Injection molding and compression molding are the most common ways to fabricate plastic. However, it is sometimes tough to decide what way to choose to manufacture plastic products. Injection molding vs compression molding have their pros and cons, and different types of products require different manufacturing methods. I have written this article to help you out in choosing the perfect method; compression molding or injection molding.
What is Injection Molding?
Injection molding is the most popular and easiest way to make your own plastics. Many companies and industries use this method to create plastic products.
Plastic molding manufacturing is very simple and straightforward. First of all, the resin plastic is melted and turned into a hot liquid. It is then added into a mold through an injection. There it cools down and solidifies into its final form. The result of injection molding is very neat, stable, and perfect. It does not need much aftercare. Injection molding is ideal for producing more complex products such as cones, automotive parts, plastic cups, belt buckles, and other components.
What is Compression Molding?
Compression Molding is also one of the most common plastic manufacturing process. This method has been used for several years and is still being used now. Many companies prefer compression molding to create their plastic products.
The process of compression molding is simple but time-consuming. Compression-molded products are obtained through adding heated plastic resin into a mold or cavity and then the mold is closed. It is then applied to heat and pressure which turns it into its final shape. We can say that compression molding is making a plastic product in a mold by applying heat and pressure.
The result of compression molding is always a high-quality and durable plastic product that can be used in various industries and companies.
The Pros and Cons of Injection Moulding
While there are many advantages if you go for injection molding, there are also some disadvantages that you might want to have a look at.
Below, I have listed the advantages and disadvantages of injection molding.
Advantages of Injection Molding
- The injection molding process is faster if compared to compression.
- Due to the process depending on mainly machines the labor cost is reduced.
- The design of the product produced by injection molding is known to be very flexible and durable.
- Once a quality mold shape is produced then the plastic products appear to be very similar in size and shape.
These were some of the advantages of injection molding.
Disadvantages of Injection Molding
- One of the main disadvantages of injection molding is that it may require a high initial cost that consists of tooling and machinery costs.
- If you want to make small runs of parts. It may be expensive.
- In injection molding, there are a few design restrictions.
These were the only disadvantages that came in my mind for injection molding.
The Pros and Cons of Compression Molding
Much like injection molding compression molding has its set of advantages and disadvantages towards custom manufacturing.
Advantages of Injection Molding
- Low cost and Simplicity – Compression Molding demands low cost and is very simple to do the process.
- Little waste – Less plastic waste is produced in compression molding when compared to other ways of manufacturing plastic.
These are some of the advantages of compression molding. Now let’s look at some of the disadvantages of compression molding.
Disadvantages of Compression Molding
- Time Consuming – Compression Molding takes a lot more time compared to Injection Molding and other processes because you manually need to finalize the manufactured product.
- Bad at complex shaping – It won’t be smart if you choose compression molding to make complex shapes. It works okay with less complex or box-like shapes.
Injection molding or Compression Molding: Which one should you choose?
Well, it’s mostly up to the product you need to design or manufacture. For example, if you don’t have enough money and you want to make a simple structure like a toolbox then you can look forward to compression molding.
On the other hand, if you can afford the high initial cost of injection molding and you have some complex shapes to manufacture then you should go for injection molding. Plus injection molding takes a lot less time compared to compression molding. The product design is very instrumental towards your choice and to get to know more about product design milestones then you can read this great article here.
Conclusion
In this article, we have compared injection molding vs compression molding. We have described each process’ pros and cons and the methods of each process. Lastly, I have written about what production method would be the most useful for you and which one should you go for. I hope that after reading the whole article you would have a better perspective on which method should you go for; Compression Molding or Injection Molding. You can also check out this plastic contract manufacturing analytics for more info on the plastic industry.
