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Midstate Mold & Engineering

Precision Plastic Injection Molders

plastic injection molding

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How Hot Runner Systems Operate in Plastic Injection Molding

An angular view inside the window of a plastic injection molding machine using a hot runner system with a key pad panel on the right side.

Nowadays, plastic injection molding is mostly performed in one of two ways: hot runner systems or cold runner systems. If you’ve worked with plastic injection molding before, you’re likely familiar with hot runner systems. However, you may not be familiar with how they operate or differ from cold runner injection molding systems. As a process that increases the cycle speed and decreases waste in plastic injection molding, it’s a very attractive means of creating high-quality plastic parts. To truly appreciate its diversity and efficiency, let’s discuss how hot runner systems operate in plastic injection molding.

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What is the Difference Between Overmolding and Insert Molding?

A screwdriver created via insert molding with a black and yellow handle next to screws on a wooden table.

Plastic injection molding embodies numerous subsets of versatile manufacturing processes. Two distinct methods of plastic fabrication include overmolding and insert molding, each offering its own advantages. Insert molding is the process of molding plastic over an entirely different material, and overmolding is a method that adds a layer of material over an existing part. Though, this is not where their differences end. Let’s take a more in-depth look at the difference between overmolding and insert molding.

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Thermoplastic Highlight: Polycarbonate for Injection Molding

Polycarbonate safety goggles, a yellow hard hat, and white cloth gloves on top of a wooden surface.

Plastic injection molding has the benefits of working with many different thermoplastics, each with its own unique characteristics. One of the most common types used in the industry is polycarbonate. You might have heard this plastic used in discussions about transparent roofing or in ads about luggage, headlights, and goggles. In products like these, the features of this transparent and resilient thermoplastic cannot be understated. Let’s discuss the details of polycarbonate for injection molding and whether it’s the right material for your next project.

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Steps to Earning the Best Plastic Injection Molding ROI

A laptop with pie and line charts on top of a desk with similar line and pie charts printed on paper strewn about.

Companies that utilize plastic injection molding must balance several factors of the manufacturing and sales process to determine the best opportunity to recover their investment and become profitable. While there’s no right investment and sales quantity that suits every business, the principles of achieving a high return on investment (ROI) are similar to most other manufacturing techniques. It takes some careful cost analysis to earn the best plastic injection ROI, so let’s review some of the basics.

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Achieving Success with Multi-Material Plastic Injection Molding

Multiple screw drivers lined up on a wooden table with the color scheme of a rainbow, meant to display multi-material plastic injection molding.

While thermoplastics have revolutionized manufacturing, companies sometimes need to incorporate other materials into their product design. That’s where multi-material injection molding comes into play. This versatile solution helps injection molding manufacturers produce complex components and parts while incorporating metals or other non-plastics into the final product. It’s the perfect way to simplify assembly and enhance product performance, but it requires the expertise of an experienced manufacturer. Let’s review how to achieve success with multi-material plastic injection molding.

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How to Prevent Flow and Knit Lines in Plastic Injection Molding

A black backpack buckle with a knit line down the center.

While plastic injection molding has made leaps and bounds over the years, it’s still not yet an exact science. There is a lot that can go wrong while getting your product ready for market. One such defect that can affect a part is flow and kit lines. Fortunately, by entrusting your project to an experienced manufacturer, some adjustments can be made to both the injection molding process and the tooling that can help avoid these defects. Let’s review some methods to prevent flow and knit lines in plastic injection molding.

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