MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENTS Direct Injection Molding Competitiveness Study 

The direct injection molding concept leads to a drastic reduction in the number of steps by integrating material preparation and mixing into the injection molding process. The disadvantage of this concept is currently the insufficient miscibility of polydisperse materials in conventional injection molding machines.

The standard process chain in plastics processing involves compounding of initial components, polymers and additives, by using, for example, a twin-screw extruder, and the resulting granulate is then further processed into products. Direct injection molding instead is the mixing, melting and forming of raw materials into the finished products in a single-step process, without prior mixing of the materials, granulating and subsequent forming in ready shape. The potential advantages are in time and energy savings, as well as in increasing the flexibility of the industry, which would allow much faster variate composition of compounds due to fewer technological steps. This is a promising sector for the entire plastic materials industry.