Are you hitting limitations of conventional manufacturing techniques when designing technical parts? Milling and turning struggle with sharp internal corners, thin walls, or complex geometries. This restricts your design freedom and the quality of the final product. In this article, you will discover how to achieve the most challenging shapes using injection moulding.
The basics of injection moulding
Injection Molding is a production process where molten plastic is injected under high pressure into a mould. After cooling, the product comes out of the mould ready to use. Because the shape is entirely determined by the die, there is virtually no restriction on the geometry of the finished product.
At Euro-Techniek, we design and produce the moulds entirely in-house. This gives us full control over the dimensions, tolerances, and product quality, from the first test shot to series production.
Design freedom without compromise
With traditional machining operations, you are always dependent on the diameter of the tool. Sharp internal corners or cavities are therefore difficult or impossible to realise. With injection moulding, the mould sets the limits, and those limits are much further reaching.
With the correct mould construction, complex contours, undercuts, thin walls and intricate cross-sections are all achievable. For engineers, this means that manufacturability rarely needs to be a barrier to design, provided that collaboration with the injection moulder begins early in the process.
Complex shapes in technical and medical applications
Euro-Techniek manufactures components for demanding markets such as automotive, electronics, medtech, and high-tech systems. It is precisely in these sectors that complex geometries are the order of the day. Consider housings with integrated click mechanisms, thin-walled tubes, or components with integrated filter meshes.
We process over 100 technical and 50 medical plastic grades. This enables us to precisely tailor not only the shape but also material properties such as rigidity, chemical resistance, or biocompatibility to the application.
Use of simulation software
Before the first chip falls from a die, we analyse the product digitally. Using flow simulation software, we map out how the plastic fills the mould, where shrinkage problems may arise, and how to optimally set up cooling.
This prevents costly adjustments later on and significantly reduces lead times. Complex contours require well-thought-out mould design, and simulation is an indispensable tool for this.
Benefits for your production process
Using injection moulding for complex parts offers several advantages:
- High repeatability in large and small batches
- Complex geometries in a single process step
- Minimal post-processing thanks to high surface quality
- Integration of metal inserts, magnets or filter cloths possible
- Full engineering and mould making under one roof
When precision and design freedom are paramount, injection moulding is an excellent choice for complex plastic parts. You can achieve intricate geometries in the right materials, without compromising on quality or repeatability. Want to know if your design is suitable for injection moulding? Explore the expertise of our injection moulding facility or contact Euro-Techniek for a technical assessment.
Frequently asked questions about realising complex contours with injection moulding
Very complex, provided the mould is well-designed. With techniques such as sliders, lifters and core pulls, undercuts, undercuts and intricate internal shapes are readily achievable. Our engineers consider manufacturability from the outset.
Our machines process products up to approximately 300 x 300 mm (“handheld” size). Within these dimensions, a wide variety of complex shapes is possible.
Injection moulding is particularly interesting for series where the same complex shape is needed repeatedly. The investment in the mould is recouped through low unit costs and consistent quality across the entire series.
