Many companies utilize offshore manufacturing to save on labor costs and raw materials. When it comes to fabricating plastic injection molds, those savings may seem significant; however, offshore manufacturing often comes with many drawbacks such as shipping delays and low product quality. These issues quickly eliminate any cost benefits associated with Chinese injection molds as they often result in the need for reworked parts.
Plastic injection molding is a highly versatile and efficient process that allows manufacturers to create a wide range of products and components from melted plastic resins. As a result of advances in molding technologies and material development, polymers and plastics have been incorporated into an increasingly wide array of products and applications. Featuring lightweight strength, aesthetic appeal, and durability, plastics are becoming the preferred material for industries ranging from consumer products to medical devices.
Plastic injection molding processes are fast, efficient, and precise when conducted by an experienced professional plastic molder using advanced, automated machinery. By using appropriately advanced equipment and automation technology, each manufactured piece will be identical to the initial design file and other units in the order.
Materials that will come into direct contact with food must be durable, non-reactive, and inert. For consumer safety, it is vital that these plastics must be able to withstand factors such as chemical exposure, extreme temperatures, and UV radiation without breaking down. To be considered food-grade, plastic injection molding materials must adhere to strict regulations.
Manufacturing plastic injection molded components in-house as part of a customer’s end product can prove to be a significant challenge from an efficiency, quality, and cost perspective. Many companies have seen the relative ease with outsourcing and have decided to incorporate that process into their business model. Over the years, Rodon has garnered many of our largest customers who were doing their best to manufacture their injection molded components in-house, but found the process too problematic and inefficient.
Used in all types of industries, plastics provide versatility and strength across a wide range of applications, from automotive body parts to human body parts. Each application requires a unique manufacturing process that can mold the part based on specifications.
Both injection molding and 3D printing are additive manufacturing processes that create highly complex parts using near-identical product runs. Manufacturers can choose from a broad selection of plastics and thermoplastic materials to perform either process, but there are a few applications where injection molding or 3D printing is preferred. If you're choosing which technique to use for your organization, consider the following side-by-side comparison.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate global supply chains, many businesses have begun reshoring their operations. This trend is particularly prevalent in manufacturing, although reshoring rates have started to rise throughout the industrial sector in recent weeks. In fact, the Thomas Industrial Survey for April found that 64% of manufacturers are now considering reshoring, compared to only 54% who were thinking about reshoring in March.
As we've progressed from revolutionary inventions such as the light bulb on to the telecommunications age of the radio, phones, and televisions, the methods of manufacturing and product design have evolved as well. Computers, the internet, sustainable power, and everything that comes next is the driving force behind the advances in modern moldmaking in manufacturing. To understand where we are going, however, we must look at how we got here.
