Injection Molding
Need to quickly test out the market with low volume parts? Or want to create large quantities of production parts? Then you can’t go wrong with our injection molding services. At APL, we produce high-quality prototype moldings from aluminum molds in quick turnaround time. Our customers can test out their designs for manufacturability and functionality fast. We also offer plastic injection molding for your high-volume production needs.
Whether you need rapid tooling, mass production mold making or have end-use plastic molding requirements with tight tolerance, our team of experienced specialists can offer a cost-effective solution from each stage.
Injection Moulding
Our Advantage of Injection Molding
There are huge numbers of injection molding providers. Why should you choose us as your injection molding supplier? Here are the top 3 reasons:
1. Experienced Engineers
Our molding engineers has rich experience after handling thousands of projects, whatever type of parts they come across, they can get the right parameters immediately.
2. Advance Facilities
By using imported and the top brand local made injection molding machines, we are able to make the most precise moldings as well as great aspect.
3. Unlimited Capacities
Asides from our in house facilities, we have built up the strong networks with our partners. Full ranges of injection machines from 10 tons to 1000 tons are ready for your orders without suspension.
Our Molding Capabilities
At APL, our experienced team produces injection-molded products of the highest quality. We use injection molding in tandem with our rapid tooling capabilities, allowing us to create detailed custom parts quickly and efficiently. Our injection molding technology allows us to use a wide range of materials and finishes to suit the needs of any industry or application.
Here are some of the options you can choose from:
Materials
- Acetal polyoxymethylene (POM)
- Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
- Nylon 66 (PA66)
- Glass-filled, polyamide (PA-GF)
- High-density polyethylene (HDPE)
- Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
- Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)
- Polycarbonate (PC)
- Glass-filled polycarbonate (PC-GF)
- ABS polycarbonate (PC-ABS)
- Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
- Polymethyl methacrylate (acrylic) (PMMA)
- Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Polystyrene (PS)
- Polystyrene + polyphenyl ethers (PS-PPE)
- Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE)
- Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV)
Advantages of Injection Molding
Injection molding is an excellent option for the large-scale production of plastic parts and components. After all, there’s a reason why so many high-tech companies use it for producing parts all around the world. But what makes injection molding so popular?
Well, here are some of its biggest advantages:
- Efficiency: The mold injection process is highly efficient, allowing to produce large orders quickly.
- Superior detail: The high pressure of injection ensures that the melted material reaches every crevice of the mold before curing. This enables design engineers to incorporate complex geometrics and intricate elements into their designs.
- Affordability: Fast and efficient production ensures a low cost per part, while high production volumes produce further economies of scale. Aluminum, a cost-effective and readily available material, can be used for tools to control costs.
- High-volume production: Injection molding with steel molds can facilitate high-volume production of parts into the millions.
- High tensile strength: Injection-molded parts may be reinforced by adding fillers into the liquid resin, improving tensile strength.
- Ready-to-go finish: With the proper treatment, injection-molded parts come out of the mold with a smooth finish that requires no further refinement.
Finishing Options
- Polishing
- Pad printing
- Silk screening
- Custom color painting
- Laser finishing
- Heat staking
- Texture finishing
Our Injection Molding Process
At APL, we have a proven process for consistently delivering top-quality results for clients using injection molding technology.
First, we will go over your project and get to know what you aim to accomplish and the purpose of your part. We will listen to your insights and suggestions and offer our own advice based on our experience, as having a clear understanding of the possibilities is a crucial part of achieving the best results.
Then, we can begin the manufacturing process.
After we have selected the materials according to the required qualities, they will be mixed in a barrel where a reciprocating screw can melt the material and feed it into a split mold.
Then, the liquid material will be injected into a prototype mold cavity at high pressure, forcing it into all the cavities of the mold while it is still hot and only allowing it to solidify after it takes the shape of the mold.
If you’re happy with the results, the injection molding process makes it very easy to quickly produce industrial parts and components on a large scale. It’s also possible to manufacture products with multiple materials using our cutting-edge repeated injection methods.
The reason why so many companies decide to use injection molding is its effectiveness – the process wastes less material compared to other methods and allows to save time by reducing the number of steps that are necessary for production
Other Types of Injection Molding
Besides the basic injection molding services, we also offer two variants on the process – overmolding and insert molding. Both of these can be useful in specific situations.
Overmolding
Overmolding uses injection molding to create a part from multiple materials. This process adds an injection-molded layer of material over an existing injection-molded workpiece. The overmolding process produces chemically bonded parts made using multiple materials.
The overmolding method is often cheaper and more effective than other manufacturing approaches that require creating and assembling component material parts separately. The process can also be used to build layered parts from scratch or to add a resistant outer layer to existing plastic parts and tools, providing a more rugged exterior. Toothbrushes consisting of a solid plastic body and rubberized grip are a common example of an overmolded product.
Insert Molding
Insert molding is similar to overmolding, but the substrate is not necessarily plastic and does not have to be produced via injection molding. For example, insert molding can be used to add a plastic coating to a pre-fabricated metal part.
Common parts made by insert molding include sharp handheld tools, such as scalpels, which consist of a metal blade partially housed within a plastic handle. Insert molding is also frequently used to create products that incorporate bushings, clips, and fasteners
Plastic Injection Molding FAQ
What plastics can you use with injection molding?
Injection molding can use almost any type of plastic that can also be combined together. This unmatched versatility is what makes injection molding so popular and suitable for some of the most demanding industries in the world. You can check out our selection of available materials and finishes on this page.
What is the process behind injection molding?
The plastic pellets are melted and are then inserted in liquid form into the mold tool, where it cools and takes the required shape. The process allows for high precision and tight tolerances because it can be replicated exactly each time.
Why should I use injection molding?
Injection molding is one of the most affordable ways to manufacture large quantities of parts, especially for bigger production runs. Even though designing and creating the mold can take time, after that, the process becomes very affordable and efficient.
How quickly can you produce parts using injection molding?
Before production can begin, we will first need to design the injection mold tool. How long this takes will depend on the complexity of your project, but the usual timeline can be as short as a week and as long as a couple of months.
Start Your Injection Molding Project Today
APL provides injection molding services and prototyping at highly competitive prices. We offer a wide variety of available plastic resins, custom colors, and finishing options and we can deliver injection molding prototype parts in as little as 15 days. As part of our injection molding service, we use CAD/CAM part and mold design, design for manufacturability (DFM), and mold flow simulation. We offer overmolding, insert molding, unscrew molding, and mold trial reporting. For more information about our injection molding and prototyping capabilities, please contact APL today.
