What is injection moulding used for?

The history of injection moulding stretches right back to the 1860s. It initially came from American inventor John Wesley Hyatt’s process for filling billiard balls with cellulite. Since then, it has evolved into a very effective, low-cost solution for mass-producing many types of plastic product. But what is injection moulding used for?

Plastic injection moulding can be used to create a range of components for a near endless list of products and solutions. Chances are, in an average day, you will encounter dozens if not hundreds of devices which require plastic moulded components to function.

Consumer goods

Injection moulding is used in the creation of a range of consumer goods. These are often purchased from supermarkets and used in and around the home and office.

One of the most common uses for plastic injection moulding is the creation of plastic bottles. Most commonly made from polyethylene terephthalate, or ‘PET’, due to its strength and lightweight nature, billions of these bottles are made each year. By using various moulds, these bottles can be made to almost any manufacturer specification.

Other plastic moulded consumer goods include razors, toilet seats, toothbrushes and mop heads.

Toys

Ever stood on a LEGO block? You can blame injection moulding. The precision requirements of these tiny studded blocks – to ensure they always fit together – is achieved easily via the injection of liquified plastic into metal moulds. Injection moulding allows for a level of accuracy that would be difficult to manage via other methods.

It goes beyond LEGO, however. Injection moulding is a common practice in the toy industry. The shelves of toy stores in the UK might be a lot lighter if manufacturers could not take advantage of plastic injection moulding for the creation of affordable, precise plastic components.

Automotive

Injection moulding is a vital part of automotive manufacturing. Cars are much more than metal chassis and wheels. Injection moulding allows for the low-cost, high-quality manufacture of numerous automotive components on both the inside and outside of the car. Examples of moulded automotive components include:

• Bumpers
• Dashboards
• Radio controls
• Power steering assemblies
• Water pumps

Medical

It is vital that the devices and systems used in the medical sector are precise and accurate. As such, injection moulding is used to produce plastic internal components and casing to strict manufacturer specifications.

Components produced for the medical sector range from single-use items such as syringes and medicine containers, reusable items such as sharps bins and diagnostic apparatus, to more complicated components such as buttons, dials and monitor casings.

Electronic components

Electronic devices such as remote controls, computer monitors and radios are complex pieces of kit. However, injection moulded housings and casings are a crucial part of holding everything together. 

The electronics manufacturing industry is one of the largest to utilise plastic injection moulding to provide housings and components for a range of applications. Moulding allows for numerous, identical casings to be produced and fitted with electrical components to create the finished products. 

Endless possibilities

The uses of injection moulding go far beyond the industries mentioned above. In everyday life, you might not notice just how integral plastic injection moulding is. Other uses for injection moulding include:

• Storage and display racks
• Casings for gym and sports equipment
• Furniture
• Products for food service and production
• Construction components

Plastic injection moulding is a popular and cost-effective method of mass-producing a range of plastic products. Cameron-Price has been designing, manufacturing and supplying components to clients in multiple sectors for decades. To discuss your project and whether plastic moulding could be the solution for you, please fill out our contact form.