Analysis of the Current Status of the Injection Machine Industry

Since the birth of the first screw injection machine in 1946, the injection molding industry has developed for about 80 years. With the growing demand for injection molded products in the automotive, construction, household appliance, food and medical industries, injection machine technology and applications have also seen unprecedented development.

Inhaltsübersicht

Injection Machine Industry Development

China’s injection machine have been introduced and developed since the 1960’s. Especially after the 1980’s, the injection molding industry has developed rapidly and has quickly become the world’s largest producer and user of injection machine. The injection moulding machine industry from the initial manual injection to hydraulic manual, semi-automatic, fully automatic, to oil-electric composite, and the current all-electric injection machine, contains the whole process of the development of the injection machine from manual – hydraulic – electrification. The use of injection machine also from the beginning of the general-purpose injection machine, increasingly to the precision injection molding, special injection molding direction. The strong driving force of China as the world’s factory attracts foreign brands of injection molding machines to join in. At present, China’s injection moulding machines are at the forefront in terms of brand, model, type, function, high-precision and specialized machines, and have a strong representation.

Classification of Injection Machine

The classification of injection machine has different classifications due to injection method, molding material, space location, drive, function, energy saving definition, etc., which are applied to different industries and fields.
From the injection method is divided into: plunger type, screw type and composite type.
From the material molding is divided into: thermoplastic (ordinary plastic), thermosetting (BMC).
From the space position is divided into: horizontal injection molding machine and vertical injection machine.
From the drive mode is divided into: hydraulic injection molding equipment and electric injection molding machines, as well as oil-electric hybrid Plastic Injection Molding. At present, small injection machine such as 600T below can basically realize the all-electric drive, large tonnage injection molding machine is still basically hydraulic drive, or part of the use of electrification.
From the functional point of view is divided into: injection compression, injection foam, multi-color injection molding and other types of special machines.
From the degree of energy saving is divided into: traditional injection machine and energy-saving injection molding machine. Energy-saving injection machine from the heating and driving part of the technology or selection of energy-saving materials to achieve.

Industry Status and Trends

With people’s emphasis on quality, appearance and personalization, injection molding machines tend to be increasingly electrified and special-purpose, while energy-saving technologies, automation, and peripheral supporting technologies also continue to emerge and serve the use of injection machine.

1.Electric injection molding machine

Electric injection moulding refers to the power part of the full motor drive, by the PLC integration, control frequency conversion and servo control signal technology, equipment structure and the traditional hydraulic machine is not very different.

Electric Injection Molding Machine Manufacturer

Since the world’s first all-electric injection machine was manufactured by MILACRON in 1985, the injection molding industry has not stood still in its pursuit of electric injection molding machines. After decades of technology and experience precipitation and accumulation, electric injection molding machines have become a symbol of high precision in the current injection machine industry. Compared with the traditional hydraulic injection molding machine, electric injection machine can easily realize the production of high-speed, thin-walled and precision products, with the advantages of energy saving, fast, efficient, clean and low noise.

1.1 Industry standard

At present, the brand of electric injection machine market is dominated by Europe and the United States, Japan and South Korea, the representative brands are MILACRON, ENGEL, Demag, Toshiba, Nissei, Sumitomo, Fanuc, domestic machines represented by Haitian, Hong Kong Chenhsong and so on have launched their own brand of all-electric injection molding machines. From the point of view of the tonnage provided by various manufacturers, all-electric injection machine to small and medium-sized machines, the Haitian, for example, the largest tonnage of all-electric injection machine 650T, large and medium-sized Plastic Injection Molding due to the cost, technology and market factors, more liquid – electric hybrid form.
Selection of the standard model about 250T clamping force, compared with MILACRON, TSDHIBA, HAITIAN three representative brands of injection molding machines.
Note: The following models are standard machines. Some of the parameters can be customized when the actual demand.

Project	Unit	Electric Injection Molding Machine Parameter Comparison	Haitian Hydraulic Machine Parameter Comparison	Haitian Electric and Hydraulic Injection Molding Machine Comparison
Marke		MILACRON	TSDHIBA	HAITIAN
Model		ELEKTRON260	EC230s	VE2300Ⅱ
Screw Diameter	mm	50	50	50
Melt Capacity	cm³	393	392	452
Injection Speed	mm/s	165	160	160
Injection Rate	cm³/s	324	314	285
Injection Pressure	MPa	159	200	200
Plasticizing Capacity	kg/h	201.6	160	162
Screw Speed	r/min	400	255	320
Clamping Force	tf	260	230	230
Tie Bar Distance	mm	660*660	610*560	620*620
Ejector Force	tf	6	5	5
Ejector Stroke	mm	160	130	150

Comparison of Table 1 parameters, clamping force of 250T or so, screw diameter ¢50 injection molding machine. Three brands of injection parameters have their own advantages and disadvantages, but the overall industry reflects the current industry standard of electric injection molding machine industry, such as injection of key parameters: injection speed of minimum 160, screw speed of minimum 255, the minimum amount of molten rubber 400, plasticizing capacity of minimum 160, are higher than the hydraulic machine. The increase of injection speed is conducive to improve product quality and production of thin-walled products; the increase of screw speed is conducive to improve the storage speed and improve the material shear heat; high plasticizing capacity is conducive to the production of more products per unit of time.

1.2 Advantages of Electric Injection Molding Machine

Comparing the parameters of Haitian series of hydraulic injection machine of the same tonnage, the parameters of the three models of hydraulic machines are basically the same, as shown in Table III, which indicates that the ontological structure of the injection machine of the three models has not been changed, and that the upgrading of the models is mainly confined to the electrical control part. Compared with the traditional injection molding machine, refer to Table 2, take Haitian electric plastic injection molding machine and hydraulic second-generation injection machine as an example to compare, the key parameters, such as injection speed, injection rate, plasticizing capacity, screw rotational speed, electric molding machine is obviously better than hydraulic injection molding machine. Comparatively speaking, the injection speed is doubled, which is conducive to the production of thin-walled products and the improvement of injection quality. On the other hand, considering the plasticizing capacity alone, the injection capacity of the equipment is increased by 63.6%, which is conducive to improving production efficiency.
Comprehensive features of electric injection machine in the industry can be summarized as follows:
Energy saving: compared with hydraulic injection molding machine electric-liquid-kinetic energy conversion and hydraulic oil cooling, it can save 60% of industrial electricity and 90% of industrial water.
Fast: Because each part is driven by an independent motor, various synchronized movements can be realized, achieving the shortest cycle time.
Precision: Direct motor-screw drive improves position control accuracy.
Cleanliness: Since hydraulic oil is not used as a medium, the use of oil seals is greatly reduced and the cleanliness of the equipment is improved.
Low noise: servo direct drive transmission mechanism, no longer use oil pump, can effectively reduce the noise.
Low maintenance: no oil leakage of the motor maintenance work, motor maintenance is relatively simple.

1.3 Electric injection molding machine disadvantages

Relative to the advantages, the disadvantages of electric motors are also obvious, mainly in the aspect of higher cost, the same brand, the cost of electric motors is about 3 times the hydraulic machine, and the potential failure of the maintenance cost is high. Therefore, when considering the introduction of electric injection molding machines, it is necessary to fully consider the existing traditional injection machine in terms of precision, speed, efficiency, noise, cleanliness and other aspects can meet the demand, otherwise it may result in higher production costs and waste of equipment performance. From the cost consideration, the introduction of electric injection molding machine should be introduced to solve the bottlenecks encountered by the traditional injection molding machine in production, such as quality, cleanliness and so on.

1.4 Applicability of electric motors

Electric injection molding machine realizes the progress of injection machine from hydraulic transmission to electrification, which embodies “higher (precision), faster (speed),” and “more efficient.

The electric injection molding machine realizes the progress of the injection molding machine from hydraulic transmission to electrification, which embodies the characteristics of “higher (precision), faster (speed), and more economical (energy consumption)” of the industry demand. The functions of electric injection molding machine basically cover all the fields involved in traditional injection molding machine. Due to its fast injection speed, excellent performance for product quality improvement, especially for thin-walled products, and high control precision, electric injection molding machine is often used as a special machine for the production of high-precision products, such as cell phone battery cover, medical supplies, etc., which are not yet popular in the industry.
With the development of electric injection molding machine related technology, electric injection molding machine and hydraulic injection molding machine cost gap reduction, electric injection molding machine will eventually become the mainstream of the market and replace the hydraulic injection molding machine.

Schlussfolgerung

The injection machine industry has undergone significant transformations over the past few decades, with technological innovations such as electric machines, hybrid systems, and automation driving the market forward. China remains a dominant player in the global injection molding machine market, with both domestic and international brands competing for market share.

As the industry continues to evolve, manufacturers must adapt to changing demands for higher precision, energy efficiency, and sustainability. Electric injection machine is expected to become increasingly prevalent in the market, particularly as the cost gap between electric and hydraulic machines narrows. With the continued development of automation and smart technologies, the future of the injection molding industry looks promising, with greater efficiency, precision, and sustainability on the horizon.

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