Comparison of 3D printing and injection molding processes for elastic parts!

Daily life and industrial production are filled with a large number of elastic parts, such as shoe soles, rubber bands, mouse wrist guards, industrial washers, etc.

At present, Mohou.com’s main elastic part manufacturing processes include injection molding and 3D printing. So, which process is better to choose?This article will compare their respective advantages and disadvantages so that everyone can choose more intuitively the process that suits them.

1. Injection molding process

The heated liquid material is injected into the mold under pressure and solidifies after cooling. The molds are generally made of steel or aluminum.

1. Commonly used materials

Silicone, TPE, TPU

2. Advantages

Quickly complete mass production;

The parts have high precision and good material properties;

When the number of pieces reaches a certain amount, the unit cost is low.

3. Disadvantages

Tooling costs are high;

There are certain restrictions on the style.

2. 3D printing

The SLS process and the polyjet process are commonly used. Of course, the FDM process can also print elastic wire materials. Since the surface of the metal product is relatively rough, Mohou currently mainly uses SLS to print elastic TPU and polyjet process to print rubber. like materials.

1. Commonly used materials

TPU, Agilus30 rubber (30-90 hardness optional)

3D printing elastic TPU

3D printing rubber

2. Advantages

When manufacturing in small batches, the unit cost is low;

The molding restrictions are small and complex shapes can be produced;

No need to make expensive molds.

3. Disadvantages

The precision and details are not as good as injection molding;

Mass production is slow;

To summarize:

After completing the comparison, a summary was made based on the advantages and disadvantages of the two processes. For mass production, the injection molding process is used; for the production of single pieces or small batches, 3D printing can be used.