AIM Processing Small Plastic Parts Blog

When it comes to designing custom injection molded products, choosing the right material is crucial. Optimum material choice ensures that the final products exhibit the quality and durability that you expect, as well as all of the desired performance aspects. Product costs are also often a major consideration in material choice.

Of course, there are a multitude of different injection molded plastics to choose from, each offering unique strengths and performance advantages. However, choosing the ideal molded plastic material isn’t always an obvious process. There are many complex material properties and production issues to consider.

In today's highly competitive and diverse market of molded plastics, ensuring success goes beyond the basic functionality and aesthetics of the products. While those aspects remain crucial, successful projects are backed up by a further understanding of their respective markets, their end users, and the unique needs they bring to the table.

This is where user-centered design (UCD) plays a pivotal role in plastic injection molding, considering the end-user experience first and foremost throughout product development. When combined with the precision and efficiency of the injection molding process, UCD can result in custom products that meet or exceed user expectations while also being as cost-effective and sustainable as possible.

For at least the past decade, plastics have often been considered negatively in discussions concerning sustainability and eco-friendliness. But most of this is tied to single-use plastics and how they are handled after usage. Looking further upstream to plastic manufacturing, the reality may be more eco-friendly than one would think. The modern injection molding sector has become more and more concerned with sustainability and environmental friendliness. From the plastic materials that make up the products to the production equipment that molds them, along with all of the complex logistics behind shipping and supply chain management – today’s industry demands better sustainability at every turn.

Plastic injection molding services are increasingly crucial within today’s medical and tech sectors. From state-of-the-art medical devices and specialized healthcare equipment to complex electronics components and everyday gadgets, molded plastic products can be found in virtually every facet of modern day life.

Of course, medicine, healthcare, electronics manufacturing, and the various tech industries are some of the fastest growing markets in Colorado and across the nation. More and more vendors in these niches are demanding the highest quality American injection molding companies to manufacture their products lean, reliably, and as sustainably as possible – all while simplifying their supply chains. Enter AIM Processing, one of the greater Colorado region’s leading injection molding service providers.

Nylon is a highly versatile thermoplastic material that is used in many specific injection molding applications today. An extremely durable and chemically-resistant plastic, nylon is commonly used in automotive electronic connectors, protective casings, enclosures, metal replacement parts, and high-wear mechanical components.

There are many different common types of plastics used in the injection molding industry today. And for many projects, there will be numerous suitable plastics to choose from.

Of course, choosing the best thermoplastic material for your project isn’t simply a case of going with the strongest and most durable option, or choosing the cheapest suitable material. You have to carefully consider the use cases for your end products, all of the performance requirements, potential reliability issues that may arise, as well as the overall material cost, availability, and sustainability.

 

 

Plastic injection molding is sometimes compared to extrusion when customers are searching for the most optimized manufacturing method for their products. While the injection molding and extrusion processes are very different, they are both capable of producing high-quality parts with complex designs.

Nevertheless, there are certain types of products – or production goals – which are much better suited for the injection molding process, and vice versa. Learn more about these two unique manufacturing services below, including the common advantages and product applications.

While injection molding services are often compared or even cross-shopped with vacuum forming, which is a specialized form of thermoforming. However, the two manufacturing processes are actually quite different, and each is uniquely optimized for different types of projects.

If you’d like to learn more about how the injection molding process works, check out our Brief Introduction to Injection Molding as well as our Plastic Injection Molding Services page. Or if you’d like to delve deeper into the advantages of injection molding specifically compared to vacuum forming, check out our comparison of the two processes below.

For more than 50 years, the Colorado region has been a national hotspot for the injection molding industry. Throughout the decades, our state has served as one the nation’s primary bases in providing the custom toolmaking and injection molding services which are critical for manufacturing so many of today’s plastic products.