Injection molding machine operators are an important factor in the final injection molded part that is produced.
There are a wide range of skill levels required from injection molding machine operators. The first level is rather easy and basically requires little training. This requirement of the injection molding machine operator is to make sure the part or parts come out of the injection mold. Most of the time, the part or parts run automatic and do not require the injection molding machine safety gate to be opened and shut to cycle the mold. The parts that come out of the mold must be visually inspected by the injection molding machine operator to make sure the part is filled out and also flash free (excess plastic on the part).
The next level requires some training. At this level, the injection molding machine operator must open the door and remove the part from the injection molding machine and shut the gate to cycle the part again. Once the operator takes the part out of the injection mold usually the gate that fills the part must be cut off. On some injection molded parts, flash may have to be trimmed off the part and also may have to be placed on a shrink fixture.
Additionally, there are some injection molded parts that require all of the above duties mentioned and some added tasks that require an experienced operator to perform. Hand loaded inserts require the operator to insert either a threaded insert or an insert with some other kind of configuration. These inserts must be placed in the injection mold with extreme care. Once the injection molding cycle is complete, the parts must be removed from the mold. The hand loaded insert must then be removed from the molded part. This process usually requires an unscrewing fixture or some other means to remove the insert from the part. This all must be done within the cycle time of the next part. There are also some inserts that need to be loaded into the injection molded part that will stay in the part after it is molded such as threaded inserts where threads would be too costly to mold.
At Toth Mold/Die Inc. we realize that our injection molding machine operators are invaluable and we attribute our success in part to their long term dedication and unsurpassed attention to detail. One of the most important factors is to be able to have the same injection molding machine operators work at your shop for as long as possible, so that over time, they become familiar with all the parts that are produced. At Toth Mold/Die Inc. we have some Ohio injection molding machine operators that have been employed for over 25 years!