Plastic product manufacturing is the process of turning raw plastic into finished plastic products. There are 11 types of plastic product manufacturing process, each of which is suitable for a specific product range. If you want to explore Inchi Global’s plastic product manufacturing, keep reading this post.
1. What Exactly is Plastic Product Manufacturing?
Plastic product manufacturing is simply understood as a process turning raw materials into useful things (finished products). Plastic product manufacturing involves planning, designing, and building the product. The process normally starts with special kinds of plastic called polymers, resins, and other additives. They are mixed together and then shaped into the things we want.
There are many kinds of plastic, each of which has its own special qualities. We use different ways to make things from these different plastics. Some plastics are better for certain products than others. For example, some plastics are strong and good for making plastic bins (e.g. ABS plastic), while others are safe, soft and good for making zipper bags (e.g. PE plastic). We use different ways to make things from these different plastics.
In modern life, we use special machines to shape the plastic. Imagine melting plastic and pouring it into a mold to make a household item. There are several ways to do this, like injection molding, blow molding, extrusion, rotational molding, and thermoforming. The way we make the item depends on what it will be used for. For example, to make a plastic cup, we might heat the plastic and blow it into a mold.
Plastic is very helpful and convenient compared to other materials such as glass or wood. This is because it’s strong, light, and doesn’t cost a lot to make, thus affordable for consumers. Plastic housewares are very diverse, used in kitchen, bathroom, and for any ages from children to adults.
While plastic is helpful, it can also be bad for the environment. As one of the leading plastic manufacturers in Vietnam, Inochi is always working to find better ways to make and use plastic, like recycling and using biodegradable plastics.
2. What are Plastic Product Manufacturing Processes in General?
There are 5 steps in the plastic product manufacturing process:
Step 1: Material preparation
Material preparation is the first step in the plastics manufacturing process. This includes the extraction and refinement of raw materials, which are hydrocarbons derived from natural resources like petroleum, natural gas, and coal. Before being put into manufacturing, these raw materials undergo various processes.
Step 2: Polymerization (Making the basic plastic)
The next step of plastic product manufacturing is polymerization. This process is to form polymers. Some popular methods of polymerization are addition polymerization, condensation polymerization, and copolymerization. The method used to create plastic depends on the specific type of plastic being made. For instance, polyethylene and polypropylene are produced differently than nylon and polyester. Resin is a common material used in the plastic-making process.
Step 3: Additives (Adding special ingredients)
Once the polymerization process is done, we add special things to enhance its properties such as color, strength, resistance to heat, and so on.
Step 4: Molding (Shaping the plastic)
Molding is the step where the plastic turns into the shape we want, like a cup or plate. There are different ways to do this: injection molding, blow molding, rotational molding, and extrusion.
The technique chosen depends on the type of plastic, the production volume, and the complexity of the part. For example, injection molding is suitable for high-volume production of complicated parts, while extrusion is more suitable for creating long, continuous shapes of plastic items.
Step 5: Finishing
The final step in the plastic product manufacturing process is finishing. After shaping the plastic, we might need to do some extra things, including cutting, drilling, painting, printing, or coating. This aims to make the most completed plastic products with perfect looks and being able to perform at their best.
3. How Many Types of Plastic Product Manufacturing Process?
There are 11 common product manufacturing processes. This table gives you an overview of pros and cons of them:
| Process | Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Injection Molding
(Squeezing hot melted plastic into a mold shaped) |
High volume, fast, efficient: Produces large quantities of identical parts quickly and at a low cost per unit. Ideal for mass production. | High setup cost, limited shapes/sizes: Requires significant upfront investment for mold creation. Limited to producing parts with specific shapes and sizes. |
| Blow Molding
(Blowing up inside a mold) |
Ideal for hollow parts (bottles): Creates hollow plastic containers efficiently, with good dimensional accuracy and surface finish. | Not for high precision parts: May not be suitable for applications requiring extremely high dimensional accuracy. |
| Rotational Molding
(Filling a mold with plastic powder, heating it up, and spinning it around until the plastic melts and sticks to the mold) |
Large parts, low tooling cost (slow): Suitable for producing large, one-piece plastic parts with relatively low mold costs. However, the process is slower than injection molding. | Slow, not for high volume: The rotational molding process can be slow, making it less suitable for high-volume production. |
| Reaction Injection Molding (RIM)
(Mixing two special liquids together and pouring them into a mold where they harden quickly) |
Large, complex parts (specialized materials): Capable of producing large, complex shapes with good surface finish using specialized materials. Requires post-curing for some materials. | Specialized materials, post-curing: Requires specific materials that may be more expensive and can have additional post-processing steps like curing. |
| Compression Molding
(Putting hot plastic into a mold and squeezing it until it fits the shape) |
Strong parts, low waste (not complex): Creates strong parts with minimal material waste, but is limited in its ability to produce complex geometries. | Slow, not for complex shapes: The compression molding process can be slow and is limited in its ability to produce highly complex geometries. |
| CNC Machining
(Using a machine to cut away plastic until it has the desired shape) |
High precision, versatile (expensive): Offers exceptional precision and can work with a wide range of materials. However, the cost per unit can be high, making it less suitable for mass production. | Not economical for large scale: The cost per unit can be high for large-scale production with CNC machining. |
| Extrusion
(Squeezing hot plastic out of a tube) |
Long profiles, low cost (simple shapes): Efficiently produces long, continuous shapes with simple cross-sections at a low cost per unit. Not suitable for complex shapes. | Limited to simple shapes: Cannot produce complex shapes with intricate details. |
| Thermoforming
(Making a plastic shape by sucking it onto a mold) |
Large parts, fast, low tooling cost (shallow): Creates large plastic parts quickly and with low mold costs, but the parts are limited in depth and typically have simple shapes. | Limited to shallow depths, simple shapes: Parts are typically limited in depth and have simple geometries. |
| Polymer Casting
(Pouring liquid plastic into a mold and letting it harden) |
Complex shapes, low tooling cost (not high volume): Enables production of complex shapes with relatively low mold costs. However, the process is not ideal for high-volume production. | Not for high volume, often requires finishing: Not ideal for high-volume production. Cast parts often require additional finishing steps. |
| Vacuum Casting
(Sucking a flat plastic sheet onto a mold to shape it) |
Excellent surface finish, complex shapes (limited materials): Produces parts with a superior surface finish and can handle complex geometries. However, the process is limited to specific materials and is not suitable for high volumes. | Limited materials, not for high volume: Restricted to a specific range of materials and is not suitable for high-volume production. |
| 3D Printing
(Building a product layer by layer with plastic) |
Flexible for complex shapes (slower, expensive): Offers great design freedom for creating complex shapes without requiring traditional tooling. However, 3D printing can be slower and more expensive than traditional methods for high-volume production, and parts often require post-processing. | Slower, expensive for high volume, post-processing: Can be slower and more expensive than traditional methods for high-volume production. 3D printed parts often require post-processing steps. |
4. How to Choose the Suitable Plastic Manufacturing Method
When choosing how to make your plastic products, there are a few important things to think about:
How your plastic products look like
- If your product is simple, like a plate or cup, you can use methods like injection molding or thermoforming. These methods are good for making many identical products quickly and cheaply.
- If your product has a lot of details or parts, like a water bottle with a special lid, you might need methods like blow molding or rotational molding. These methods can make more complex shapes.
How many products you need
- If you need to make a lot of products, injection molding is often the best choice. It’s expensive to start, but each product becomes cheaper as you make more.
- If you only need a small amount of products, or if you want to test a new design, methods like thermoforming or 3D printing might be better. These methods are cheaper to start but cost more for each product.
How quickly you need the products
- For products you need quickly, thermoforming or 3D printing can be good options. You can make the first products in a short time.
- If you can wait longer, injection molding might be a better choice. It takes time to make the mold, but once it’s ready, you can make products quickly.
How your products need to perform
- If your product needs to be strong and last a long time, you might choose a hard plastic and a method like injection molding.
- If your product needs to be flexible, you might choose a softer plastic and a method like blow molding or thermoforming.
The best process of plastic product manufacturing depends on many elements and criteria. It’s often a good idea to contact Inochi to get advice on the best method for your product. Inochi offers customers worldwide both ready-to-ship and customization plastic household items. Feel free to contact us for consultation as we work 24/7.
The post provided a lot of helpful information about plastic product manufacturing and the plastic product manufacturing process. The 11 types of plastic product manufacturing process show that plastic materials are very flexible to create household items. The task of plastic product manufacturing companies or their customers is to choose the most suitable method for each product.
