Wednesday 20 April 2016

New Technique from Lava-Shield to Enable Recycling of Injection Molded Plastic

The innovative recyclable and reusable purge guards from Lava shield, stands ready to be adopted by the injection molded plastic market players.

Injection molding involves manufacturing of plastic by injecting a material into a mold, cooling, and solidifying of the product. A plastic material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold to cool and hardened to a configuration of cavity of mold. Injection Molded Plastic is used in variety of applications ranging from manufacturing small parts, such as bottle caps to bigger parts, such as body panels of cars. In the molding process, plastic material to be used, desired shape & features, and properties of molding should be taken into account before designing a mold. Injection molded plastic is an ideal option for productions of high volume of same product.

Injection molded plastic is manufactured using two types of polymers – thermoplastic and thermosetting. The thermoplastic polymers used in injection molding are polypropylene, high density polyethylene, polycarbonate, low density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyurethane, polysulphone, and others. Moreover, melamine formaldehyde, polyester, epoxy resin, and are some of the prominent thermosetting polymers used for injection molding. On the other hand, the thermosetting polymers used for injection molding are polyester, epoxy resin, and melamine formaldehyde.


Injection molded plastics aids manufacturers with precision and minimization of wastage, so it is prominently used in the manufacturing of complex and intricate-shaped automobile parts. Consequently, application of injection molded plastics in interior wrapping, manufacturing automotive components, and various assembly parts is growing in automotive industry. Moreover, it is also used in packaging applications, such as production of packaging parts and components in order attract more customers.



Injection molded plastics are gaining prominence in building and construction applications owing to their characteristics, such as durability, strength, and texture. These plastic components are primarily used in insulations, piping systems, wall boards, roofing purposes, and others. Applications of injection molded plastics are increasing in healthcare industry owing to their cost-effectiveness, light weight, and easy sterilizability. It is used in applications, such as blood sample analysis, housings for needles, pregnancy test devices, medical devices components, and others.

Lava-Shield, a subsidiary of Shuman Plastics Inc. from New York, has developed recyclable and reusable purge guards. It can be used with numerous plastics processing equipment, such as injection molding. This technique produces purge cords which are free of contamination and can be recycled. Cord-Sets Inc., a leading manufacturer of injection molded plastic plugs from Minneapolis adopted their development technique of purge guards to improve operational safety and recycling scrap materials. Gene Anderson, quality control and maintenance supervisor, said, "During my research, I identified Lava-Shield Protective Purge Guards and tested a sample. I was impressed with the ease of use and the product's simple, customizable construction."

Technological advancements in injection molding process play vital role in reducing manufacturing cost. Robots are deployed in injection molded plastic manufacturing process for performing different operations. These operations include finishing & assembling injection molded parts, removing parts from mold & position them for further processes, and loading components into the injection molding. The manufacturing cost and waste production is reduced in manufacturing plants with the help of robots.

Analysts studying the injection molded plastic industry have discussed thorough information about changing market dynamics in research reports. Recently, Allied Market Research has published a report titled, “WorldInjection Molded Plastic Market - Opportunities and Forecasts, 2014 - 2020.” As per the report, the world injection molded plastic market is expected to register a CAGR of 4.9% from 2015 to 2020 and would reach $162.06 billion by 2020. The report offers a comprehensive analysis of key drivers, opportunities, detailed segmentation, and competitive scenario. Furthermore, the study outlines recent developments, SWOT analysis of leading manufacturers, and value chain analysis.