the Plastic Injection Molding Machine and the Insert Injection Molding Process

THE MACHINE

Plas’ basic machine, the V35, provides a 1 to 5-ounce injection capacity for a wide variety of plastic materials. This self-contained, hydraulically operated machine needs grounded electrical power, hydraulic fluid, and coolant connections to operate. A mold and material are needed to produce parts.

Connectors – Grommets – Strain Reliefs – Plugs

THE PROCESS

Have you ever looked at the end of a wire and found one of these? Where do they come from? How were they manufactured? Does it take high-level personnel to set up and run the process? The answers to these questions might amaze you!

The “magical” process that makes connectors, grommets, strain reliefs, and plugs are called INSERT MOLDING, a special niche of injection molding. In the simplest sense, insert molding is done on an injection molding where you mold plastic around an object that has been placed in a mold. The final product is determined by the shape of the mold and what is placed inside the mold.

A good example of a part manufactured on an insert molding machine is a Sub D Connector. When this part is insert molded, the terminal-contact housing is placed into a mold; the plastic is then molded around it, forming the body of the connector and the cord restraint. The whole part is sealed hermetically, and the cord restraint is fused to the outer jacket of the wire. The result is a superior product with only two parts, (1) A Terminal Contact Housing and (2) A Molded Connector Body.

Sub D Connectors, of course, are not the only insert molded parts. Common products are connectors with terminated ends, inserted grommets molded around inserted wires, antennas with coils as inserts, solenoid with winding as inserts, switches with contacts as inserts, sensors with circuit boards as inserts, and sockets with terminals as inserts. Your customer probably has a list of products he needs to have molded!

A listing of insert molding parts would be endless. Many mechanical, medical, and decorative parts would be included in this list. For example, you probably are standing on insert molded shoe soles, and you brush your teeth every morning with an insert molded toothbrush.

So, you have decided to add insert molding to your production capabilities rather than subcontracting that work to other companies. Maybe, you need to increase your molding production because of increased orders.

The obvious question:
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO START MAKING PARTS?

(1) An Injection Molding Machine,
(2) The Mold or Tooling,
(3) Material or Plastic,
(4) An Operator,
(5) Inserts, and
(6) Accessory Equipment.

At first glance, this may seem overwhelming but take one step at a time, you can increase your profits by adding insert molding.

Possibly, you have an order pending and are already molding parts. Then, increase your sales and profits by increasing your molding capabilities.

INCREASE YOUR PROFITS
BY INCREASING YOUR MOLDING CAPABILITIES