Mold changeover: Saving time and money
For any plastics process, there are short and long runs. This has an impact on the wear placed on molds.
An introduction to tooling
Whether parts are made by injection molding, blow molding, rotational molding, compression molding or thermoforming, some type of mold is used to make the part or product.
Injection molding is the biggest segment of the plastics industry. It uses a mold, which can be made of steel or aluminum and features cavities that will form the parts. Once heated resin is injected, the molten plastic fills the cavities and the rest of the mold. Once cooled, the parts are ejected by pins. Read More
How molds work
Injection molding is the biggest segment of the plastics industry, and is commonly used for both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a barrel where a reciprocating screw or ram injector mixes and forces the material into a mold cavity. For thermoplastic injection molding, which is the most common process, the part cools and hardens in the mold.
Molds: Innovation
Mold makers today strive to develop innovative solutions to make injection molded parts that are environmentally safe and cost less.
Mold inventory: How many molds does a shop have?
The number of molds on the floor of a shop can vary, depending on the size of the processor. For example, a small shop with a few injection molding machines could have a few select molds for customers.
Mold making: The people who change and work with molds
Today, the successful mold manufacturers will tend to be the larger shops with significant resources to support the cost of sales, customer-dictated payment schedules and increased demand from customers for more services. Most companies have changeover teams whose responsibility is changing and maintaining molds.
