Injection molding is one of the most commonly used production processes for plastics. Because it provides a viable solution for mass production of high-quality injection-molded automotive parts from a variety of polymers. In the automotive industry, where consistency, safety and quality are paramount, automotive plastic injection molding is an important manufacturing process.
Injection molding is an established production process in which automotive moldmakers inject molten plastic material into mold cavities. The molten plastic then cools and hardens, and the manufacturer extracts the finished product. Although the mold design process is critical and challenging (a poorly designed mold can lead to defects), injection molding itself is a reliable method of producing solid plastic parts with a high-quality finish.
In the automotive industry, repeatability—or the ability to consistently produce the same parts—is critical. Because automotive plastic injection molding typically relies on a solid metal mold, the final molded auto part produced using that mold is virtually identical. Certain factors affect automotive injection molding, but injection molding is a highly repeatable process if the mold is well designed and finished.
The injection mold manufacturing process can be an expensive process due to the cost of the mold. However, it is still a highly scalable process whose overall cost decreases as manufacturers make more parts. For mass production applications, injection molding is therefore beneficial to manufacturers. However, for anything not mass-produced, injection mold costs can inhibit the cost-effectiveness of the process.
A significant advantage of using injection molding in automotive production is that the process is compatible with a wide range of rigid, flexible and rubber plastics. Automotive injection molding manufacturers use a variety of different polymers for various applications in the automotive industry, including ABS, polypropylene, acrylic, acetal, nylon, polycarbonate, and more.
Injection molding is ideal for producing plastic parts with relatively simple geometries, enabling high surface finish quality. Manufacturers have many surface treatment options when producing parts, including various surface textures (such as glossy, rough, or matte) that are applied directly to the mold rather than molding the part. However, different plastic materials can also affect the final surface finish.
In automotive injection molding, it is easy to modify the color of molded automotive parts to fit the vehicle's color scheme. Unlike other processes, injection molding allows you to mix dyes with raw material pellets before manufacturing begins. This results in a solid, consistent coloration after molding without the need for painting or coloring.
While automakers widely use injection molding to mass-produce auto parts, they also use it as a prototyping tool. By making quick, low-cost aluminum molds using rapid tooling—often through additive manufacturing or CNC machining—automotive moldmakers can produce low-volume prototype auto parts faster than traditional (steel) molds.