What is an injection mold

Injection mold is a specialized tool used in injection molding process and an important foundation for industrial manufacturing. It is used to produce a large number of thermoplastic parts of the same model. Injection molding is an efficient manufacturing process that can quickly produce plastic parts with complex shapes. The following are the basic concepts and production processes of injection molds:

Mold design: Firstly, the mold needs to be designed according to the specific design requirements of the parts. Mold design takes into account factors such as the flow, cooling, and solidification of plastic, as well as the demolding of parts. A complex mold design may include multiple sliders, ejector pins, cooling channels, and other mechanical components.

Mold manufacturing: Once the design is completed, metal (usually steel or aluminum) is used to manufacture the mold body. This process may include various manufacturing methods such as rough machining, precision machining, electrical discharge machining, grinding, and polishing.

Injection molding: After the mold is manufactured and tested, it will be installed on the injection molding machine. The injection molding machine first heats and melts the plastic particles, and then injects the melted plastic into the cavity of the mold through high pressure.

Cooling and solidification: Inside the mold, the molten plastic will cool and solidify into its final shape. The cooling system of the mold will help accelerate this process.

Demolding: Once the plastic is completely cured, the mold will open, and the molded plastic part is usually pushed out of the mold using a ejector pin or other mechanical device. This process is called demolding.

Post processing: Plastic parts may require additional processing beyond injection molding, such as cutting, polishing, painting, or printing, as needed.

Injection molds are usually divided into two parts: moving molds (moving parts) and fixed molds (fixed parts). When the mold is closed, the two parts come together to form the shape of the part. Mold design should ensure a smooth demolding process to avoid damaging the product, and make it easy to produce a large number of identical parts accurately and repeatedly.

The design and manufacturing costs of injection molds are relatively high, but due to the short cycle time and high production capacity of injection molding, they are suitable for large-scale production, thereby achieving the amortization of mold costs. Injection molds are widely used in many industries such as consumer electronics, automobiles, household goods, packaging, medical equipment, etc.