Choosing Materials For Plastic Injection Molded Parts

Material selection affects more than the final plastic part. It also influences shrinkage, mold design, gate position, cooling, surface finish and long-term product performance.

Product teams should consider strength, toughness, temperature resistance, flame resistance, dimensional stability, chemical resistance, color requirements and surface texture. For reinforced materials, glass fiber direction and wear on mold components also need attention.

Tec-Shine can review material requirements during the early DFM stage and discuss how material behavior may affect mold construction, injection parameters and production quality.

When the material is not finalized, it is useful to compare several options before tooling. This helps balance cost, performance, cosmetic expectations and production stability.