We are looking for the three or four color injection mold. Anyone can share your experience on this technology?

hi buddy, i think we can help|~ could you provide a mail so that i can send some detail to you. anyway, it would be better if we can get known what part or product you want to mold~

Hi Luo,

This is very conceivable. I have done several 3 color molds and adding a 4th color is not a big deal, depending on the part design and cavitation. The part design is the key, the mold and the equipment is not a problem

I agree with Phillip and have worked from the sales standpoint on many projects that were multi-shot (3 materials/barrels) and one four-shot. Part design and where you want the colors will drive the complexity and costs of the molds and processing capital.

Just as an additional point--- there is available commercially, very small injection barrels that are mold mounted---not machine mounted to provide small and fractional gram shots in specific operational sequence which can give you nearly unlimited material or color separation, depending upon part and mold design in conjunction with machine logic sequence.
4 Colors-- not a problem

Yes of course check out plasdan company for precisely controlled all electrically driven mould mounted injection units capable of a shot weight in fractions of a gram. Used for applications such as small TPE secondary shots in medical device manufacture. I represent Plasdan in the UK, they are very popular and very well engineered and designed.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for lots of good ideas. And sorry to reply you so late as I just come back from Chinese new year holiday. As we don't have the available multi-injection machine, I am thinking of the cheap solution without multi-injection machine. Can we use the insert molding? If we want 4 color, then we just 4 molds in 4 machines. And design these 4 machines as one automation line, connected by robot. With this kind of idea, we can make as many colors as we want.Does anyone have this kind of experience?

Hi Luo,

Yes this can be done. But you will need very precises robotics to do the part insertion on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th shot. A simple sprue picker type of robot does not have the accuracy or the robustness/repeatability to insert a piece into a very precise location. You'll need articulated arm SCARA type robots to provide the strength and the accuracy/repeatability for the insertion. When you see the cost of these and all the auxiliary controls, complete integration and consider the synchronization--4 molding machines and 4 robots and 4 molds all running in complete synchronicity----- you may have a lesser cost in the 4 shot molding machine and one mold.