almost all manufactured items, from plastic bottles to car parts.

  • A quality injection mould maker (person) should support his customer right from the concept stage to the mass production stage. He should know what questions to ask and anticipate where he is going to face difficulties in the moulding process while the part is being designed
  • A quality injection mould maker should be complete and integrated and yet have a variety of systems for different applications.
  • It would by virtue of being a quality item, be assisted by robotic systems.
  • They should be environmentally friendly, and have energy and space saving features.
  • The manufacturers should offer technical support and systems for factory automation.
  • Water circuits in a mould maker should not be looped as this leads to warpage.
  • The quality mould maker (person) should be present at the design stage of the part to anticipate difficulties in mould making and design.
  • Use of 3D rapid prototyping from 3D computer models is useful in injection moulding eg. To design water cooling channels along the contour of the mould which improves the quality of the parts and improves cycle times.
  • An internal storage memory for 50 molds is available
  • Fault diagnosis with alarm messages is possible
  • The command control centre should be shielded against magnetic interference.
  • A weekly schedule should be incorporated.
  • A quality injection mould maker that is driven by an electric motor has the following advantages over a hydraulic moulding machine
  1. A significant energy reduction of 40% to 50% is possible by electric compared to a hydraulic injection mould
  2. Stabilization of the molding process is achieved by use of the servo motor in the injection process
  3. Noise generation level is much lower.
  4. Molding cycle can be shortened by using different motors for different stages of the moulding cycle and running them in parallel, like opening, closing, injection, ejection, and weighing
  5. Injection speed can be increased
  6. Since no oil is used, it is an environmentally cleaner process.
  7. A digital display is always welcome
  • They should be low maintenance
  • A two year warranty which covers the replacement and or repair of any part that has a manufacturing defect.

Injection mold makers in China are supplying plastic injection moulding machines all over the world, at very competitive rates. They are also setting up offices all over the world to serve their customers better.

Required Equipment To Make Automotive Molds

Klarm Mould

Plastic Injection molding is one of the most widely used techniques for making plastic automotive molds. This has been in use for many decades as it is a very versatile process and high quality results are obtained.

Automotive Molds
Automotive Molds

Fiberglass automotive molds are made differently where the resin is coated on the surface of the mold along with chopped strand matting of five layers, allowed to cure, dry and then polishing and waxing.

Plastic injection molding basically consists of injecting plastic material into a mold, first into a heated barrel and then into a mold, where it is mixed and heated and then forced into a mold cavity where it begins to cool and harden to take on the shape of the mold. Essentially, if the part is plastic, then it can be manufactured by plastic injection molding. The list of parts in the automotive industry made by plastic injection molding is almost endless.

  • General Instrumentation including the molding that holds it in place
  • Housings for electronic module controls
  • Radio controls
  • Plastic interior surfaces
  • Faceplates and lenses
  • Splash guards and other exterior automotive parts like panels, railings, doors, locking systems.
  • Fuel tank systems, electrical covers

The ideal injection molding system consists of injection molding and test facilities. The test facilities include physical and mechanical testing under a wide range of test conditions. Pilot plants are also tested before setting up automotive components injection molding installations.

A lot of sophisticated machining goes into making a mold which is made of highly durable chromium steel for plastic injection. Milling machines, CNC machines and EDM electrode machines are essential for creating a precision mold. This is in general. Aluminium and rubber molding machines are also made using different metals. Engraving of date – year and month stamp, logo etc. are also provided.

 

China Mould manufacturers

There are many mechanical components of a typical molding machine, like machine frames, toggle parts, clamping plates, etc., which may be manufactured separately by individual manufacturers and assembled together. In China, this is possible. But in Europe, they have to source such individual components from China, which is a time consuming and expensive proposition. The Chinese have the option of sourcing these parts from other manufacturers in their own country or manufacturing them within the company. Either way, they stand to benefit. They have a large market for their own molding machines.  Injection molding machines come with all the required features and at very competitive prices. It is said that only 5% of the 600 injection molding machine manufacturers are considered at par with European manufacturers.

Some of the auxiliary machinery required to make plastic automotive molds are:

Auto Loader- Hopper dryer – Crusher and mixer – Water chiller and cooling tower –Mold Temperature controller –Air compressor –Air filter

These are all highly precise, microprocessor enabled, robot assisted operating machinery which complements the working of an excellent injection molding machine.

Injection molding China has come a long way. In addition to improving their machinery and increasing the life of their plastic molding machinery, the companies have provided services centers in many countries of the world, close to their customer site, to provide on site assistance. China injection molding is the most widely used in the world, and serves many of the leading car manufacturers like Audi.