Plastic injection molding presses are classified or rated based on tonnage, or more accurately the clamping pressure or force. Presses can run in size from less than 5 tons of clamping pressure to over 4000. The higher the press ton rating, the larger the machine.
A machine rated for 68 tons can deliver 68 tons of clamping pressure. This pressure keeps the mold closed during the injection process. Too much or too little pressure can cause quality issues. Too much or too little pressure can also cause flashing, where the excess material appears on the part edge. Pressure also impacts the viscosity of the plastic being used in the project. Melt Flow Index or MFI is a measure of the ease of flow of the melt of a thermoplastic polymer. Plastic compounds react differently to pressure based on their MFI. The higher the MFI, the higher the pressure needed.
Many factors are taken into consideration when determining the size of the press. The size of the part, the polymer being used and something called the safety factor. The safety factor is an additional numerical percentage buffer that is added to the calculation to help avoid defects in the final part. Some recommend adding 10% to allow for the safety factor. As mentioned earlier, the MFI (Melt Flow Index) of the plastic compound will also impact the pressure needed to produce the part. Many calculations include the platen size as well as the mold and part size, however, to get an estimate of the press size your project will need, we have simplified it even further:
Many plastic injection professionals use a general rule of thumb of 2.5 times the surface square inches of the part to be produced. So, if you have a part with 42 square inches, then you would need a press size with 105 tons of pressure. If you add 10% for a safety factor, you will need to use a press with a minimum of 115 tons of clamping force. A press size of 120 tons would be able to accommodate your plastic injection molded product.
By Aileen
