Living in a modern world is impossible without products made using plastic injection molding in its process. Everywhere we look, items made from this process surround us. We can find them from the everyday items that we use, like the shampoo bottle or the container that holds our food and water.
The massive development of this process has refined the used, and the technology has widened the scope of its usage.
The Beginning of Injection Molded Items
Plastic has been around as early as the 1800s. The early applications were on everyday items like combs and buttons. World War II created the need for mass-produced items that are inexpensive and plastic injection molding found a way to deliver this demand. The beginning of a long list of uses for plastic began.
Different Applications of Plastic Injection Molding
From creating buttons and combs, this manufacturing method has found a thousand ways to penetrate different markets most notably in the following:
- Food
- Automotive
- Electronics
- Life Sciences
- Sports equipment
- Medical
- Aerospace
Food & Household Items
Everyday household items like food containers, utensils, and personal effects are mostly made from the same process of injection molding. It is easily accessible and cheap. Designer churns out thousands of new ideas on a daily basis for products using this method.
Automotive
You dashboards and bumpers and the rest that surrounds you when you are inside your car is made from plastic injection molding. The cup holders, buttons on your volume control, handles of your door are all made from the same process.
Electronics
In dealing with electrical parts, everything should be precise and consistent. Only plastic injection molding can give this kind of product fast and inexpensive. The same is true for all other application in electronics that requires plastic. Example of these are the electric connectors, wire protectors, and others.
Plastic is the first choice because it does not conduct electricity. It protects users from possible electrocution and keep us safe from fire.
Life Sciences and Medical Field
The items that are used in the hospitals and the laboratory are all in the form of plastics from injection molding method. This is a preferred material because it not only versatile and sanitary but also inexpensive and can be disposable.
There are many applications in the medical field like the breathing devices, syringes, the tools used for medical procedures and many more.
Sports Equipment
In sports, you are surrounded by equipment that made from the same process. Items like football helmets have been around since the 1940s. Not only the gears but also the wears that are made of nylon, acrylic, Lycra or spandex. Safety equipment like a mouth guard and shin guard are made in the same way.
Aerospace
The interior parts of an airplane like the automobile are made from plastic injection molding. It is the preferred material because it is lightweight, economical and does not corrode. It is also safe for the aviation industry because it is impact resistant as compared to glass.
Conclusion
If we enumerate all the products that we use daily that are made from plastic injection molding, the list will not be finished as every day new designs are created.