A guide to SPI standards, Mold-Tech textures, and how to specify the right surface finish for your injection molded part. The surface finish of an injection molded part is determined directly by the surface finish of the mold cavity. Polish the mold to a mirror, and the molded part will have a mirror-like surface. Texture
Properties, advantages, disadvantages, and injection molding considerations for glass-fiber-reinforced nylon. Glass-filled nylon is polyamide reinforced with chopped glass fibers — typically 15%, 30%, or 50% by weight — that dramatically improve stiffness, strength, and dimensional stability compared to unfilled nylon. It is one of the most widely used engineering thermoplastics in injection molding for applications
Material properties, injection molding considerations, and applications for Delrin — one of the most dimensionally stable engineering plastics. Delrin is DuPont’s trade name for acetal homopolymer (polyoxymethylene, POM) — a semi-crystalline engineering thermoplastic that delivers exceptional dimensional stability, a naturally low coefficient of friction, high surface hardness, and excellent fatigue resistance. It is the material
12 design rules that reduce tooling cost, improve part quality, and shorten development cycles — from the engineers at Texas Injection Molding. Design for Manufacturability (DFM) in injection molding is the practice of designing parts with the constraints and capabilities of the injection molding process in mind from the beginning. Parts designed without DFM principles
DFM for Injection Molding: 12 Design Rules That Reduce Cost and Improve Part Quality Read More »
Understanding tooling cost, piece price, and the key variables that drive injection molding program economics. Injection molding cost has two distinct components that must be understood separately: tooling cost, the one-time investment to build the mold, and piece price, the per-part cost to run production. Conflating them leads to poor sourcing decisions — either over-investing
A practical framework for choosing between injection molding and 3D printing based on volume, geometry, material requirements, and timeline. Injection molding and 3D printing are both plastic part manufacturing processes, but they serve fundamentally different points in a product’s lifecycle. The choice between them is not primarily about quality or capability — it is about
Part design determines everything in injection molding. The shape of the part defines what the mold must do, what the process must achieve, and what the finished part can cost. Design decisions made before the mold is cut are essentially free to change. The same decisions after steel is cut can cost tens of thousands
How Tg defines the upper thermal limit of injection molded plastics — and why it matters for material selection, mold design, and part performance. Glass transition temperature (Tg) is the temperature at which an amorphous thermoplastic transitions from a hard, glassy state to a soft, rubbery one. Below Tg, the polymer chains are locked in
What V-0, V-1, V-2, HB, and 5V mean for injection molded plastic parts — and how to specify the right rating for your application. UL 94 is the standard for flammability testing of plastic materials for parts in devices and appliances, published by Underwriters Laboratories. It classifies plastics by how they respond to a standardized
UL 94 Flame Retardant Classifications: What Each Rating Means for Your Plastic Part Read More »
Material selection is the most consequential design decision in injection molding. The wrong material produces a part that fails in service, absorbs moisture and loses its dimensions, cracks under chemical exposure, or costs twice what was budgeted. The right material does the opposite: it makes the design work, the tooling straightforward, and the production consistent.
Injection Molding Material Selection: How to Choose the Best Plastic for Your Part Read More »
