Not much is known by the majority of the population when it comes to things like injection molding. I have recently been delving into the subject and have come up with a number of things to spark my interest and the interest of my fellow students. Being able to research something that helps to create literally hundreds of things that we as modern humans have grown dependent on has been such an experience. The injection molding process has fascinated me from start to finish. The process itself is incredible to watch work, and the years of inventive thought that it took to get to the spot that the industry is in today is inspiring, to say the least. It simply isn’t fair to forget about the ideas and people that allow us to live the comfortable lives we live today. Though we don’t realize it, these creative and ingenious improvements on our life have enabled us to industrialize and expand.
It’s extremely important that you understand the injection molding process. But to start you off, I think it’s smarter to just describe it as simply as possible. What injection molding actually does is to heat and shape thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic in order to manipulate it into a finished product. This is done with the help of a number of people (engineers, moldmakers, and a number of other specialists).
Now, let’s get into the history of the process. So many things happened over the 1800’s and 1900’s in order to get where we are in the process today. A number of people contributed to the development of injection molding and how to make the process quick and efficient. But let’s start with plastic itself; in Britain in 1851, Alexander Parkes invented the first synthetic plastic.
This plastic that Parkes invented (which he of course called Parkesine) was not top notch. Realistically, it was far too pricey to produce and when one was working with it, it often cracked or broke easily and became unusable. Not only that, but it was even known to be highly flammable, so those handling it had to be extremely careful to avoid danger. Seventeen years later, in 1868, an innovator from America by the name of John Wesley Hyatt developed a more improved version of Parkes’ invention.
With John Wesley Hyatt, injection molded products became realizable. Hyatt’s invention made it possible for his plastic material (celluloid) to be truly processed and still hold durable. In addition, John and his brother, Isaiah joined forces in order to release the world’s very first injection molding machine in the year 1872. The Hyatt brothers’ machines were much simpler than the complex ones we have today, but there’s no argument about this point in history being a huge stepping stone for injection molding.
Just like that, with the uncovering of the injection molding machine, demands on the industry shot to ridiculous new heights. Improvements on the machine, and the process in general, were continually being thought up. The industry was really on the rise, and Hyatts’ machines (as well as different varieties of them) were creating all sorts of new products everywhere from buttons to hair combs. It was an amazing growth for both producers and consumers alike!
Then World War II came, and with it, a huge increase in demands for a vast quantity of cheaper products. Another inventor from America, James Watson Hendry, revolutionized injection molding in 1945. What he did was introduce the screw injection molding machine. With his invention, specialists had a better handle on how to control the speed at which the plastic material was injected; the invention also upped the quality of the materials produced.
Since the screw introduced mixing the plastic, it was soon realized how to make this even more of an advantage! By adding different colorants to the plastic mixtures, a huge assortment of polymer products was now open for creation. This inventive machine (and improved types of it) is still widely used throughout most companies utilizing injection molding. Hendry, thirty years later, released an injection molding machine that employed gas which helped lower cost, time, and waste.
Injection molding is essential to polymer extrusion companies. In turn, plastic profile extrusion is essential to us, as consumers. Without it, a majority of window panels could not be completed. Injection molding has helped to design things in a number of categories including toys, packaging, construction, and much more!
– Elijah Mort