Maintain Molding Specs with Preventive Mold Maintenance

The cost of an injection mold is usually the largest part of an investment into a plastic molding process with the exception of the molding press itself.   Capital equipment requires maintenance, with a preventive maintenance plan typically in place for all equipment to keep machinery and equipment running at optimum performance levels and to avoid costly repairs.  

The injection mold itself is no different, operating at optimum performance when a regular preventive mold maintenance routine is performed.

Each injection mold is unique to a particular program, and may be either a cold or hot runner tool, with single or multi cavities.  Some injection molds run only a few times a year to produce a production run then store for a while before it is needed again, and some molds supporting high-volume requirements run continuously in the press.  

Performing preventive maintenance on these high-volume molds is critical to consistent part production within customer specification.  The material the used in the molding process has great impact on the steel mold.  A glass filled nylon, for example, will put a lot of wear and tear on the steel vs. a simple polypropylene material.

Take the time to determine at which cycle intervals your mold requires cleaning, and you will continue to produce high quality parts without mold breakdown.  Some preventive mold maintenance can actually be performed right there at the press, while other PM intervals require a full break-down and thorough mold cleaning.

Preventive maintenance is vital for mold performance, and to meet production requirements.  Take the time to determine the optimum mold maintenance regimen for your injection molds, and provide consistently molded parts within customer specifications.  

Michiana Global Mold is a a valuable supplier to the automotive industry, providing complex, precision molds with our ISO9001 Quality Management System.  Contact us today to learn about our rebate program and to how we can save you money on your injection mold requirements.  

Choose the Proper Gate Location in Injection Molds

The gate is the mechanism that allows the plastic resin to flow into the mold, and every plastic part design must take careful consideration of the type and the location of gates.  There are various styles of gating mechanisms typically used in injection molding, and each style will have an effect on the finished product.  The style of gating chosen can affect the visual appearance of the part, the likelihood of warping or sink marks, and proper packing to meet dimensional tolerances.

Avoid Defects from Gate Location

To avoid defects when processing, place your gate location at the heaviest cross section for maximum fill and packing to avoid sinks and voids.  Experienced mold designers will also know when to consider adding a second gate location, which may be necessary in complex geometrical shapes to obtain proper fill throughout the part.  

The location of the gate should allow for automatic or manual de-gating, designed with the minimal length of flow path to minimize visual flow marks.   In cold runner molds, the part is usually ejected attached to the runner and gate, de-gating removes the part from the runner system.  Some processes include automatic de-gating with robotic arms that grab the runner out of the mold separating it from the part or parts.  

Gates in Hot-Runner Tools

There are basically two types of gating systems used in hot-runner tools, where the plastic is injected directly into the cavity to avoid runners altogether.  In a hot-runner tool, the gate may be either a thermal (or hot-tip) gate, or a valve gate.  The hot-tip gate solidifies the resin at the tip nozzle immediately upon high pressure injection into the cavity, stopping the flow of plastic to the cavity.  

A valve gate is used when the plastic may not solidify completely upon injection, and therefore a valve slides over to cover the nozzle tip and stop the flow of resin.  Either type is effective and cost efficient when used properly in a hot-runner system mold.  

Michiana Global Mold is experienced with constructing cold and hot-runner tools, with various styles of gating mechanisms involved.  We are skilled with determining the optimum gate location for precision molds required to produce complex geometrical parts.

Michiana Global Mold has been exceeding customer expectation with high performing injection molds since 1964.  We have vast experience with all types of molds and mold base components. Contact us today for a FREE design consultation and to speak with one of our knowledgeable design engineers.  

Plastic Part Design to Avoid Sink and Warp

Plastic injection mold designers must consider the resin chosen for the part manufacturing when designing the mold as this plays a very important role in meeting part specifications.  One characteristic of the plastic material that requires careful consideration is the cooling rate compared to the geometry of the part.

What is Sink

This plays an important role in the likelihood of parts developing sinks or warps, and can have significant consequences on successfully molding parts with consistent results.  The cooling rate is extremely important because as the part begins to cool it will always begin at the mold surface and move inward, toward the center.  If the geometry of the part is such that the part is too thick, the center area of the part will not solidify quickly enough.  This center stays molten long enough for it to cause stress on the area already solidified, pulling downward towards the center and leaving a sink mark on the outer surface.  

Avoid Sink in Plastic Parts with This Rule of Thumb

Ribs are used to add strength to plastic parts in thin wall or critical areas, but can also cause sink marks on the exterior side of the part.  When designing plastic parts to avoid sink marks, remember the basic rule to keep the thickness of the rib somewhere around 60% the thickness of the wall.  Following this rule of thumb should help to avoid sink marks during the cooling process.  

What is Warp

If a plastic part design includes areas of uneven wall thickness, stress can develop during the cooling and solidifying stage.  If this stress is excessive, warps will occur where thinner sections solidify faster than thicker sections.  

Avoid Warp in Plastic Part Design

When undue stresses due to transitions in wall thickness occur, plastic part designers can combat this by using a ramp.  Designers also use gussets in corners of some geometric areas to help prevent warping.  

Michiana Global Mold is an injection mold design and construction company with extensive experience in designing precision tools for complex injection molded parts.  Our skilled designers have vast knowledge of injection molding with various resins, and designing a mold to avoid common pitfalls in manufacturing.  Contact us today for a FREE design consultation and to speak with one of our knowledgeable engineers.

Determine Proper Ejection Method for Injection Mold Design

Injection mold design includes design of the optimum ejection system to meet part specification.  While ejector pins are most commonly used, there are other methods of ejection systems that are required in specific situations.

Ejector pins are round, and used to extend into the cavity to push the part out during mold opening so that the parts fall out or are pulled out by a robot.  Pins are adequate in most situations, although some part designs require pins along with an alternative method, or a different method altogether.

Ejector blades can also be used for ejection if the part design requires it, and these have more of a rectangular geometry.  Ejector blades are often used in designs where a thin wall exists, thus an ejector pin may damage the part with force or pressure applied in a critical area.

Ejection sleeves are tubular, and are ideal in areas of raised surfaces.  These raised surfaces are designed to assist with assembly in some designs, for example a raised hole at the end of a vertical part would be referred to as a boss.  Ejection sleeves provide 360° surface around the boss for easy part ejection with these types of part designs.

A stripper plate is another type of ejection system that consists of an entirely separate moving plate, that is designed to strip the part or parts from the core of the mold.  These are ideal in situations where you need to keep parts and runners separate, and are utilized in three-plate tool.  

Michiana Global Mold is a leading global injection mold design and construction company, with extensive experience in all types of ejection systems.  Our skilled mold designers and journeyman mold makers have extensive knowledge and experience with various types of mold construction.  We construct prototype molds with sample parts, cold runner or hot runner tools, shuttle molds, insert cavities and all aspects of injection mold design including engineering changes.

Michiana Global Mold was established in Indiana in 1964, serving various industries and specializing in complex, precision tools for the Automotive industry.  We offer a partner company in China with offshore mold making capabilities.  Both facilities are registered to ISO 9001 and follow strict quality management systems.  Contact us today for a FREE design consultation and to speak with a skilled design engineer.  

Design Plastic Injection Molds to Press Specifications

A plastic injection mold designer must consider many factors when designing injection molds, including the press the mold will run in.  Knowing the press specifications is very important in order for the mold to operate properly, and most efficiently during injection molding production.  

Vertical Press Clamping System

The orientation of the clamping system is of course a very important consideration, as this determines whether the mold will open horizontally or vertically.  A vertical molding press is used in over-molding production, also called insert molding because the molten plastic is molded around an object.  An example would be an electrical wiring harness with plastic molded around a portion of it, clamps or even something like knives where the handle is molded around the metal.  

The insert in a vertical molding press can be either steel or even plastic.  A vertical press requires molds for the top and bottom, as a vertical molding press has a rotary table which holds at least two bottom (B) sides of the mold, while the top half (A) half comes down to close on the bottom half molding the part.  

There is usually one top half, and at least two or more bottom sides to the mold, so that when the A side is molding the part on the back of the table, another B side is in front of an operator or a robot loading an insert into the open mold.  Once molded, a robot or operator can unload the over-molded part from the mold, prior to loading new inserts into it.   Constructing molds for a vertical molding press is quite different than for a horizontal molding press, even though the concept is the same.  

Horizontal Molding Press

The most common type of injection molding operation is in a horizontal press, requiring an A side and B side, closing together on a horizontal plane to mold the parts.  When the horizontal mold opens for ejection, parts usually fall into a bin below or are grabbed by a robot and taken to an inspection area.  Most horizontal molding operations do not require an operator at the press, as the vertical over-molding jobs do without automated equipment.   

Horizontal molding presses are very efficient and non-labor intensive, with a top-quality high-performing injection mold, a horizontal molding operation can run for hours in a lights out environment.  

Regardless of whether the mold is for a vertical or horizontal press, the placement of water fittings and hoses is of the utmost importance in designing the tool.  The clamping pressure and press tonnage are also very relevant specifications, in order for the mold designer to calculate the pressure of the molding operation while also considering the material chosen and how it will flow into critical areas.  

Michiana Global Mold has decades of experience designing tools for various plastic injection molding environments, meeting tight tolerances with high performing, precision custom injection molds.  Download a FREE copy of our book “Design Considerations for Different Molds” for more information.

Michiana Global Mold has decades of experience designing and building precision custom injection molds for various industries. Contact us today to speak with one of our knowledgeable engineers for a FREE design consultation on your mold building requirements.  We can custom design molds for your applications, regardless of your molding environment.

How is a Shuttle Mold Used?

A Shuttle mold is a mold system with one A side, and multiple B sides.  This is used in a vertical clamping press, as opposed to a horizontal clamping press.  A vertical clamping press is used for over molding, also referred to as insert molding.

Insert molding occurs when plastic is molded around an object such as a metal or even another plastic insert.  A shuttle mold system is used on a rotary table press so that there are two, three or sometimes four bottom sides, rotating around on the table allowing an operator or a robot to place the insert into the cavity in the mold.  When the bottom side spins around, the top half of the mold will come down vertically clamping onto the B side to mold plastic around the insert.  

This system can be labor intensive requiring an operator to load inserts, and unload molded product, unless the job is set up with automatic robots for this purpose.  This is different than most horizontal molding processes in which the there is one A and B side of the mold, sliding on a horizontal plane, coming together for the injection molding process, then the parts are automatically ejected with an ejector system falling into a desired location, usually a bin or box underneath the mold.  

Most horizontal injection molding jobs are fully automatic once the mold is set in the press, some can even run in a lights-out situation if automated auxiliary equipment is established.  A vertical molding press with a shuttle mold system typically employs an operator, although they can also be automated.  

Some examples of insert molding would be electrical wire harnesses that are partially encased in plastic, or even knives or silverware that have plastic molded around a metal object.   Shuttle molds are used in plastic injection molding for various industries including Electronics, Consumer Goods, Automotive, Aerospace and Military / Defense industries.  

Michiana Global Mold has experience constructing precision shuttle molds, and virtually any other type of plastic injection mold base used in various industries.  We are a valuable supplier to the Automotive industry with complex tools meeting tight geometrical dimensional specifications.  Contact Michiana Global Mold today, and ISO9001:2015 Registered mold maker.  

There are Many Advantages for an ISO Certified Company

There are many advantages for an ISO Certified Company, a company that has passed a rigorous audit of their quality systems and processes.  Conformance to ISO9001, a globally accepted set of Quality Standards, provides a uniform set of measurement systems for various organizations, including injection mold makers.   A Certificate of Conformance is issued upon successful completion of a detailed and systematic audit performed by an external highly trained auditor.

These International standards have recently been upgraded to the latest version of ISO9001:2015, upgraded since ISO9001:2008.  For ease in managing systems and audits, the newer standards are very similar in structure to the previous version, although there is added focus on risk management and leadership engagement.

Following ISO standards is beneficial to many companies in various industries including manufacturing, service and health care businesses.  Companies that provide design responsibility such as manufacturers, molders and plastic injection mold makers realize many advantages internally and externally with conformance to ISO9001:2015.

Conformance to ISO is a Valuable Tool

 With the sheer volume of global trade, an ISO Certified Company has a valuable tool to provide advantages for their customers.  Conformance provides a level playing field for companies to recognize the level of quality practiced in an organization, in all   It shows your customers that you passed a rigorous audit of all processes in your organization, with the ultimate goal of providing total customer satisfaction.  ISO Certified companies basically provide confidence to their customers that they take their quality, and customer satisfaction seriously. 

Not only are OEMs large and small given confidence from their suppliers’ conformance to ISO standards, they are also able to skip some steps in their vendor qualification process.  When a supplier provides an ISO Certificate of Conformance, OEMs do not have to audit as many systems in order to qualify them as a supplier.  This saves Engineers and Management of OEMs time, and money. 

Including ISO Registered suppliers provides added assurances that you are working with a responsive, quality minded business.  Conforming to ISO Standards will lead to improved efficiencies.  These continual improvement methods lead to increased profits. 

What all of these advantages ultimately lead to is Total Customer Satisfaction.  The reason that any business does what they do, whether they provide services or make widgets is to provide total customer satisfaction.  An ISO Certified Company has the infrastructure in place to provide their customers with total satisfaction through product and process improvement. 

Michiana Global Mold is Registered to ISO 9001:2015, implementing our Quality Policy throughout the organization with top down management involvement.  We have been supplying top-quality, custom precision injection molds for over 52 years.  Contact us today to see how we can assist you with your injection mold building needs.   

Top 5 Benefits of ISO Certification

An Overview of the Benefits of ISO9001

There are many benefits of ISO certification, a globally recognized and accepted set of quality standards applicable to companies in various industries.   Conforming to ISO9001:2015 provides many benefits to manufacturers in all industries including plastic and steel production for automotive, consumer electronics and military and defense.

 Businesses that provide design work such as injection mold makers have additional standards and responsibility to their customers, and the supply chain to which they contribute.  Producing quality product, on time, and within customer specifications is key to providing exemplary customer service.   ISO standards prompt companies to detail and audit all systems in their business, implementing corrective actions when those processes are not meeting their goals, applied to all processes, not just manufacturing.

Conforming to ISO standards also means that you have a written plan, detailing needed resources and expected goals for all business processes including business strategy and planning, sales and marketing, production, quality, and customer service.  ISO 9001:2015 puts added emphasis on risk management and leadership engagement, all necessary components of successful, globally competitive businesses.

Here are the Top 5 Benefits of ISO Certification

1.    All Processes are Identified, and Audited for Effectiveness

Processes includes the required resources needed to attain a specified goal.  Each process has an owner, a person responsible for successfully attaining specified goals.   The process owner determines the best way to measure the effectiveness of a process, and implements corrective actions when necessary. 

2.  Contributes to Goal-Oriented Teamwork  

Process owners must utilize human capital as a resource, creating one goal-oriented team.  Each team member should be aware of the company’s quality policy, and know how their role in the organization contributes to the overall business goals.  

3. Improved Efficiency Produces Improved Profits  

Improving efficiency always equates to an improved bottom line.  Time is money, and continual improvement projects like Value Stream Mapping can improve efficiencies and profits for any business process.   

4.  Utilizes Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) business improvement process.   

·         Plan – Establish your objectives and a plan to achieve them 

·         Do - Execute your plan with a structured framework 

·         Check - Audit results against your objectives  

·         Act - Make corrections and improvements. 

The PDCA system Can be applied to any process and is utilized throughout the entire ISO process. 

5.  ISO Certification Focuses on One End Result – Total Customer Satisfaction

Conformance to each and every standard ultimately leads back to total customer satisfaction.  Why does a business do what they do?  Customer Satisfaction is required for any business to survive, let alone thrive and grow.  With focus always on customer satisfaction, one of the major benefits of ISO Certification is that the business has the framework to keep current customers delighted and grow with referrals by providing continued exceptional customer service. 

Michiana Global Mold is Registered to ISO 9001:2015, implementing our Quality Policy throughout the organization with top down management involvement.  We have been top-quality, custom precision injection mold makers for over 52 years.  Contact us today to see how we can assist you with your injection mold building needs.   

Cost Saving Options for Prototype Tools

The Value of a Prototype Mold

Constructing a prototype mold for testing purposes can save you money by perfecting your part design prior to building a production injection mold.    A prototype mold is the only type of mold that can be constructed of aluminum because is not intended for supporting any long term production requirements.  A prototype mold is a good way for an engineer to see exactly how their new part will function in a real-life scenario, without the expenditure for a standard steel production mold.   A prototype mold can cost considerably less than a Standard Mold, in some cases thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, while providing the benefit of developing your product to perform exactly as intended. 

Some other economical options for injection mold construction would be a MUD Unit, or what one if the project is certain but tiny details are still in question, you may want to build a standard mold with a prototype cavity, develop only one of a multi-cavity tool to perfect the part before constructing the remaining cavities. 

Versatility of MUD Units

A MUD (Master Unit Die) Unit refers to a universal steel frame that fits into a press, allowing for an insert mold to slide in or out for quick changeovers.   A MUD unit frame is extremely valuable for production runs that require just in time delivery, when the volume requirements do not dictate a standard mold expenditure.  The ability to quickly switch out insert molds reduces machine down time and labor costs.   Some molders prefer to use MUD units on jobs that run in the same material, allowing for smooth set up and production runs.   This is an economical option that many molders can offer to their customers. 

Standard Injection Molds

A typical standard injection mold is used in a horizontal clamping press, with two halves, an A & B side, that move together to form the desired production part(s) inside the closed mold.  A standard mold will have either one or multiple cavities, the carved out area with specific precision geometrical shapes prepared to mold the desired part.  In some cases, an engineer may be certain of needing an 8-cavity standard mold for high volume part production, but may want to perfect the design prior to constructing all cavities.

 

Michiana Global Mold has vast experience constructing prototype tools, insert tools for MUD units, and prototype cavities in multi-cavity tools.  Michiana Global Mold has been a superior supplier of high quality plastic injection molds for various industries including automotive, consumer electronics, medical and defense, for over 50 years.    We are an ISO9001:2015 Registered mold builder, maintaining high customer satisfaction through continual product and process improvement.

Injection Mold Design Considerations

Plastic Injection Mold Design Considerations

Injection mold designers and engineers have numerous considerations when planning out the best approach for the mold design of plastic components.  Plastic injection molding is used in various industries such as automotive, electronics, medical and defense, to name just a few.  When the same part is required in a high volume, engineers choose injection molding to mass produce required components with consistent quality.   

Mold Design Derived from Part Design

Every injection molder knows that in order to manufacture a quality part, to specification, you must begin with a quality tool.  Injection mold builders today utilize technology such as CAD (Computer Aided Design) and Mold Flow Analysis software to provide an accurate three-dimensional image of the desired plastic part before even cutting steel.  These tools provide advanced product and quality planning procedures, and assist the mold builder and the injection molder to work together in producing the part to specification. 

Critical Elements of the Part Design

Careful evaluation of all critical dimensions is extremely important when designing a tool.   Some parts are designed with thin walls that can succumb to underfill, or a hole that must be within strict tolerances per customer specifications. Knowing up front where the critical dimensions, and required strict tolerances lie is of the utmost importance when designing a tool.  Some tolerances can be as tight as + or - .001 of an inch, the width of a human hair!  When carving steel from a mold to meet these tight tolerances, it is important to get it right the first time. 

Mold Design is Influenced by the Molding Environment

A mold designer must know what specific type of press the mold will run in and the properties of that press such as whether it has a vertical or horizontal clamping system.  A vertical press requires shuttle molds with multiple B halves, and is typically used in over-molding, also referred to as insert molding,  which is molding plastic around an object typically made of either plastic or steel. 

The most common type of injection molding press has a horizontal clamping system where both halves of the mold open and close on a horizontal mounting system,  and parts fall into a bin below the mold when it opens and ejects them. 

Most injection molding presses have water fittings and lines to run through the mold for instant cooling to aid in the setting of plastic, reducing cycle time.  The placement of fittings for cooling systems, electrical connectors and wiring is an important consideration for mold designer to ensure that the mold will fit and work properly in the press. 

Michiana Global Mold is an ISO9001:2015 Registered injection mold designing and building company.  We have been supplying custom precision injection molds to various industries including automotive, medical, electronics and defense for over 52 years.  Contact us today to see how we can assist you with your plastic injection mold designs.  

Plastic Injection Mold Designs Requiring Cam Action and Lifters

Engineers have many factors to consider when it comes to plastic injection mold designs, including cam action and the ejection system.    Once a mold designer has evaluated all geometric tolerances on the part print, they will typically create a CAD (Computer Aided Design) drawing of the part to aid in the design of the tool.  While reviewing part requirements and the tooling necessary to mold the part, it will become apparent if any Cam Action, or specialized ejection system is necessary.

What is Cam Action

Cam action refers to the mechanics necessary to create an undercut feature, a hole in a part would be an example.   Cam action occurs on sliding plates that would slide in when the plastic is molding around it to create the feature such as a hole, then it must slide back out in order for the part to eject properly.  If the pins or mechanics that molded the feature like a hole did not slide out of the way, the part would be lodged on that pin and would not fall out.  A cam device will pull the side-action mold surface out of the way to allow ejection from the mold.

Pictured is an example of cam action; the sliding plates have barrel like rods attached to move in during the molding process creating holes in the part.  They slide back out when finished for proper ejection.

This photo shows cams in a closed position, while molding the hollow geometrical shape of the part. 

  

Lifters and the Ejection System

The ejection system is what pushes the part out of the mold after a fully formed plastic part has been molded.  In some instances, some help might be required for proper ejection.  This is where lifters would be included as a mechanism in the ejector system.  A lifter is an angled feature that is part of the ejector plate system, and is activated upon ejection. 

The ejection system has several considerations during the injection mold design.  The ejection pattern and stroke of the press must correspond with the mold design.  Proper location of ejection pics is crucial to properly eject the mold without damaging the finished part.  In some instances, lifters are the only option to ensure proper ejection.

An example of lifters assisting with ejection

Michiana Global Mold is an ISO9001:2015 Registered injection mold designing and building company.  We have been supplying custom precision injection molds to various industries including automotive, medical, electronics and defense for over 52 years.  Contact us today to see how we can assist you with your plastic injection mold designs.  

History of Plastic Injection Mold Making

History of Plastic Injection Mold Making

Plastic Injection Mold Making has been around since the late 1800’s when a man named John Wesley Hyatt first invented a way to inject celluloid into a mold to make billiard balls.  In 1872, John and his brother improved the process and patented the first injection molding machine, which was quite primitive by today’s standards but the concept of injecting plastic through a heated cylinder into a mold was born.  Plastic injection molded parts grew in popularity during the 1940’s as World War II created a huge demand for mass-produced, inexpensive products.

In 1946, James Hendry built the first screw injection molding machine, revolutionizing the industry.  Plastic Injection Molding has evolved over the years and today this manufacturing process supplies products for all industries including consumer, toys, plumbing, packaging, construction, automotive, aerospace and medical. 

Part Design

As mentioned above, a wide variety of parts are made out of plastic and more and more parts that are currently made of another material are moving to plastic as a more economical option without jeopardizing part functionality.  For example, law enforcement and military agencies use plastic bullets for target practice, gun parts that were historically made of metal are now being molded in plastic.

Plastic has the rare ability to take the shape and form of almost anything you want it to be.  Parts can be molded with glass filled nylons for added durability.  Some plastic parts are used in engine and braking systems in automobiles and can withstand extreme temperatures.  Some plastic injection molded parts feel more like rubber and are used in a variety of items.  Plastic can be colored to mold in any color desired, UV protection can be added to avoid color distortion.  Very complex moving interior parts with several precise geometric designs are usually manufactured with plastic injection molding. 

Tool Design

Once a molder has the part design, the next phase is to design the tool that can produce the part.  A mold built for mass production should always be built with class A hardened steel, but some prototypes are made of less durable steel as they are interim molds.  A reputable plastic injection mold maker will help guide their customer to choose the best type of mold for the job.  In some cases, just one cavity can be completed in a full size mold to be used as a prototype, allowing time to perfect the process prior to building all cavities in a multi-cavity mold.  Michiana Global Mold uses only Class A steel for the majority of their tool builds.

Michiana Global Mold’s engineering mold designers and tool makers can help to guide the customer throughout the mold build phase.  Using CAD software along with decades of experience, Michiana Global Mold knows the best way to tackle even the most complex of tool designs, specializing in injection molds for the automotive industry. 

Horizontal and Vertical Plastic Injection Molds

The majority of injection molding machines are horizontal, which means the mold opens and closes on a horizontal path.  Molten plastic is injected into the mold along the horizontal path through a heated barrel and screw.  When the mold opens and the parts eject, gravity assists with the parts falling out of the mold to the staging location.  These presses can often run without an operator once the mold is set and the process is running smoothly.  These are less labor intensive than vertical molding machines, which usually require an operator or a robotic arm.

Vertical presses are used to mold plastic around an insert of another type of material, usually steel or another hardened part.  This process is referred to as overmolding, or insert molding.  In this type of press, the mold open and closes on a vertical path, allowing the operator to reach in and grab the parts out of the cavities, and load inserts in cavities to prepare for the next overmold cycle. 

Michiana Global Mold. is a plastic injection mold maker with extensive experience in both horizontal and vertical molding.  With a wide selection of state-of-the-art milling centers, we’ve got what it takes to construct quality complex molds, on time and in budget. 

Michiana Global Mold has been in the plastic injection mold making business since the 1962, and employs a cross functional staff with extensive knowledge in part design, tool design, and the molding process regardless of the type of mold, resin, or press needed.  Contact Michiana Global Mold today to see how we can reduce your plastic injection molded project costs.