Go to any store, office or home and you will find a wide variety of items created from plastic. Of course, there are many different types of plastics and many different ways to create products made of plastic. Here are some different methods that are used to process plastic and some examples of the products created by each method.
Injection molding is one of type of processing, and in this process plastic is heated and then injected into a mold. Injection molding also can be used to create products out of metal or glass, although the use of thermoplastic granules is the most common. Thermoplastic comes in many varieties, and in general, refers to a type of plastic that can be melted and molded and then returned to the original state when cooled. Injection molding is one way to process thermoplastics, and while the finished product generally is of a high quality, this method is quite expensive and many companies prefer to use thermoforming instead.
Thousands of items are created each day using a process known as thermoforming, and it has some similarities to injection molding. Instead of using granules of plastic, this is a procedure where plastic sheets are heated and then formed into a specific shape. A mold of the product or package is created, and then the heated plastic is fitted inside and the excess plastic is trimmed away. Thermoforming companies produce products for virtually every industry, including food companies, retail companies, electronics manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and agricultural companies.
This is the basic process, but there is certainly more to the story. For one thing, there are different types of thermoforming. Vacuum forming is fairly easy to understand. The plastic sheet is heated until it reaches the ideal level of pliability then it is placed on top of the mold and vacuum is used to draw the plastic until the mold.
When you have smaller items or highly detailed products, such as items with printing or sharp edges, you need a bit more precision, so you probably should opt for pressure forming. Pressure forming is an excellent option because it provides a high level of quality with a lower cost than injection molding. With this process, vacuum is used to draw in the plastic, but this plastic also is pressed from above to ensure that the thermoplastic fits snugly into the mold.
When looking for a company to produce your plastic products, look for one that can help you with all the details, providing a total solution that includes everything from development to production to quality control and much more. Keep in mind that the costs for production have many variables, including the amount of items that are being produced as well as the type of thermoplastic that is used during production.
Injection molding is one of type of processing, and in this process plastic is heated and then injected into a mold. Injection molding also can be used to create products out of metal or glass, although the use of thermoplastic granules is the most common. Thermoplastic comes in many varieties, and in general, refers to a type of plastic that can be melted and molded and then returned to the original state when cooled. Injection molding is one way to process thermoplastics, and while the finished product generally is of a high quality, this method is quite expensive and many companies prefer to use thermoforming instead.
Thousands of items are created each day using a process known as thermoforming, and it has some similarities to injection molding. Instead of using granules of plastic, this is a procedure where plastic sheets are heated and then formed into a specific shape. A mold of the product or package is created, and then the heated plastic is fitted inside and the excess plastic is trimmed away. Thermoforming companies produce products for virtually every industry, including food companies, retail companies, electronics manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and agricultural companies.
This is the basic process, but there is certainly more to the story. For one thing, there are different types of thermoforming. Vacuum forming is fairly easy to understand. The plastic sheet is heated until it reaches the ideal level of pliability then it is placed on top of the mold and vacuum is used to draw the plastic until the mold.
When you have smaller items or highly detailed products, such as items with printing or sharp edges, you need a bit more precision, so you probably should opt for pressure forming. Pressure forming is an excellent option because it provides a high level of quality with a lower cost than injection molding. With this process, vacuum is used to draw in the plastic, but this plastic also is pressed from above to ensure that the thermoplastic fits snugly into the mold.
When looking for a company to produce your plastic products, look for one that can help you with all the details, providing a total solution that includes everything from development to production to quality control and much more. Keep in mind that the costs for production have many variables, including the amount of items that are being produced as well as the type of thermoplastic that is used during production.
About the Author:
Lenna Stockwell enjoys blogging about how stuff is created. For further info about custom food packaging or to find out more about thermoform plastics, please check out the Indepak.com website now.
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