Injection Mold Development
Would you like to have a mold developed for your injection molded product on a short term? Fleur Plastics can realize your mold within a few weeks! Read below how we translate your product concept into an end product.
Have an injection mold made? This is how we do it!
The first step to a great product is a good product drawing. This makes or breaks the entire process. With a solid product drawing in the hand, many of our customers are faced with the next challenge; making the mold that is used in the injection molding process. With the right mold, products are optimally strong and durable.
Adequate and targeted process
Step 1: Analysis of the product drawing
Before we start the production of your injection mold, we start by checking the product drawing. Is the product manufacturable and what possible problems do we foresee? A product drawing that is not fully applicable for injection molding can lead to imperfections in a product during production, such as combustion, depression or streaks on your product.
Step 2: Drawing to have the desired mold made
If the product drawing meets the various requirements to which it is subject, a drawing of the mold can be constructed. The mold contains the counterform of your products and will be injected with liquid plastic during the production process. The liquid plastic will then cool down to a form-retaining product, after which it is ejected from the mold and the process is repeated. Using analyses, we can predict the flow of heated plastic into the mold, and notice any problems with the flow before the production of your mold has even started. This often saves extensive costs in the production process, as an imperfect mold renders the mold useless.
Step 3: Optimization of the mold
All basic components are taken into account in the mold drawing. You can think of the mold cavities, location and geometry of the sprue, the partial seam of the mold on the product, the cooling channels and other technical components. These are often components that we recommend in consultation with you. This concerns, for example, the type of sprue, the possible heating of the sprue port, or all the details with which we can produce the product even better.
Step 4: Producing the mold
When the mold drawing fully meets your and our requirements, the production of the mold will be started. The costs for a mold can often be attributed to:
- Material: Most molds are made of steel or aluminum. Both have advantages and disadvantages. The steel mold, often made of hardened steel, is expensive, but on the other hand, they are able to withstand many cycles. The aluminum molds are often cheaper but less resistant to a high number of cycles. In addition, the aluminum molds are also less resistant to damage.
- Man-hours: These are the hours that are spent on processing the material. The mold is machined using conventional methods. In addition, molds are also often manufactured by means of spark machining. Here, a graphite or copper form of your product is eroded in the mold, the mold is not mechanically loaded and no heat is introduced into the mold.
When the mold is ready for production, it is extensively tested on one of our injection molding machines by means of a test injection. This way we can be sure that the products meet the product drawing and the wishes of our customers. Would you like more information about the possibilities of mold development? Fill in our contact form below to get in touch with us!
