What does the injection molding process include?

What does the injection molding process include?

Injection molding process refers to the melting of plastic raw materials into the injection molding machine, after a series of heating, pressure and cooling process steps, the process of manufacturing products in the mold. The following is introduced by the “Dongguan Yongchao plastic mold manufacturer”, I hope you have a better understanding of the injection molding process. (for reference only)

The injection molding process usually includes the following 7 stages:

(1), close the mold: In order to start injection molding, you first need to move the mold to the injection machine and make them correctly aligned and closed. In this process, the mold is powered by a hydraulic system.

(2), mold locking stage: Execute the mold locking procedure in the injection molding machine, and ensure that the mold is completely closed and locked. Once the mold is locked, other production steps can continue.

(3) Plastic injection stage: In this step, the injection molding machine will feed the plastic raw materials into the injection cavity, and the plastic will melt into the mold through the nozzle, filling the mold cavity until the part or product of the desired shape is formed.

(4) Pressure maintenance stage: After the parts are fully filled with the mold cavity, the injection molding machine exerts a certain pressure between the cylinder and the mold to ensure the appearance and performance quality of the parts.

(5), plastic cooling stage: After the pressure is fully maintained, the injection molding machine continues to apply pressure for a certain period of time (cooling time), and through the cooling system in the mold, the surface temperature of the part is rapidly reduced to below its initial hardening point to achieve plastic cooling and curing.

(6), the mold opening stage: when the injection molding machine has completed all the steps of manufacturing the product, the mold can be opened through the hydraulic system and the parts are pushed out of the mold.

(7) Parts shrinkage stage: when the parts are removed from the mold, they will come into contact with the air and begin to cool. At this time, due to the influence of plastic shrinkage, the size of the part may be slightly reduced, so the size of the part needs to be adjusted appropriately according to the design requirements.

To sum up, the injection molding process mainly includes closing the mold, locking stage, plastic injection stage, pressure holding stage, plastic cooling stage, mold opening stage and part shrinking stage.