Injection Molding v/s Plastic Extrusion Basic Variations

Injection Molding v/s Plastic Extrusion Basic Variations

Not sure what kind of plastic manufacturer to go for designing your custom plastic part?

Plastic parts are used in industrial, commercial, or in medical lines and require different manufacturing processes depending upon the application of the plastic part. Here are some basic differences in the process and the basic end product of both plastic extrusion and injection molding.

Injection molding process - in which plastic pellets are heated to become molten and injected under pressure into the mold cavity of the desired shape that solidifies the molten plastic under pressure and produces the final product.

Common end products of injection molding are electrical boxes, mop heads, cycle plastic mudguards, vending machine components, etc.

Plastic extrusion process - During this process the raw material is heated and is moved through a shape cut in a metal plate which results in the continuous form of the raw material that can be stretched and then cooled to set. The end product can also be cut to smaller desired lengths once cooled.

Some of the common products manufactured by the extrusion process are wire insulations, plastic films, medical device tubing, plastic drinking straws, industrial piping’s, etc.

End product Both the processes have their own advantages and the end products are different also as mentioned above. Here are some other advantages these processes have over others.

Injection Molding - the initial setup cost if you buy the Best injection molding company machinery is high as compared to others. The die used where the molten plastic is given shape under pressure and cooled down also adds up to the overall set up cost. However, the final products are of the desired share and don't require secondary processing due to the perfect dimensions of the product.

Plastic extrusion - This process is ideal for creating continuous linear products that are two-dimensional in shape. With plastic extrusion, you can create products such as wire insulations, medical device tubing for the medical and food processing industry.

This process is most commonly used for making a variety of lengths of the same profile shape. The setup and die/design costs are reduced due to continuous production thus making this process economical as compared to injection molding.

Both processes are useful for manufacturing different types of finished products.

Injection molding manufacturers claim that injection molding is a superior process when compared to the extrusion process, and that's true for most cases but not ideal for manufacturing linear products like ropes and wire insulations.