Injection molding is a process that is designed for producing a large volume of parts. It is often used for mass production, when the same part is created thousands of times in a row. The Laszeray technology manufacturing process can help with customized injection molded components.
Advantages of Injection Molding
The main benefit of this process is the capacity to scale production. Once initial costs are paid, the price per unit during the process is low. The price will even drop more as more parts are produced. Injection molding also produces less scrap rates when compared to other manufacturing processes, such as CNC machining. There is some waste from injection molding when compared to other process, such as 3D printing, and the waste comes from the runners, the spruce, the gate locations, and any overflow material that could leak out of the part cavity. Another benefit of injection molding is that it is repeatable. The second part that you make will be basically identical to the fist. This is important when trying to produce part reliability and brand consistency with high volume production. Multiple materials can be used at the same time and the system can be used to produce very small parts, making it an option for manufacturing just about anything.
Disadvantages of Injection Molding
The two main disadvantages to injection molding are the large required lead time and high tooling costs. Tooling can be a project itself and is one phase of the entire process. Before you can produce an injected mold part, you have to design a prototype part then design a mold tool that can produce the replicas. The stages require extensive testing until you get to the injection mold. Since tools are made out of steel, it can be hard to make changes.
Considerations for Injection Molding
Before you begin the Laszeray technology manufacturing process for injection molding, there are a few things to consider.
Financial Considerations: The entry costs for injection molded manufacturing is large. It’s necessary to understand this up front because of the sizable investment that will need to be made. Figure out the number of parts at which this process becomes the best method in terms of cost for your manufacturing. You will also want to determine how many parts you will need to produce until you break even on your investment. This should also consider design, production, testing, marketing, assembly, distribution, and the price point for sales. You want to build in a conservative margin, in order to make sure that you are getting your money out of your initial investment.
Design Considerations: You want to design a mold tool that will prevent defects during production. You also want to minimize the number of parts early on.
Production Considerations: Minimizing cycle time can give you big savings when producing thousands of parts. Design your part to minimize assembly so you can save money on the cost of labor.