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When it comes to manufacturing, one of the most important things you need to understand are the terms used and what they mean. Before you can decide whether die casting or injection molding - or any other type of manufacturing - is going to be best for a specific project, you have to be familiar with these particular methods. What we want to do here is take a look at these processes, come to an understanding of how they work and find out when they can be a good choice as opposed to when they might not be the right choice. In the end, you should have a better idea of the pros and cons of both injecting molding and die casting. Let's get started.
What is Die Casting and How Does It Work?
This is a type of metal casting that uses a mold. The metal used in die casting is heated until it becomes liquid and then a huge amount of pressure is used to force that molten metal into the mold to create the shape of the part desired by the manufacturer. The dies in die casting refer to the steel mold that has cavities on the interior. These cavities are clamped together before the liquid metal is forced into them to create the shape needed.
What Can Make Die Casting a Strong Choice?
Surface quality is positively affected when using die casting, typically. It is also possible to keep dimensions consistent from one object to the next which is desirable in manufacturing. Very detailed dies can be made and this allows a lot of complex features and difficult shapes to be created that are not as easy to do with other manufacturing strategies. Smooth or textured surfaces can be created, so there are a range of different possibilities to create a lot of different looks for products. There is rarely going to be machining that needs to be done after die casting and most of the time what is produced is quite strong. These are the aspects of die casting that help keep it a popular choice in today's manufacturing industry.
What Are Some Drawbacks to Die Casting?
For one thing, there are certain restrictions as to the type of metals that can be used and plastic is not used in die casting. Alloys are generally used in die casting and they may contain mixtures of aluminum, zinc, magnesium, copper, tin, pewter or even lead. Gas porosity can be an issue in die casting, though, and this might not be right for all manufacturing needs. While there are ways to fight this, it might make for some difficulties that certain manufacturers would prefer to avoid. Initial expense of doing die casting for a manufacturer are high because the dies themselves are quite expensive. Over time the costs do lower, however.
What is Injection Molding and How Does It Work?
Injection molding is a different kind of manufacturing that uses plastics instead of metal. In particular, thermosetting plastic and thermoplastic are used to create products by squeezing the liquid plastic into a mold that has been made from steel or sometimes from aluminum. As its name implies, during injection molding the hot liquid plastic is injected into the mold where it will seep into the dimensions of the mold cavity to create the desired shape. In some instances, there are multiple cavities in a given mold so that it can produce a huge number of parts at once to help save costs. Plastics ranging from nylon to phenolic to polystyrene can all be used in injection molding and each of these has some history of having been used this way in the past. For the most part, the simple process is merely mixing up the desired plastics in a vat that is heated so that the plastic will be liquid and can then be injected into the molds that have been created to receive it. After this, the plastic is allowed to cool down and the process is repeated as many times as needed.
Why is Injection Molding Chosen for Certain Projects?
There are many reasons that injection molding can be a good solution. For one thing, it is one of the best ways to manufacture plastic goods. Everything from car parts to storage containers to children's toys can be made using injection molding. It is low in cost and does not require a great deal of manual labor to accomplish. Very large molds can be created to be used in injection molding and this will make it simple to make thousands of tiny parts all at once if this is needed. Overall, injection molding is the most common form of plastic manufacturing today and it is used across many industries because it is easy to do and cost effective.
When is Injection Molding Not the Right Choice?
There are certainly instances where injection molding is not the right choice. It can be expensive to create the molds needed for this process. The running costs can be high and even though high volume runs will make this process pay off, there are often various indicators of the manufacturing process located on the plastic product that are not desirable. While these can be eliminated after the injection molding process is finished with, they can be a downside. For low volume runs this would often be an overly expensive proposition in terms of manufacturing styles and is not likely to be the best choice.