Injection Blow Molding (IBM) for Packaging Purposes

What is Injection Blow Molding (IBM)? IBM is a common manufacturing process, great for small containers, packages with threaded necks or wide mouth openings, or for highly styled shapes. PP (Polypropylene), HDPE (High Density Polyethylene), LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene), and PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) are some common plastics used in IBM.

The Process of injection blow molding

Injection Blow Molding can be broken down into three stages:

1. Melted plastic is injected into a mold cavity, which produces a preform. The preform consists of a fully formed bottle/jar neck with a thick tube of plastic attached, which will eventually form the desired shape of the package.
2. The preform is placed inside another cavity where it is heated and compressed air is injected until the preform inflates and takes the shape of the cavity, to where it is then cooled enough to maintain its shape.
3. The resulting container is then transferred to a desired location to be ejected from the machine.

IBM’s Advantages

Bottles produced via IBM have a tight tolerance when it comes to neck finish dimensions, wall thickness, and weight. This method, unlike Extrusion Blow Molding (EBM), yields virtually no scrap and can be used to produce containers that can utilize snap-in orifice reducers and dropper plugs.

IBM’s Disadvantages

Using the IBM method generally means facing longer tooling development timelines and higher equipment costs, so it is typically used for products with high volumes.  

Applications of injection blow molding

Injection blow molding is utilized to make various kinds of parts. Products that are delivered from the injection blow molding process are usually plastic, hollow, and thin-walled. These products are routinely consumed and are available in different shapes and sizes, depending on the requirement. Let's mention some of these kinds of blow-molded parts: water & soft drink bottles, shampoo & cleanser bottles, oil containers, milk containers, storage tanks, plastic drums, tubs, and many more.

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