The Process Of Mold Making: A Brief Guide

In today’s world, injection molding is an efficient way for plastic molding service providers to make solid and good stuff from plastic. This production method helps them make car parts, medical tools, gadgets, and more!

Although injection molding is complicated, you can always explore this production approach through DIY injection molds. All it takes is the right correct equipment and proper know-how of the mold-making process.

Don’t worry; as professionals working in this industry for decades, we have you covered with a detailed guide on making molds. Keep reading to learn all about it.

Phases of Injection Mold Making

Did you know? Injection molding is an excellent method plastic mold makers adopt for rapidly producing high-quality parts in large quantities on a lower budget.

You can start creating your own injection molded parts today with the correct tools and patience. Curious to know how it works? Let’s first explore the different phases involved in mold making for injection molding:

The Need to Design the Mold

Undeniably, designing a mold for injection molding is of utmost importance to create a quality and practical part. This is because the mold is the most expensive part of the process (also integral in this manufacturing process).

So, before designing the mold, consider the role and usage of dividing lines, runners, and gates to create the mold accordingly. If you don’t do this right, the part you make might not work, and you’ll have to start over with a new mold.

Understanding Mold 3D Mold Model for Mold Making

Creating an injection mold starts with a 3D model of what you want to make. This model helps make a mold like the opposite of the part you want to manufacture. You can think of it as a copy that is just not operational.

This mold then helps make a similar part, used to make the entire product you want to launch in the market. To do this, professionals fill the mold with melted plastic and let it cool down. This way, they can make all sorts of things like cups, glasses, and car parts.

The Need to Test the Mold

After making a mold, it’s essential to check if it works well. This ensures that the mold does what it’s supposed to and meets all your needs.

There are different ways to test your mold, and what you need will decide how you do it. Here are a couple of ways that are usually considered to test a mold:

• Pressure Test: Fill the mold with liquid and see how much pressure it can handle before breaking. This helps you figure out how strong your mold is.
• Making Prototypes: Create a sample part using the mold to check if it fits well. If it does, you’re good to go and can make more of the same parts.

DIY Injection Molding in 3 Easy Steps

Based on what the professionals at Prototool suggest for mold making, here’s a simple breakdown of the steps to make plastic parts using injection molding:

1. Design the Mold in CAD

The first step is creating a mold design using computer-aided design (CAD) software. This design determines the part’s appearance, construction, and features.

During this process, it’s essential to remember that the mold must withstand high pressure, heat, and frequent use, making accurate design crucial.

2. Create a 3D Mold

Now, use a 3D printer to bring your mold design to life. This printed mold is the final version that will be used. It ensures the quality of the end product. If you’re unsure how to do this, you can always consider online tutorials or 3D printing services.

3. Injection Molding the Plastic Parts

With the printed mold ready, it’s time to start injection molding. For this, molten plastic is injected into your designed mold cavity. Once inside, the plastic cools and solidifies. The final part is then taken out of the mold.

This process is repeated until you have the desired number of parts. Injection molding is a fast and efficient way to produce a large quantity of parts in a short time.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, every step of this elaborate mold-making journey blends art and science, from the initial concept to the finished product. In fact, the craft of mold makers combined with the cutting-edge technology of ABS plastic molding machines paves the door for innovation across manufacturing industries.

If you also want to take advantage of this industry by applying injection molding solutions, it’s time to test our DIY mold manufacturing technique and get that long-awaited to the market.