Does anyone know where I could find an affordable small plastic injection molding machine? I heard some people actually make their own out of old electric deep fryers or "crock pots", I have also seen those wax injectors used by jewelers but I dont think its hot enough to melt plastic. Maybe were all just stuck into using resin for casting our parts eh:((

I guess your right, injection molding everything I've heard is they are everything but affordable, that molds themselves can cost up to 15 grand just for one set to be cut.

Not for the little guy, everybody has been looking though, just like you, if you can invent the ultimate cheap way, you will have all kinds of followers.

Kerry

Kerry, I can't speak to the machine itself but tooling for a plastic model kit runs about 250 grand, from what I have heard.
Muttley,
Making a plastic model kit involves a nasty combination of extreme temperature and very high pressure. Styrene beads are melted and shot into heated tooling.

Ain't no way someone is injection molding at home with a crock pot...
Heck, I have enough trouble making stuff out of the aluminum from empty beer cans.

Shaun

I believe that the home-made machines are actually for vacuum forming, a totally different process for moulding plastic. Plans for a vacform machine have appeared in FSM and other magazines.

I work with injection molding everyday(Quality depertmant). Our machines cost from 100K to 300K. Tools from 50K to 250K. We work with temperatures from 150-300 C. Injection pressures from 300-1400 Bar. Not easy to work with in your garage.
There are some hand-operated machines on the marked, that are quite small. Don't now much about them though.

Well Gentlemen laugh if you must :-) but I have done a bit of experimentation with two toy injectors from WalMart. First one up was the Super Injector by TOYMAX, it looked ok cause it was supposed to cast toy soldiers in the molds that came with it. Heck on my first try the freaking injector spout clogged on me right away so away the whole set went into my storage shed!!! Next up was the Car Factory by HOTWHEELS. This toy was a bit more promising cause even though it took awhile for the heating device to activate no thanks to its cheap plastic switches that sometimes wont switch on it did melt and continously injected the plastic casting bars that came with it straight down into the mold. Injection was done via a manual pump like lever. I thought that maybe with a little more technical thinking (which I dont have ) the whole device can be dismantled and re-assembled into another configuration (like set it up on a small table) in which can be used to cast model parts The only thing I realy dont know about is the type of plastic it can melt and inject. So far it did fine with soft plastic but I dont know how it would deal with polyester styrene which I believe is the harder but more brittle type of plastic used on our beloved models. Anyone out there who knows more about melting points of plastics before I "shanghai" my toy injector ?

Shaun, I surly wasn't talking about the whole machine for only 15 grand, if you look at that again, I said just to cut plates, course I said set, but that is what plates come in usually is a set to make a mold, but then you will need a machine.

Course, I'm not really sure, cause this is what I been told, what it cost to get them cut, and this is just getting somebody for cutting.

Out of all the places I delivered to, just about all of them had injection molding machines, but only a couple had the machines to make the virgin plastic.

Kerry

Kerry,

The tooling does come in sets, a swing and ram is what call the sets in the foundry where I supervise the pattern (tooling) department. I was just sayin' that the tooling can get pretty expensive and I don't have a clue as to what the actual molding machines cost. We put in a new machine to make molds for iron castings out of green sand about two years ago and it was 1.7 million.

I think we are the same page. I hope you don't I was being a smart @ss.

Shaun