Understanding the Complete Structural Foam Molding Process

Posted by ChinaCasting on January 13th, 2020

Do you know what is the most important thing for any manufacturing company? Providing the finest and stable products at affordable prices is the key for a company to survive in today's market. This is why it becomes mandatory to choose the most suitable method for production. It would help you build the desired products at low manufacturing cost. We are here talking about the production of lightweight parts with the help of a well-known Structural Foam Molding Company.

Let's understand the whole Structural Foam Molding process in order to find out why several manufacturers consider it to be the best method for the production of lightweight plastic parts.

The Process: It is a process similar to conventional injection molding methods, but with a little difference. In short, like other normal injection molding methods, you need to inject the melted polymer into the molds but using low-pressure. Apart from this, an inert gas is also introduced during the injection process that acts as a blowing agent. Due to the addition of inert gas, the core of the end products has some air bubbles while the outer walls remain solid.

A manufacturer should use only high-quality molds because the quality of the molds affects the whole production. For this, you may contact a reliable Structural Foam Molding Company that provides high-quality molds at a low cost.

Usable Materials: Basically, manufacturers use high-density polyethylene for the production of plastic parts through structural foam molding. If talking as of now, most of the manufacturers prefer using Polycarbonate (a group of thermoplastic polymers) for production as it has the tendency to thermoform and mold at a good speed. Also, there are some fields where manufacturers need to use Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (a terpolymer made by polymerizing the styrene).

Main Benefits of Structural Foam Molding:

1. The core has some air bubbles that eventually reduces the overall weight of the products. In most cases, the final weight remains around 20-30% less than the parts built through other injection molding methods.
2. The outer walls are thick and solid, which means that the product will be strong and stable. What's more, structural foam molding provides the highest strength-to-weight ratio in plastic parts.
3. Low-pressure means less power consumption, and less raw material means low production cost. Hence, it is a cost-effective manufacturing method and completely suitable for the production of strong and durable plastic parts.