I am interested in making a simple plastic injection mold tool and was wondering if there are any good mold making forums? I know cnczone used to have a mold making section but it seems to be closed for ever. :(
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I am interested in making a simple plastic injection mold tool and was wondering if there are any good mold making forums? I know cnczone used to have a mold making section but it seems to be closed for ever. :(
Hi Gav, I dont know of any myself but im happy to add one here to accommodate?
Yes please Lee that would be great.
Cheers
It's a bit of a specialist area, and I'm not aware of many people visibly online who really know about the subject.
I've seen it occasionally discussed in threads over on homeshopmachinist.
As for plans, there used to be a couple sites with plans for basic machines, but last I checked they'd disappeared.
PS. if searching, remember to use both spellings - moulding and molding
Nice idea to get a section going ive got an injection moulder also,i havent used it yet,but plan to soon .
there aint that many forums covering the subject and none UK that i could find.
There's currently an article running in the Model Engineers Workshop magazine for a basic moulding machine. You'll need a copy of edition 211 and 212 for the first 2 articles.
Browse Products From MyHobbyStore
Plastic Injection Moulding Machine Battenfeld BSK , 30 Ton,Year 1982, hrs 20546 | eBay
I have my eye on a machine like this. They seem to be relatively cheap to buy in comparision to the size and complexity of the machine, I guess it like modern vs old cnc machines once they get past a certain age they become commercially unviable and very cheap to buy. Looks like it could be fun to mess around with, this inspiring video from America show what can be done with some small blocks of alu, cnc mill and an old press.
How to- home injection molding - YouTube
The big issue is the power supply needed to run an injection moulding machine. Even a small industrial machine generally takes 10kw, which although is only roughly 40A on a single phase supply, they're all three phase machines, and doesn't take into the account the surge of the motor(s) starting/stopping, so you really need somewhere with a proper 3phase supply.
Which pretty much means there's a very small market for old secondhand machines, and the prices reflect that.
I am hoping to buy one soon, but need to get a suitable power supply first!
I did it, I had the 3 phase socket installed and sat a 25 ton Arburg Allrounder in front. Turned on the heaters for a mo' to see if they got warm and put 6 units on the electricity meter. I love it :encouragement:Quote:
Originally Posted by m_c
I keep trying to make a mould, you can get the bits from dmsdiemould or Bergers. I've been reading lots of stuff and I think I now know how a screw moulder works, it's more complicated than I first thought but not impossible.
If anyone else is bonkers enough to give it a go I think a separate section is a good idea because it could motivate me. OTOH, if it's only me, not interested.
There is a forum on plastics.com if you dig, but it's all funny handshakes, secret jargon and closed shops. You won't get any of the basics from there, ask them how to size a gate and they will cold shoulder you.
I have a good 3 phase power supply. I have a project in mind that requires a part with 5 living hinges :) So that is my motovation to build a tool myself to produce this specific part I have in mind.
My biggest stumbling block is I do not have a mill to make the mold, I think at a minimum I would need an old bridgeport interact converted to mach
ive tried to make a couple of moulds and scrapped em will have another bash at some point so if the sections up i will post as i goQuote:
Originally Posted by Robin Hewitt
.
i was on the forum you mentioned looking for advice and i couldnt have put it better,an unforgiving place for anyone trying to get into injection moulding,you be discouraged from pursueing the idea and advised to pay someone else to make the parts for you
why im here ive got an unopened 25kg bag of delrin p 500 if anyones interested cost £130 hardie polymers id take £50.
inventor tells me for the size of the parts i needed to mold, my little injector would not be capable of filling the mold with this stuff ,
so i took its word for it.
Robin, I did wonder why we'd never heard anything more about your machine!
Might be worth posting up over on the HSM forum, as I've seen some quite knowledgable replies to mould queries, without none of the bullshit that the plastics.com forum seems to be full off.
My only purchase so far is a copy of Arburg's practical guide to injection moulding, which I picked up cheap of ebay, so I'm keen to hear about other people's ventures into the injection moulding world.
Should we set up a new forum for small scale manufacturing/mold making? I have a hosting account and can set up a simple forum, but I don't want to do the moderating and new user sign ups by myself. Anyone wanna do this together?
Hi Gav,
I'm on it as we speak, will post a link back soon as i'm done.
Thanks,
Lee
Ok guys its done, the new sub forum can be found under Materials > Mould Making & Design
I've populated it with all the threads i could find related to plastic injection and mould making, if you find any that need moving please let me know.
Enjoy :)
.Me
I agree with m_c, it is a very big issue that injection moulding machine needs to run good three phase power supply. Otherwise it can’t be work properly.
If you only have single phase you can play around with a small molder like a rabit or babyplast.
Katie87 do you have experience with injection molding?
Well, I did find the above link doesn't work, but the section appears to have ended up under Machines > Moulding MachinesQuote:
Originally Posted by Lee Roberts
Hi There just reading the posts on injection moulding and I have some old Austin Allen vertical or split line moulding machine . It has not been used for nearly twenty years but occasionally start the motor and operate the hydraulics to check it still works . I have the original manual and some tools.
It has a 12 ton clamping force and is in good condition may need some heater bands . I also have a small single phase granulator and would be willing to sell both for 1500 euro I am in ireland
I know this is a old thread, but have you guy's looked at precious plastic? It's an open source project for plastic recycling, the guy that started is a Dutch guy and has produced a shredder, a extruder, a injection machine and a compression machine, you can download the plans for each machine and there is a YouTube build up, the website is https://preciousplastic.com/en/
I don't know if this what your after.
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Hi scooterist 007 thanks for that
No probs mate, I found it interesting when I found the site, problem is that is more machines I have to build!
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Hi out there in cyberspace
I used to have several moulding machines - small ones made by Austin-Allen and were single phase. OK for small parts. I sold the machines many years ago but now find that I need some moulding made using the tooling I made for the Austin-Allen machines.
If there is anyone out there who has any Austin-Allen machines and would like to make a few bob doing some moulding, please get in touch. I can promise you will be glad you did.
Cheers
Hi,
We can help you Injection Mold any product - message if interested!
We can also create the CAD files in-house with our team of engineers & product designers.
Hi, I know that D & E Plastics have two Austin-Allen machines, maybe it will help, or you could also contact anyone who sells one and ask if they are up to help, all the best!
Hey gavztheouch, As you told that you are interested in making a simple plastic injection mould tool and were looking for a good mould-making forum, Then you can check it on the internet simply by searching it, I am also part of different forums and this one is among them, ukbusinessforum is also a forum where you can find injection moulding related threads, or you can check some of the websites like rutland plastics, which provide content and service on plastic injection mould tool.