The Past, Present and Future of Plastic Injection Molding

Plastic injection molding takes liquid plastic and forms it into a mold to create custom plates, signs, branding elements and more. Plastic components are used in everyday life, manufacturing and more. If you’re curious about how the process came to be, there is a lot to learn about the past, present, and future.

Plastic Injection Molding History

Plastic injection began with chemists in the U.S. and Europe who experimented with plastic. They would use their hands to press the plastic into a mold with Parkesine. However, it was too flammable and bitter. An inventor named John Wesley Hyatt created mixtures for various objects but eventually mixed nitrocellulose, camphor and alcohol together and pressed it into a steel mold. He created a billiard ball made of plastic and shaped plastic injection molding for the future.

Plastic Injection Molding Today

The computer controls the equipment used in the plastic injection molding process. Manufacturers use steel or aluminum molds to produce plastic components that people use each day. The molding equipment injects plastic into the mold and cools it. Once cooled, the machine removes the parts. For the most part, manufacturers use injection screw presses, vertical and horizontal presses and hydraulic presses. The type of press used is determined by the pressure needed.

Plastic Injection Molding Future

People use products made from plastic injection molding every day. Technology continues to advance the plastic injection machinery. The future of injection molding may focus more on the mold components and mold themselves. They can make plastic molds out of carbon fiber, metal and epoxy to increase the output.

3D printing is also a sign of better things to come. 3D printing allows manufacturers to make a three-dimensional solid object using a digital model. Integrating 3D printing with plastic injection molding may create less of an expense.

Innovative minds want to see cornstarch-based plastic replacing petroleum-based plastic in the future. A future of biodegradable plastics could change the future. Many scientists continue to research polymers similarly to how they did initially. The possibilities for the future of plastic injection molding are bright.