Contents
- What is Short Run Injection Molding?
- What is Short Run Injection Molding?
- When to Choose Short Run Injection Molding?
- What Can You Produce with Short Run Injection Molding?
- Consumer Goods Production
- Food Containers Production
- Telephone Parts Production
- Benefits and Disadvantages of Short Run Injection Molding
- Benefits
- Disadvantages
- Plastic Injection Mold and Short Run Injection Molding
What is Short Run Injection Molding?
Featuring not just high production quality but also amazing scalability, injection molding is one of the most popular methods of production for manufacturing businesses. It is used extensively in industries such as car manufacturing and consumer goods, as a result.
Because injection molding is such a highly scalable method of production, you will find it at different factories, from large to small. Short run injection molding is a sub-type of injection molding that is used in mostly small-scale production facilities, which enables you to cut down on costs without compromising quality.
What is Short Run Injection Molding?
Short run injection molding is a method of injection molding that goes well with small and medium businesses. In this method, instead of using a high-grade plastic mold or metal mold, engineers would use inexpensive metal molds. The rest of the process happens the same as any injection molding project.
Even though a short run injection molding project uses inexpensive molds for their processes, it does not mean that the end products will be of bad quality. The quality of the end product is still going to be high, provided that the parts are simple parts only.
When to Choose Short Run Injection Molding?
Short run injection molding is a particularly effective production method for short production runs, as it does not require a lot of initial costs. For example, if you are a small business with limited cash, this method of production could be the best choice for you. If you wish to manufacture items only on a small scale, short run injection molding is definitely a good option.
One thing to take note of: You can actually scale up production after your small production run. Because injection molding is such a highly scalable method of production, you simply need to replace a few steps in the process to scale up production. For example, you could replace the inexpensive mold with a reliable plastic mold to improve resilience. The possibilities are endless!
In recent years, the popularity of short run injection molding has been increasing rapidly, as the injection molding market share in North America is predicted to increase exponentially, bringing with it plenty of new opportunities.
What Can You Produce with Short Run Injection Molding?
Short run injection molding is generally quite effective for creating small and uncomplicated parts. It is not often used for complicated parts, as the molds cannot accommodate intricate designs with lots of complexities.
Consumer Goods Production
Consumer goods such as bottles and boxes are cheap items that can be produced by a short run injection molding production line. These items do not need to be complicated by design, but they do need to be produced in bulk. Thus, short run injection molding is the perfect choice for this type of good.
Food Containers Production
Food containers are very simple items with uncomplicated shapes. They don’t need a complicated design with lots of compartments. For this reason, short run injection molding also works with them like a charm. If you need to scale up the production, changing the mold will help speed up the conversion process considerably.
Telephone Parts Production
Though telephone parts are quite complicated parts, they are not too complicated for short run injection molding. Manufacturing telephone parts through short run injection molding will enable you to cut down on costs easily while maintaining a good profit margin.
Benefits and Disadvantages of Short Run Injection Molding
Short run injection molding is a great place to start if you are looking to build up a small production line or to produce uncomplicated items. It is, however, not a miracle, as there are still some glaring issues you have to take into account before taking on this method of production.
Benefits
Short run injection molding is much easier to set up than a full-scale injection molding production line. The most important part of any injection molding manufacturing line is the mold. By using inexpensive metal molds instead of state-of-the-art plastic molds, you will be able to cut down on production costs with ease.
Short run injection molding is also a good way to do some test runs before committing to a product. Because it is easy to set up a short run injection molding production line, you can create a test line to make some tweaks first before starting the official one.
Disadvantages
The most glaring disadvantage for short run injection molding is its inability to accept more complicated designs. The metal molds used by this type of process is not flexible enough for parts that have cavities or different shapes. As a result, you are stuck with producing simple parts until you can scale up your production and get high-quality plastic molds.
Another common issue is the reliability of the mold itself. As it is usually made from inexpensive metals, the mold cannot be reused regularly as high-quality molds can. As a result, you cannot produce parts for a long period of time. If you are looking for a long-term solution, getting high-quality plastic injection molds is the solution.
Plastic Injection Mold and Short Run Injection Molding
High-quality plastic injection molds do not degrade after repeated use. These molds can take on more complicated designs as well, provided that you let the experts handle this step of the process. When you have made up your mind to scale up your production and take on more ambitious orders, plastic injection molds are the answer you have been looking for!
Short run injection molding is a type of injection molding that provides short-term benefits rather than long-term reliability. In this method, engineers will use inexpensive molds instead of expensive plastic injection molds. The quality of the product is still the same, but the initial costs will be much lower.
Short run injection molding is the perfect choice for small businesses, but if you are looking to scale up production to match the increasing demand, it is better to go for plastic injection molds that will offer much more benefits in the long run.
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