Plastic injection molding involves heating and placing materials in a mold to create specific objects. The process was revolutionized by the screw injection machine in 1946, allowing for more precise control. Today, plastic is popular due to its flexibility, versatility, and low labor costs, but equipment maintenance can be expensive.
When thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials are produced, this process is referred to as the plastic injection molding process. To create these products, the material must be heated, mixed, and placed inside a mold. When the mold cools down, the material is extruded into specific objects.
While plastic may seem like a relatively new invention, the first plastic item was actually created in 1851. A British inventor named Alexander Parkes created a material that came to be called Parkesine. While Parkesine proved both durable and innovative, it was also highly flammable, so it did not enjoy a long shelf life. In 1868, an American inventor named John Wesley Hyatt developed a similar product which he called celluloid. After joining forces with his brother, Hyatt created the first injection molding machine in 1872.
This injection molding machine has revolutionized the way objects are made. Items such as buttons, hair combs, and collar stays could be produced this way. In the early 1940s, the process became an essential part of manufacturing. Consumers demanded cheap products, which also had to be cheap to produce. Plastic used to be relatively cheap, so it grew in popularity.
The plastic injection molding process changed as a whole when the first screw injection machine was created in 1946. James Watson Hendry’s screw injection machine allowed manufacturers to have more control over plastic injections . It turned out to be such an advance that many of the machines used today still work the same way. Once it was discovered that the process could be so precise, plastics replaced other materials, such as steel and ceramics.
Today almost all plastic items – milk caps, car dashboards, combs, telephones – are created with plastic injection molding. In many different ways, plastic has replaced most other materials. Due to its flexibility, versatility and reliability, plastic items are popular all over the world.
The injection molding process allows manufacturers to create thousands of products at once. Also, labor costs are relatively low in the plastics industry and parts can be refined after the injection process. The major disadvantage of injection molding equipment is that it is often expensive to maintain and purchase. However, plastic turns out to be one of the most produced materials in the world.
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