Large Tonnage Injection Molding Specialists in Southern California

Our high-capacity equipment offers substantial benefits for creating sizeable components. The use of our capabilities ensures complete mold filling even with complex geometries and thick wall sections. The clamping force allows for optimal material flow and consistent dimensional stability. Our workflow incorporates specialized cooling techniques for large-scale items not possible with standard equipment. Unlike other fabrication approaches, production with high-capacity machinery provides exceptional surface finish and dimensional precision. The techniques we employ can be tailored to different materials and geometries, enabling production of components that would be impossible with conventional equipment. Plastic injection molding at this scale requires specific expertise that our team has developed through decades of hands-on experience.

Structural foam technology creates components with solid outer surfaces and cellular cores by incorporating foaming agents during production. This technique yields items with exceptional strength-to-weight ratios, making it ideal for applications where weight reduction matters without compromising integrity. At Norco, we utilize high-pressure equipment rather than traditional low-pressure machinery, enabling greater precision and consistency. The resulting items exhibit superior rigidity, excellent dimensional stability, minimal sink marks on thick-walled sections, and enhanced insulation properties. This approach is particularly valuable for material handling containers, industrial housings, and durable items including furniture and storage solutions. The technique requires precise control of injection parameters, foaming agent activation, and cooling cycles to achieve optimal cellular structure. Considerations of large tonnage equipment capabilities are essential when designing optimal structural foam components.

When designing components for high-capacity production, several key considerations optimize results and product quality. Proper wall thickness design is crucial - uniformity helps prevent warping, while strategic variations can enhance structural integrity. Draft angles must be carefully planned to facilitate ejection from the mold. Material selection significantly impacts flow characteristics, cooling time, and properties. Gate location and size must be strategically placed to ensure complete mold filling while minimizing visible marks. For structural foam applications, additional design elements must account for the cellular core formation. Every design requires appropriate safety factor calculations based on intended load requirements, environmental exposure, and service life expectations. When using equipment of large tonnage, these safety factors become particularly important due to the significant forces involved. Our team provides guidance on these considerations based on our extensive experience with similar components. Plastic injection molding at this scale requires specialized design approaches that differ substantially from smaller-scale production techniques.

Incorporating appropriate safety factors into component design is critical for ensuring long-term performance and reliability. Our engineering team works with customers to understand the specific load requirements, environmental exposures, and service life expectations for each component. Safety factors are mathematically calculated ratios between maximum allowable stress and expected operating stress, typically ranging from 1.2 for non-critical applications to 3.0 or higher for components where failure could have serious consequences. These safety factors inform decisions about wall thickness, reinforcement placement, and material selection. The development of proper safety factors requires understanding both material properties and the capabilities of large tonnage equipment used in production. With our techniques, we can incorporate varying wall thicknesses and strategic reinforcement ribs to achieve the necessary structural integrity while minimizing material usage, weight, and cycle time. Plastic injection molding with appropriate safety factors results in components that perform reliably throughout their intended service life.

For our production capabilities, several materials perform exceptionally well depending on specific requirements. Engineering-grade resins like polypropylene, HDPE, and ABS are commonly used due to their excellent flow characteristics, structural stability, and cost-effectiveness. For applications requiring enhanced strength, glass-filled nylon or polycarbonate provides superior mechanical properties. When utilizing structural foam techniques, materials that respond well to foaming agents include polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene. For items that need chemical resistance, modified polypropylenes and specialty compounds can be recommended. Material selection should consider factors such as expected operating environment, mechanical load requirements, aesthetic considerations, and component size. Our technical team can provide guidance based on your application needs, helping identify options that balance performance requirements with production considerations. Parameters are then optimized for each specific material to ensure consistent quality. The workflow of injection molding with different materials requires specific adjustments to temperature, pressure and cooling profiles.

High-capacity techniques differ significantly from standard approaches in several important ways. They require substantially more clamping force to counteract the higher pressures needed for filling larger molds. This increases mold design complexity, requiring robust construction to withstand these forces while maintaining precision. The workflow must carefully manage significantly larger volumes of material melt, with our machines handling up to 1000 oz shot sizes compared to just a few ounces in standard equipment. Heating and cooling cycles are more sophisticated, as larger components require precise temperature control throughout the substantial mass to prevent defects. Parameters must be carefully controlled to ensure complete filling of large cavities while avoiding issues like flash or short shots. Additionally, cycle times are typically longer due to extended cooling requirements, affecting production planning and efficiency calculations. Injection molding at this scale demands specialized knowledge that conventional molders often lack.

Our specialized production methods benefit numerous industries requiring substantial components. The transportation and automotive sector utilizes our services for dashboards, interior panels, and structural elements that demand precise dimensional control and appropriate safety factors for vehicular applications. Material handling industries rely on our expertise for durable containers, pallets, and logistics equipment. Construction and infrastructure benefit from our ability to produce weatherproof housings, utility components, and architectural elements. Agricultural equipment manufacturers utilize our services for equipment housings and components that must withstand harsh outdoor conditions. Our techniques can be adapted to the specific requirements of each industry, ensuring optimal performance for the intended application while maintaining cost-effectiveness. Plastic injection molding at these scales enables solutions not possible with other manufacturing techniques.

With our 2800 ton machinery and shot capacity up to 1000 oz, Norco can manufacture exceptionally sizeable components for various applications. The maximum practical dimensions depend on several factors including geometry, material selection, and wall thickness requirements. Our equipment can typically handle items with a projected area of several square feet. For flat components like pallets, we can produce pieces approaching 48"x48" with moderate wall thickness. Three-dimensional items with complex geometries may have different size limitations based on their specific design. The weight of finished components can range from several pounds to over 50 pounds depending on material density and design. Production of substantial items requires specialized knowledge of material flow behavior, gating strategies, and cooling parameters. Our team can evaluate your specific needs to determine feasibility and recommend design modifications that might improve manufacturability. The use of equipment of large tonnage enables production possibilities that smaller machines simply cannot match.