Insert Molding
The term ”Insert Molding“ is a very broad term that basically means inserting anything into a mold and molding plastic over it. These inserts could include but are not limited to brass or steel threaded inserts, special machined metal parts, electrical connectors or plastic substrates for over-molding. Even our IMD and IML processes fall in the category of ”Insert Molding“. When we refer to ”Insert Molding“, we specifically mean the insertion of non-plastic items into a mold for the purpose of over-molding with plastic.
For more than 40 years, engineers have been tasked to convert metal parts to plastic and as we all know, they have been quite successful. Quite often we find that certain areas of the plastic part are not strong enough or stiff enough. This is one area where Insert Molding comes into play. We insert machined brass and steel threaded inserts when pull-out strength is needed. We insert custom stamped steel parts where the wall section is too thin for plastic molding or greater is required. We insert machined steel or non-ferrous metals to increase the flexural strength of a part. We have inserted magnets and even wood.
We have three vertical insert machines available, one with a 4-station rotary table for higher production runs. They range from 28 tons to 66 tons. Inserting in a vertical clamp gives us the advantage of gravity to hold the inserts in place. We also insert mold in horizontal machines when we need to place the inserts in the A-half of the mold or both sides.
