Metal-to-Plastic Conversion

Lower manufacturing cost

Lighter Weight/Reduced Environmental Impact

Zero Corrosion

How Can Plastic Parts Perform Just as Well as or Better Than Metal?

Careful design and planning, selection of appropriate materials, and use of scientific molding principles will control the main factors that affect precision, accuracy, and tight tolerances. These include material preparation, melt flow index, machine processing parameters, and, most importantly, using sophisticated sensor technology to track what is happening inside the tool in real time. Making these kinds of high-performance plastic parts and products therefore also requires a robust quality system that can monitor every step of the injection molding process.

Injection molders that consistently fail to meet tolerance specifications in plastic parts could drive up costs through additional machining, quality sorting, or warranty recalls – not to mention potential litigation.

Advantages of Plastic vs. Metal

It only takes one bad experience with plastic parts to drive a manufacturer back to metal. But, by partnering with an experienced metal-to-plastic-conversion injection molder, there are some significant advantages to choosing plastic, such as:

Lower production costs

No secondary process required to prevent oxidation
Possible elimination of some assembly and/or machining
Plastic is generally less expensive than metal
Molded-in color/graphics capabilities vs. painting

Lighter weight

Helps automotive OEMs comply with industry EPA standards
Lower shipping costs
Less physical fatigue on vehicle assembly line operators
Improved vehicle fuel efficiency and performance

Keys to a Successful Conversion

Successful metal-to-plastic conversion requires understanding the limitations of the process, materials, and tools before committing to the project. Every part or product isn’t a good fit for metal-to-plastic conversion. Important factors to carefully consider are the expected tolerances, materials, specific part design/configuration, and initial mold flow/analysis.