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253. Intro Plastic Molds  

Injection molding comes in several different varieties,but can basically be described as forcing liquid plastic into a metal mold under high pressure. Most injection molding is done with high temperature molten plastic, and then it quickly cools inside the mold. The part is taken out of the mold, and then the process is repeated. The benefit of this technology is that thousands or millions of components can be made very quickly, and inexpensively. The downside of this technology is that the mold is usually costly. (lots of variables here- design life of mold, cycle time, etc) Usually you would use this technology to make thousands, or tens of thousands of parts- this makes the cost of the mold very small on a per part basis.

There is another technology called RIM (reaction injection molding). These molds are less than other costly, and in the process, the cooling liquid into plastic molds, where the establishment of chemical injection. where it sets up chemically. (like epoxy or fiberglass, only a polymer plastic)

To begin along either one of these paths, you need to start with a product that is designed with molding in mind as the production process. There are many product details that may make a part easy or difficult to mold.

If you have a basic product concept or design, then you need someone to develop it into a full 3D CAD model. I have attached an example CAD model for you to see.

Beyond this point, the costs and direction you should take will vary widely, depending on the size and nature of your product.