What is Mould & Types of Mould

Moulding is a manufacturing technique for making parts from plastic material.

• Molten plastic is injected at high pressure into a mold, which is the inverse of the desired shape.
• The mould is made by a mold maker from metal usually either steel, aluminum and precision-machined to form the features of the desired part.
• Injection moulding is very widely used for manufacturing a variety of parts from the smallest component to entire body panels of cars.

Mould Manufacturing

Types of Moulds

1) Compression Mould

Compression Moulding is one of three processes used to mold parts. Compression molding is the oldest and simplest way to make products. In some specific applications, compression molding is still the best way.

2) Transfer Mould

Transfer Molding involves having a "piston and cylinder" like device built into the mold so that the rubber may be squirted into the cavity through small holes.

3) Extrusion Mould

Extrusion moulding is a method used to form thermoplastic materials into continuous sheet film, tubes, rods and other shapes and to coat wiring and cable. The process produces continuous two dimensional shapes like sheet, pipe, film, tubing etc. The material is fed into the extruder where it is melted and pumped out of the extrusion die.

4) Injection Mould

Injection Molding is the most advanced typical method of molding plastic products. Injection molding produces the most consistent results by automating all aspects of how the material gets into the mold. In injection molding, the material is worked and warmed and then squirted into the mold at controlled speeds, pressures and temperatures.

5) Hot Runner Mould

Hot runner molds are two plate molds with a heated runner system inside one half of the mold. A hot runner system is divided into two parts: the manifold and the drops. The manifold has channels that convey the plastic on a single plane, parallel to the parting line, to a point above the cavity. The drops situated perpendicular to the manifold, convey the plastic from the manifold to the part.

6) Blow Mould

Blowing molding is the primary method to form hollow plastic objects such as soda bottles. Blow molding is another common type of plastic molding. In this process a plastic tubular form, produced by extrusion or injection molding, is used to form the part. This form called a parson is softened inside a mold and then injected with air or other compressed gas.

This expands the parson against the sides of the mold cavity, forming a hollow object the size and shape of the mold.