We all know about standard Horizontal Injection Moulding, but did you know it has an altogether more interesting cousin? Vertical Injection Moulding has been widely used since the 1980s to produce all kinds of moulded parts in a small space. As you can imagine, not having to place the moulding machine in a horizontal configuration saves a lot of space and allows the manufacturer to have many more machines running in the same production space. This increases throughput and reduces costs, with the manufacturer being able to rent a smaller production space which produces the same – or more – revenue!

What else can these clever machines do? They are ideal for combining metal and plastic moulding of parts, which is a significant proportion of the throughput of a modern factory, as well as the introduction of inserts into the moulding process. The effect of gravity is also used to eliminate any issues with mould alignment and so parts requiring high levels of tolerance are often produced this way for lower cost, as there is less risk that the manufactured part will be out of tolerance due to mould misplacement. This arrangement also reduces cost, as there is no need to have an operator constantly checking and feeding the mould into the system; the mould simply locks into place, with the aid of gravity, into its slot and the moulding process begins.

Vertical Injection Moulding may not be something that you have thought of before, but is something not to be dismissed if offered by your moulding manufacturer.