iem - formerly Industrial Exchange and Mart

Injection moulding machines are machine tools used for producing parts out of thermoplastic or thermosetting plastics using the injection moulding manufacturing process. Also known as injection presses, the first injection moulding machine was patented by American inventor Jon Wesley Hyatt.

Ideal for producing high volumes of identical objects, injection moulding is the most commonly used process for manufacturing parts, and is used to produce a vast array of products for many different industries including packaging, bottle caps, automotive dashboards and body panels for cars, medical equipment, toys, plumbing supplies, musical instrument parts, one-piece chairs and many other plastic products available today.

Injection moulding involves firstly feeding either your thermoplastic or thermosetting plastic (in granular form) through a hopper into a heated barrel. As more material is added, the plastic granules are forced into a heated chamber by a screw-type plunger where the plastic is melted. The plunger then pushes the melted plastic through a nozzle and into the mould cavity via a gate and runner system. Once the cavity is filled, a certain amount of pressure is maintained (referred to as the holding pressure) to compensate for the shrinkage of the plastic as it cools down. The mould itself is kept cool throughout the process by pumping water through it to absorb heat transferred from the hot plastic, this ensures the plastic part cools down as quickly as is needed. When the part is sufficiently cool (and therefore sufficiently solid) the mould opens, and the part is ejected.

Although most injection moulding follows the process described above, there are many variations on the moulding process including;

∙ Co-injection (sandwich) moulding
∙ Fusible (lost, soluble) core injection moulding
∙ Gas-assisted moulding
∙ In-mould decoration and in mould lamination
∙ Injection-compression moulding
∙ Insert and outsert moulding
∙ Lamellar (microlayer) injection moulding
∙ Low-pressure injection moulding
∙ Metal injection moulding
∙ Microinjection moulding
∙ Microcellular moulding
∙ Multicomponent injection moulding
∙ Multiple live-feed injection moulding
∙ Multiple live-feed injection moulding
∙ Powder injection moulding
∙ Push-Pull injection moulding
∙ Reaction injection moulding
∙ Resin transfer moulding
∙ Rheomoulding
∙ Structural foam injection moulding
∙ Structural reaction injection moulding
∙ Thin-wall moulding
∙ Vibration gas injection moulding
∙ Water assisted injection moulding
∙ Rubber injection
∙ Injection moulding of liquid silicone rubber

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Injection Machines

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