Injection moulding is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould. It’s a highly versatile and cost effective way of producing the likes of caps and plugs as well as medical, industrial and custom commercial components.

At Plastech, we’re known for delivering high quality and cost effective product solutions. We are well experienced in project management from design, protypes models, toolmaking and manufacturing the final product from our injection moulding process. But many business owners who are new to this area are keen to know how the process works. So, in this article, we’ll give you a step by step overview of how the plastic injection moulding process works.

Like it or not, plastic touches virtually every part of our lives

We take plastic for granted in our lives. From the milk carton on the breakfast table to the top on the toothpaste tube we use before bedtime, it touches most parts of our lives. For the majority of businesses, we deal with, plastics is not their core activity. That said, the parts we produce for them impact significantly on their success and profitability. That’s why an interest in the injection moulding process and how it works plays an important part in your business success.

Plastech Packaging & Healthcare Ltd offers a custom injection moulding service to a broad range of commercial market sectors including Packaging and Healthcare. Plastech has accumulated a comprehensive knowledge and expertise in the manufacture of low to high volume precision moulded components and is considered to be one of Scotland’s leading contract manufacturers. In addition we have been serving the medical device and pharmaceutical sector for over 35 years utilising our cleanroom facilities.

Here’s how the injection moulding process works

At the start of the process, material granules for the component part is fed via a hopper into a heated barrel with a frictional action. Once in the barrel, the materials are melted using heated bands and the frictional action of a reciprocating screw barrel. The movement of the barrel ensures a material consistency that is perfect for the injection process.

Once melted, the plastic is injected through a nozzle into a mould cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity. The cavity can be made to virtually any shape or dimension required by the customer. Our systems and way of working provides consistently high quality, convenience, flexibility and great prices for our many customers.

Find out more about our plastic injection moulding process and the products we manufacture.