Design Course
Designing of Plastic Products for Injection Moulding
Manufacturing Methods and Technologies
by
In Mold Decoration
In-mold decoration techniques are applied during molding process. These techniques can reduce the decorating cost. These techniques also reduce or eliminate the use of chemicals thus reducing the environmental or health hazards. In-mold decoration also offers the feasibility of applying multi-color graphics and patterns which is not possible with conventional painting methods.
The two common in-mold decoration methods are
- Powdered-paint method – In this process a powder is sprayed inside the mold before injecting the thermoplastic resin. When resin is injected the paint gets melted and bonds to the plastic part surface. This process involves the need for an automatic painting process.
- In-mold transfer decoration – This process involves the transfer of graphics from a preprinted carrier polyester film to the plastic surface during molding. The film is held by an electrostatic charge over the cavity surface. due to heat and pressure of the molding the decoration gets transferred from film to the molded part.
