Moulded in speaker contacts
Moulded in terminals
In Mould Insert Moulding
In mould insert moulding is the process by which a metal, or preformed plastic, insert is incorporated in to the component during the moulding stage.
With in mould insert moulding the inserts will be very strongly attached to the rest of the component. This happens because strong mechanical bonds are created between the inserts and the mouldings. Inserts are designed so that when the polymer is moulded around it, it will be securely fastened in place. This can be achieved by incorporating plates that stick out from inserts, threads on the sides of the inserts or by the overall shape of the insert. By calculating the degree of shrinkage that will occur during the cooling cycle designers can ensure there is a very tight fit of polymer around the insert and give the strongest possible join.
When inserts are used during the moulding stage standard moulding machines can make it difficult for operators to put inserts into their correct place in the tool. For this process vertical press machines and vertical machines with a rotary table are most effective.
Benefits Of In Mould Insert Moulding
- Reduced post-moulding operations – With in mould insert moulding the need for post moulding operations is greatly reduced. This helps with ease of assembly and reduces the labour necessary for products.
- Increased part consistency – Insert Moulding has major benefits in the consistency of parts produced. As the inserts are placed in the same locations in tools for every cycle each of the mouldings produced will be exactly the same. This helps reduce costs, as rejected parts will be kept to a minimum.
- Ease of assembly – Due to inserts being incorporated into parts during the moulding stage this eases the assembly of the part. Instead of having to place fittings to attach parts fittings can be incorporated during the moulding stage so that parts can be simply clipped together.
- Reduced production time – when vertical moulding machines, that are equipped with a rotary table, are used for production there is the opportunity to have two halves of the lower part of the tool. This means that production is almost constant with mouldings being formed at the same time as fresh inserts are being loaded into the second half of the tool. This lowers overall production times and can also reduce the amount of labour needed.
