MJF vs Injection Moulding

MJF vs Injection Moulding

Injection moulded parts brought to market faster with lower project costs and more complex geometries by HP Multi-Jet Fusion.

Injection moulding is a tried-and-true method of mass-producing plastic parts using the process of injected molten materials. Now 3D printing brings opportunity to cut down production time and create new avenues with complex geometric solutions. Multi-Jet Fusion (MJF) is here, and IPFL is ready to demonstrate its benefits over the old faithful. High accuracy, good surface finish, and excellent mechanical properties are just the start.

Drawbacks to Injection Moulding

The troublesome cost and extensive time investment required for injection moulding is a production problem that requires a solution. These problems follow other concerns including:

• Limited design
• High MOQ
• Expensive setup/tooling costs
• Post-production assembly
• Extensive supply chain

The Benefits of Multi-Jet Fusion

Customers of IPFL have been lucky enough to experience the offer of fast, low-cost production parts without the traditional burdens. HP Multi-Jet Fusion with IPFL offers:

• Production expertise and design guidance
• Complex geometries and optimised design
• Component consolidation – streamlined production with assembly reduction
• Faster product realism – development cycle or time to market

With high entry costs for injection moulding and mistakes difficult to correct, it’s hard not to consider additive manufacturing. IPFL have helped our clients through the design and manufacturing process using custom designs with improvements in function and aesthetics.

Designers and manufacturers have the flexibility of optimising their designs for purpose and functionality, not just manufacturing method.

“With MJF, mistakes can be realised and in a much shorter development time than injection moulding” – HP

HP illustrates the breakeven for investing in their 3D printer, against having parts injection moulded.

“In a landscape where additive manufacturing technologies are considered too costly or slow (or both) to be useful for wider adoption, this is a paradigm shift that makes 3D printing a viable alternative to injection moulding in mass manufacturing” – 3DP

• Speed and cost: MJF is faster and less expensive than injection moulding for small to medium runs of parts, especially when needing to make multiple variations of the same design.
• Design freedom: MJF can create complex geometries and internal structures that would be difficult or impossible to produce with injection moulding. This allows for more design freedom and can lead to lighter, stronger, and more efficient parts.
• Lower tooling costs: Injection moulding requires the creation of expensive metal moulds, which can take several weeks to produce. With MJF, parts are printed directly without the need for tooling. Prototypes can be delivered much quicker.
• Flexibility: MJF is a versatile technology used to produce a wide range of parts, including those made from engineering-grade materials. This makes it a good choice for applications requiring high strength and stiffness, such as functional prototypes and end-use parts.
• Time-to-market: MJF can reduce the time-to-market for new products. Customers can quickly iterate on designs and produce functional prototypes in-house, without waiting for moulds to be manufactured.

Product value has been notably increased by utilising the high versatility of processes. These include Machining and Fabrication, post processing, polishing, bead blasting, tumbling, and dyeing—all done in-house at IPFL.

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