When it comes to molding techniques, the two prominent ones that come to mind at first are blow molding and injection molding. But before considering or selecting any molding technique for your next project, you must take into consideration all the important aspects and details of both procedures.
Here, we have provided a detailed study of both the types of molding techniques, i.e., blow molding and injection molding followed by their cost structure. In addition, this blog also talks about the different raw materials, characteristics, custom injection molding cost, and the things that one needs to know before selecting between the blow and injection molding.
What Is Blow Moulding?
Blow molding is a type of molding technique used to make hollow plastic products like plastic bottles. This type of molding has its roots in the glass blow molding industry. Here, a thermoplastic molten tube, commonly known as parison is poured into a mold cavity and with the help of compressed air, it is inflated to take the shape of the mold but it remains hollow inside.
Blow molding has several advantages of its own:
- It allows the freedom of shapes which means that blow molding can be used to form varied shaped and sized articles
- It is economical in cost and increases the production capacity of industries since blow molds take a shorter time to form
- There’s no need to connect two halves to make a single product helping information of various shapes that plastic injection molding cannot do.
Cost of Blow Moulding
There are three types of blow molding known as extrusion blow molding, injection blow molding, and injection stretch blow molding. Their cost also differs depending on this, however, there is only a slight variation of cost between the three. The cost of blow molding depends on the weight of the parison used in the production.
On average, an extrusion blow mold of a single cavity is as cheap as $3000 whereas a multi-cavity extrusion blow mold can go up to $25000 which is expensive but it comes with enough efficiency to return the profits and cover up the initial cost.
Injection blow molds are more expensive than extrusion blow molds. They cost somewhere between $4700- $40000 but they can go as high as $89500 too. The production capacity increases as the price goes higher.
Injection stretch blow molding machines can cost between $25000 to $45000. With the price increment, the output capacity, as well as other features, are also improved which can cut labor costs and boost profit.
What Is Injection Moulding?
As the name suggests, injection molding is a process where plastic pellets are melted and injected into hollow molds under high temperatures and extreme pressure. Then, it is allowed to solidify to get the mold of the desired shape.
Thus, it produces solid articles and is not hollow.
Injection molding can be performed with a variety of raw materials like thermoplastic, clear polystyrene plastic, thermosetting polymers, and even glass and metal.
The advantages of injection molding are:
- It is a relatively faster method of efficiently producing large numbers of various identical plastic products
- Provides the freedom of molding many materials and having different colors
- The scrap rate and labor costs are low. In addition, product strength is also higher
Cost Of Injection Moulding
Injection molds are more precise which makes this process expensive. As injection molding takes place at high temperatures and pressure, the cost of injection molding mainly depends on the amount of “tonnage pressure” that keeps the mold intact.
Injection molding is comparatively expensive as compared to blow molding since the process is complicated. On average, the cost of injection molding could range anywhere between a few thousand dollars to eighty thousand dollars depending on their specific features. The cost also depends on the material which is molded.
A single cavity mold can be purchased between $3000 to $6000 while multi-cavity molds can go above $90,000 depending on the production capacity. Indeed, the initial costs are high, but the large production capacity with speed and precision is what reaps profits.
Things To Consider Before Choosing Between Blow Moulding and Injection Moulding
Before selecting either of the two methods, it is important to consider a few pointers that would help you arrive at a better decision.
Type of Mould: If you want a single-piece, flexible and hollow mold such as plastic bottles, children’s outdoor toys, etc. then blow molding is for you. Plastic injection molding is ideal for the large-scale production of highly-engineered products.
Type of Machinery and Process: Blow molding requires less precision and the process is easier than that of plastic injection molding. The mold-making process is complex in the latter but once the mold is in place, you have fairly less work to do. However, in blow molding, secondary processes are required for giving the finishing touch to the mold.
Cost: If you want to have low-tech, single-piece components under a budget, blow molding should be considered whereas, for complex, high-tech, and high strength products, injection molding is the best.
Best Moulding Company in China
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They are capable of injection molding part design, prototyping for injection molding, precision injection mold making, and plastic injection molding at a reasonable cost and short lead time. Contact them today to know the china injection molding cost and get your task performed with ease!
Conclusion
Before selecting between blow molding and injection molding, it is important to have a basic knowledge of both methods. Considering your purpose, type and budget will help you make a better choice, and thus, we have curated this blog to give you a quick tour of these processes along with their costs.
In addition, RYD Tooling, located in China is a one-stop location for all of your plastic injection molding needs. Don’t forget to check them out!
