Plastic parts have a significant array of appearance and texture. Plastic mold texture use for various purposes. Plastic mold surface textures are now more in demand as they catch the attention of everyone. You can get it with a surface finish that gives a specific look. It’s a critical factor for the performance of your product. To get your required surface texture and finishing, it’s necessary to know. What plastic mold texture is and how to texture plastic? It’ll be helpful for you to choose mold texturing companies.
What is Plastic Mold Texture?
Texture also refers to graining, a process of creating patterns. It’s for the improvement of plastic mold. The mold texturing process is a very cheap way of making complex patterns on plastic parts. Various factors involved in the precise creation of injection mold textures. In this process, we can produce a variety of patterns on the surface of molded plastic parts. Through chemiosmosis, we create patterns on the metal surfaces. Some types of graining in plastic are:
- Satin Patterns
- Geometric Pattern
- Wood Grain
- HN3D
- Leather Pattern
- HANDS
- Stripes & Images
- Sand Pattern
What Is The Mold Texturing Process?
The plastic mold texturing process consists of some steps:
➔ For removing surface grease and oil, we need to clean the mold cavity.
➔ In the sealing step, molding companies use adhesive paper. They apply a corrosion-resistant coat to prevent corrosion. Apply it on the cavity surface, which is not in use for the texturing process. Mold texturing companies use three common sealing materials in these steps.
- For sealing the detail, they use thin adhesive paper.
- For the coverage of most cavity surface areas, they use thick adhesive paper.
- In the last step, they apply a corrosion coat to cover the remaining area. Such as a complicated surface with curvy features.
➔ The next step is the drying of the anti-corrosion coating.
➔ After drying, wipe out the cavity surface with absorbent tissue or cotton. The texture cavity surface must be free from any dirt particles. It can affect the texture and can cause molding defects.
➔ Apply a coat on the surface of the cavity mold. Then coat it on the texturing area and soak it in the corrosive fluids. You have to repeat soaking if you want the desired texture. So, you must pay attention and deliberate on texture status.
➔ In the injection mold texturing process, sandblasting performs two functions.
- With ammonia and pressure washers, we remove the remaining liquid from the surface.
- It tunes the gloss of the texturing parts. We can get various levels of a gloss with the usage of several pressure levels and sand.
➔ In the post-treatment level, we clean the cavity surface. Then apply rust protection agents. Complete it before the delivery of molded parts.
Why Is Plastic Mould Texturing Used In Injection Plastic Molding, And What’s Its Purpose/Functionality?
Mold design and texture give unique features and look to plastic molded parts. The designer chooses texture due to the extensive functionality that it provides. Some of the primary purposes of mold texture are as following:
- It gives a pleasant look and aesthetic feel to the product.
- Plastic mold texture improves the appearance and gives flexibility to the products.
- The mold texturing process makes it possible to conceal the imperfections of parts. Such as welding lines, shrinkage, shadow marks, and slider steps.
- It provides a surface finish that can offer strong resistance from any damage.
- We can end plastic flow creases with the thickness of the texture. It also gives non-slippery features and strength to the molded parts.
- Paint adhesive is excellent during the molding operations. Texture makes part easy to hold.
- We can improve product durability and surface strength with an injection mold.
- They give a non-plastic appearance, and it’s a cost-effective procedure.
- The texturing process enables us to make intricate designs and patterns on parts.
If you select mold texturing companies, it’ll help to gain the desired surface finish. You must know about the material, tooling, and other factors. If you need more information about surface finishing. Contact us for the best results and design for your plastic part.
How To Measure Surface Texture In Injection Molding, And What Are SPI Mould Finish Standards?
You must be familiar with the technical language. Molders use for measuring and describing the surface finish chart. How do toolmakers measure them in the production industry? Tools make surface texture in the manufacturing process. If you want to get the desired surface texture, it’s essential to know. How to texture plastic, and how can you measure it?
Mold texturing companies must abide by the standards. Standards created by plastic industry association (PIA). PIA is a regulatory and trade organization. It helps and supports all plastic chains all over the world. They have set standards to measure the specific kinds of finishes. These standards check the finishing quality and cosmetic quality of plastics. These standards are also called SPI comparators due to their former name. Plastic mold makers use these comparators for the measuring of finishes. According to the PIA classification system, there are four grades: A, B, C, and D.
❏ Group A: finishes made with diamond buffing place in group A.
❏ Group B: finishes made with grit sandpaper relate to group B.
❏ Group C: finishes made with grit sanding stones specified in group C.
❏ Group D: finishes made with pressure blasting are in the D category. Molders use aluminum oxide grain and glass beads.
How To Know Which Are The Best Standards To Use And How To Determine Texture On An Injection Molding?
You must be aware of different mold texture standards. It’s difficult to select the best standards for plastic injection molding. A guide book may help decide on injection molding texture. Mold tech texture chart available for standards industry texture. You can buy a complete set for reference texture.
Individual plaque is also for selling. You can buy it for mold tech texture. Texture finishes are different in depth. You may need a suitable draft for texture finishing. The plaque can identify the draft angle and texture depth. Sample plaque set has actual mold surface texture with its associated mold-tech numbers. These mold tech numbers can use for the specification of your desired texture. Mold tech and Yick Sang are the best ones for standard mold texture specification. Yick Sang is cheaper than mold-tech. In China, you can use Yick Sang for standard texture.
Do Various Finish Surfaces Play A Role In Production Cost?
When we choose a surface texture, many factors involved in its production. Time and efforts for surface texturing play a significant role in parts cost. If you choose a high surface texture from the plastic texture chart. It may be more costly and time-consuming. As more time and effort may need for its manufacturing.
Category A :
This category is for the highest standard grades. Finishes made with diamond buffing belong to this category. Molders apply a diamond buffing paste. Then polishes the surface with the help of a rotary tool. This process will complete in a non-linear pattern and a random. It reflects the light without the sign of a transparent texture. Category A finishes are shiny, glossy, and smooth. These finishes are much costly, and we make visors, optical parts, and mirrors. Category A further divided into three levels.
Category B :
They are semi-gloss finishes and made with sandpaper. Category B finishes have enough concealing properties for manufacturing flaws. Such as marks of machining and toolings. They are cheaper than category A. It requires 600 grit for B-1, 400 for grit B-2 and 320 grit required for B-3. Molders apply finishes in the back and forth motion. Thus during the production of the pattern, it makes linear scratches on the molded parts.
Category C :
In this category, finishes with grit standing stone classify. The grit of the stone range is from 600 to 320. Finishes create a flat and rough surface. The reason is their aggressiveness during the cutting process. We use this process to erase molding marks and tooling and give the plastic a matte finish look.
Category D :
Blasting with glass beads and sand produces rough finishes. The random nature of the spray creates a non-directional and uniform finish. This level performs for dull and flat finishes. Except for these four categories of surface finishes. We also use spark erosion and electric discharge machines for the manufacturing process. We measure these methods as per PIA standards.
What Are Some Common Drywall Texture Problems, And How To Resolve These Problems?
Some common drywall problems occur during finishing drywall. Drywall finishes provide a graceful and elegant appearance. So if you face some issues, you need to solve these problems.
● If you mix too much water in the mixture, you have to face the mix’s lumping. You can resolve this problem by mixing more water until no more lumps appear in the drywall mixture. You should mix the mixture and don’t add more mixture. More water is better for solving the lumping of the mix.
● Spraying on texture requires full concentration and expertise. Consistency in speed must follow during the applications of texture. Choose the best and recommended speed for this purpose. For the right and proper viscosity, add enough water to the mixture. Otherwise, the problem of poor coverage may occur.
● The problem of joint darkening also affects the quality of texture. It causes because of the application of mixture over a damp in humid condition. Make sure of the complete dryness of the mixture before starting drywall texturing. You can use tools for removing humidity. Apply texture when the room temperature is appropriate for work.
● Before applying a spray, make sure you’re following all recommendations and guidelines. Your gun should be at the right angle and distance. The texture doesn’t adhere to the wall surface without proper distancing. For avoiding any spraying problems, you must follow all instructions of molders.
Bottom Line
All plastics look different and unique due to their texture. People have become more trendy and like different looks of their plastic products. Plastic injection molding process and mold texturing are more in demand. Contact the best mold texturing companies for the best plastic mold texture.
