Kaysun Blog

In the United States, about 70% of robotics technologies are used within four industries: automotive (38%), electronics (15%), plastics and chemicals (10%), and metals (7%).¹ Industrial manufacturing relies on automation, and that reliance speaks volumes about how robots contribute to quality outcomes.

Consumer applications are diverse. Simply having products on the market isn't enough to build a customer base or keep pace with the competition.

Understanding the latest plastic injection molding industry trends — and partnering with a custom injection molder to apply them in creating highly differentiated products — translates to sustained success. It also gives you greater control over quality, cost, and time to market.

Injection molding industry trends suggest that a number of factors influence applications within the consumer market, such as:

Plastic injection molding automation is a staple for custom injection molders, and with good reason. The speed and precision automation lends to producing extremely complex injection-molded parts is unparalleled. Automation also helps realize cost efficiencies by eliminating humans — and the related potential for error — from the process.

With so many benefits, it’s easy to understand why plastic injection molding automation is appealing to OEM and molder alike. What makes it even more valuable is when a custom injection molder has an in-house automation team available to develop creative turnkey solutions to even the toughest customer challenges.

Insert molding is one of several injection molding processes that can provide effective solutions for a wide range of design and production needs. 

Whether insert injection molding or another multi-material injection molding technique, such as overmolding, is the best option for you depends on factors including the component’s application, design, materials, and complexity. These factors have implications for consistency in molding across all injection molding processes.

As Industry 4.0 continues to evolve, the Internet of Things (IoT) takes on even greater importance. Automation and robots for injection molding machines are routinely found — and expected — on production lines as OEMs and custom injection molders lean into the future.

What does 2020 hold for the plastics industry? Several trends that emerged in 2019 continue to be refined and amplified:

Among plastic injection molders, there can often be a tradeoff between their ability to custom manufacture parts on an individual basis and their capability to automate the production process for high-volume cost-efficiency. The reality is that, with the proper injection molding partner, automation and its associated benefits can be within the grasp of companies even if they have smaller production runs. Here are three ways that injection molding automation can help level the playing field among manufacturers: