Nothing better after a day's work than to have dinner, pour a glass of wine and watch a video about plastic injection molding.

This guy is the David Attenborough of engineering!

What separates us from other animals? Plastic injection molding.

After spending 200 years making injection plastic I can say for sure this guy knows what he's talking about!

I made plastic injection molds for 35 years, and that was the most precise description of the process that I could wish for. Great work!

This guy is THE epitome educator! Clear, concise, and informative! Always a pleasure to watch his videos!

I’m a maintenance mechanic at a plastic injection molding plant. I rebuild and maintain these machines. If someone asked to explain the principles involved I don’t think I would have done it as well. Our molds don’t have hot runners, or date stamps so I actually picked up some knowledge. Good video sir.

As an industrial designer, I wish they would have taught this information in college as thoroughly as this video did in less than 10 minutes… would have saved me the trouble of piecing it together on my own bit by bit over a couple of years.

After spending over 25 years as an injection mould toolmaker I thought I knew just about all there was to know. This is an excellent educational video that I have benefitted from watching and learnt much more than I expected. Many thanks for posting this.

First aluminium cans and now plastic molding, what's next UKposts?

I work in the Injection-mold department, assembling products. Love it!

Something about these videos is just so therapeutic and relaxing, yet so rich with information

Absolutely agree with the Lego part. Our teachers often tell us how incrediblely complex and well-constructed the Lego parts are and what huge amount of engineering know-how went into making them. This year we even got the challenge to construct a mold for a Duplo part (A little bit easier but still great to build up knowledge as a student). On of our class even had to construct one for a Duplo slide. It took him and two teachers about 3 hours to find out how to construct the cavity in the mold in order to eject it from it.

this is insane. valuable information is so cheap these days.

I designed injection molded parts for over 38 years. This video is on of the most thorough presentations of the molding process. This video with help new designers and engineers explain why it will take weeks to complete a mold due to strength of the pressures and the precision, and complexity of cooling the mold. Hats off!

I never thought this subject would be so interesting yet here I am on the edge of my seat to learn how legos are injection molded…

Hey Bill. Thank you for returning to UKposts, I enjoy the way you explain things I normally don't think about. Have a fantastic day

Please be my professor, instead of the lunatic I have now

I'm a mechanical engineer and I just discovered your channel with this video, I had so much fun watching it, the description so accurate, and it seems the only thing left for me to do now is to binge the rest of your content

As a process technician in Injection Stretch blow molding and Injection molding, this is such an informative and accurate video on our industry. Thank you.

WOW...the dedication on the quality and details of this video is just amazing! You guys are true heroes to those who love to learn!

I'd just like to add that the water pumped round the tool isn't always cold. Where I work we regularly use water anywhere between 20*C and 80*C depending on the mould size and the material used for that job. We've even had moulds go up to 130*C for glass filled lens housings.

Been in Injection Molding since 1994, started as a operator and is now the Plant Manager. I always loved injection Molding,.

Once upon a time, I was to be a U of I student. I chose a different path, and never found my way back to school to get a degree. I feel like if I would have had teachers like this, I would have stayed in school. Thank you for making these amazing videos. I appreciate your work because it shows how amazing even simple household objects are. Thanks again.

As a kid, I studied the marks of injection molding on household objects without knowing how they were poured. Thanks for revealing the mystery.

worked in a molding plant for 5 years, very good introduction.

This is one of the best videos I've watched describing injection molding. Great job simplifying the process so most can understand it and opening the door to the more intricate side of mold making and processing.

As a professional injection moulding productions sales in this field，i can surely say this is the most clearest video to the explanation of injection machine

I can watch you explain anything and be completely entertained and educated. Love your videos.

Your videos are always perfect.

I am glad I stumbled upon this video BEFORE my chapter test on "Molds" in Solidworks. This video helped me understand and visualize the process soooo much better than it was ever explained to me in class! The lightbulb in my head has exploded and now I understand why I have to design with drafts and cavities on every single assignment. :-) Thank you!

Man I've been in high speed plastics for 8 years. Specializing in closure and preform injection molding and PET blow molding. I was so excited to watch this. Couldn't wait to make a comment about hot runners, but then he brought them in!! Having toured multiple injection press and mold shops, this really hit a special note for me.

How on earth does this guy make something as ordinary as plastic seem infinitely interesting? Thanks for the videos Bill!

Very nice. I am an injection molding process technician with 30 + years in the business. Your breakdown is a very informative approach to basic injection molding - great for the new guy/gal to gain an overall viewpoint of the process. Cudos to you for a clear and concise look into the process!

Thanks Bill for the explanation. In my apprenticeship we had injection molding machines, I used to feed the hopper. Back in the 70's the Italians were the "kings" of molders. We had a big tool shop that made so many molds.

This is exactly what I needed. I was interested to learn more about how injection molding works, and this video could not have been more perfect! Thanks for this!

underrated and forgotten beauty of Mechanical Engineering.

This guy could take Mr Wizard and Bill Nye in a fight I bet.

Its just perfect, this guy is going into such a detail in very limited time frame without making a single mistake. There is no room for improvement.

“If you cut a lego in half.” Yeah, you’re gonna need the Hacksmith for that. Those things are unbreakable.

8:06 "Look around you and see how many injection molded objects you can find." 'I'm pretty sure my laptop's case is injection molded.' 8:10 "Likely the device you are watching this on has injection molded parts" 'wow'

I work in a factory that does injection molding of ABS, PS and rubber too, used for shoes manufacturing, mainly soles and heels The machines are indeed very simple despite looking overly complex! To think that we still have fully functional 1970s machines that work only on relay logic and nothing more, and nearby computerized machinery, doing exactly the same job, every day 24hrs a day

I only assemble parts after they have been molded, but I always found this whole process fascinating.

His voice , his tone, .... so relaxing and immersive. Bill, you are the greatest..

I used to work at a CD/DVD manufacturing plant. This is exactly how we did it.

The diagrams and animations are the best I've seen when it comes to manufacturing processes.

I've learnt all this in school about 8 years ago, but if I saw this video back then, I'd understand it much better and faster. I think there's a lot to be changed in the educational system.

Well done Professor, from one engineer to another, I say bravo. Your educational work is top notch, inspiring, and consistent with the rearing nature of someone who cares for his fellow man. Bravo!

I know everything I'm going to write is obvious but I just wanted to leave a comment in case you haven't heard these things lately. I hope you know how absolutely great your videos are! Your ability to take complex subjects and break them down for dummies like me shows your absolute mastery over not only the topics at hand but of teaching, video acoustics, filming, editing, animation, writing, and so many other things I'm sure go unnoticed. Your visuals are amazing; plainly drawn, distinctly labeled, and animated clearly. Thank you so much for what you do! Also, thanks for taking the time to add in links to videos/podcasts with more information on the subject!

Love your animations. Thank you for putting so much thought and research into your videos.

I've been in the business since 1994 and I agree, that was the most concise description I have ever heard or watched. Well done! Thank you!

Was a machine operator for a while. This video is so entertaining, and really educational. Makes me want to get back into the industry.

Hey Bill, One of my favorite things about your videos are your super clear animation models. As a 3D modeler myself, do you model these pieces yourself? How do you do it? Thanks, and keep going!

Hi Bill, This is the first of your videos I've viewed. Very informative! I've been in the plastics business for about 20 yrs. and had no idea that's how injection molding started. I knew that celluloid was invented to replace Ivory, but not that this was the start of injection molding. I'm afraid you wouldn't find ejection pin marks on the product the Co. I work for produces. The parts are too thin, so are ejected by air. Think yogurt or butter containers. Other than that, you're spot on. Thank you from a new subscriber!

I am just starting at Plastic industry as a maintenance at Engel Global machines, this video helped me a lot in my first steps. Thank you Bill Hammack

I wish you were a professor in my college because your explanation is simple,clear and to the point, just the way it should be explained. You helped me for my exam sir. Thank you!

Lately I've been designing parts for plastic injection molding; at first I only knew the general idea but over time I've had to get more and more technical in my understanding. Even after reading a lot about the topic, this video has taught me more. There are some things I've learned recently that aren't specifically mentioned in this video: One is how to figure out which side is the core and which side is the cavity on a part. The core is the side of the mold with the ejector pins, and the cavity is the side with the injection gates. In practice, the ejector pins are never on the same side as the plastic is injected from. The core, which has the ejector pins, will be whatever side the mold engineer thinks the part is more likely to stick to when it shrinks during cooling. In practice this means that the core will be the side that has the most tooling enclosed by the part, or it will be the side that has the shallowest draft angle. I recently designed a part and was surprised that the vendor didn't want to put the ejector pins on the side that I was expecting, and then again I was surprised when the injection points couldn't be on the side I was expecting either. Another thing: the vendor used what are called submarine gates, which come in at 90 degrees to the pull direction and are designed to shear the sprue off of the part as the mold opens. Learning about this was fascinating.

Thank you a lot, engineerguy. I've got a homework about this great process and I didn't found better information than this video. You helped me to know an excellent info and valorate the extrusion process.

I love that this is as informative and thorough as it is. I didn't expect him to cover hit runners in such a short video. He did miss the fact that celluloid is flammable and volatile, though.

I'm a mechanical engineer and I've designed many injection molded consumer products for over 40 years that are very well known to everyone. I just want to say that this presentation is marvelous. Keep up the good work.

This was way more enthralling than I thought.

It's like listening to a story. Great job!

I used to operate a heavy mold machine at PMI when I was 18. I was so amazed at that simple process and all the parts we made.

Just recently discovered this channel and I am already completely hooked! The soothing voice, the clear explanations, no "sponsor shout outs", no "hit the subscribe" demands. Just pure knowledge and information! Great job!

never thought I'd watch this on a Sunday night... and enjoy it. Thank you.

Congrats Bill on earning the Carl Sagan Award. You deserve it. Your videos are the Cosmos of engineering.

He gets right down to it. No introduction except what is necessary for the topic at hand. Then on to the details. Wonderful.

I used to work in a factory that made its own injection molded parts for precision pumps. Modern injection molding is very fast, I think some of the cycles were just a few seconds. Still, the assembly machines were faster and so we were always behind on parts and were buying a ton of them from vendors as well.

Clear, concise, and full of amazing details!

I enjoy the way you explain things as well. The 3d animation of how the parts work is amazing. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos.

This is amazing. In ten minutes he explained what took 2 classes of Design of plastic products, and way clearer.

My father designed moulds and manufactured them. He also had a production line with numerous machines, British built (Newbury) and had the distinction of being able to convert imperial measures to metric and vice versa in his head. This was because we moved to the U.S. in the 1980's. Thanks for the video, it's a great reference to a life I lived long ago.

SO WHO WON THE BILLIARD BALL CONTEST?!

I'm in the plastic model kit building hobby, and I'm very used to speak about "sprues" to which the parts are attached. Today I learned they are actually called runners :)

Thank you very much for your video sir! I currently work as a procurement guy for a company selling electronic products and this video really helps me a lot know the fundamentals of the injection molding especially in this Covid hard times. Thank You!

That's a wonderful explanation and visualization. Every person working in plastic industry should watch this. We did not have such videos back in my time. This is so valuable.

great explanation! It would be a good companion series to discuss roto-molding, vacuum forming, and blow molding. ;-)

Wow, this is my new favorite channel! I wish this would have been around when I was a young man, just interested in all things mechanical and electrical. What a great resource. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Thanks Bill, as keen model builder I'm always interested to learn how they're made.

Great video. Many many years ago, I use to be a shop lead that was responsible for making sure 4 to 5 injection molding machines were producing products. This included material and mold changes, heater / chiller set ups. We had molds that also had screw elements that had to unscrew before ejecting the parts. The inside edges were razor sharp, and I have scars from removing stuck parts. If you use a phone that was made in Alberta in the early 80s, chances are, I was involved. Ever since, when I look at plastic parts, I try to understand how they are molded. The most complicated parts that I see now a days are printer frames with multiple sliding inserts and cavities. Extreme precision molds are required.

One thing I love about this channel is the number of really smart commenters that can provide various answers to the questions!

Very good explained, just one correction regarding "Lego Molds". Actually those were standard Hot Runner molds but no more in use in Lego. They are now returned to improved sprue tecnology in energy saving manners. Improved sprue means that it is basicly a "Stack" Mold meaning that during opening midle plate is also detached and robot removes the sprue with comlete gates.

This video is very well done, I have worked in an injection molding company for quite some time as a mold tech meaning I have to know a lot about the process. And he even taught me a good bit. Perfect.

No one has made a better video explaining this in the last 7 years, thank you for this explanation!

can't believe I watched this whole thing and enjoyed it

I never thought injection molding would be so interesting!

I did know the technical solution, but this explaining is on a lvl that even people never have been in contact with it can understand it easily. Great.

Top class tutorial as usual. No padding, no filling, no annoying music. Just straight in to the subject which is always made interesting. The way all UKposts videos should be. Thank you.

wow, so throughly explained !! Even with the history, I'm ready for a test paper !

I was just wondering about injection molding two days ago and UKposts recommended me this video. That means UKposts can read my mind!!!

Beyond awesome, educational, intuitive learning video! Like my own mechanical, gearhead, brain, I can mentally see how things work. I've always loved step,by, step instruction books, and videos on how things work. Thank you!👍😀

What didn't occur to me but recently is that the 3D design most allow for the object to be pushed out of the mold. There can't be overlapping structures that would obstruct the line of draw.

He did a great job explaining this. He is a teacher, no doubt. We need a society of inquisitive minds to share our knowledge. Maybe I don't know of cyber cities that already exist. Not political, egotistical but ways to learn and connect with others who enjoys the learning part of life

I always remember the pair of boots I had that had the date stamp from the mold embedded in the sole. I wonder how many boots went out without a date stamp and a huge protrusion instead! The lump of metal from the mold with the numbers was about 10mm long and about 8mm diameter!

In the 90's, a friend of ours owned a injection molding company. He made airplane windows and windshields. In the late 90's he helped a gaming company to bring 3D gaming to the public. In the early 90's, Government contract companies out at Edwards Air Force Base looked at injection molding of aircraft parts. You lay the special fabric down and inject the resin and bake it. This allows the aircraft to be more stealthy.

Idk what it is but the way this guy talks it gets me so engaged as if I’m listening to a narrator that’s describing an intense action scene. He talks at a steady and confident pace, but then very subtly he picks it up when he’s talking about stuff like the mold being injected with molten plastic. Idk lol it’s dope

this may be the best youtube channel.

Once again - awesome video!

As an industrial designer in college (someone who’s probably going to be making A LOT of plastic products) thank you for making such a comprehensive and understanding video :D

Now I am engaged in the business of plastic injection molding. I am very grateful that this video has let me know this great industry. I am looking forward to cooperating with more mold projects