Home / Capabilities
Injection Molding Capabilities
Custom plastic injection molding for a wide range of industries, with molds built in our own Ohio tool shop, from DFM review and 3D-printed prototypes to high-volume production, assembly and inspection, all molded in America.
Capabilities
From part design to production
Midwest Molding supports your program at every stage: material selection and part design, 3D-printed prototype parts, custom injection molding, robotic automation, assembly and inspection, for programs in automotive, consumer products and many other industries. The same support covers programs you are moving from another supplier, overseas or in the U.S., and we can take over your existing tools. Send us a drawing or an idea, and our engineers will help you plan the path to production.
Mold building since 1989
Molds built in our own Ohio tool shop
Our tool shop has been building injection molds since 1989. We build new injection molds on U.S.-made mold bases in our company-owned tool shop in Ohio and run them on our own presses, so the people who build your mold work with the people who mold your parts. The same shop evaluates and repairs transferred molds and keeps every tool in shape with preventive maintenance, dry-ice cleaning and ultrasonic cleaning. Need a mold to run in your own plant or at another molder? We build those too.
We prioritize U.S.-made components: every mold starts on a U.S.-made mold base, and we choose American-made components wherever they are available.
New molds from PO to parts in hand in as little as 3 weeks.*
*Typical for a straightforward tool. Part size and complexity, steel and component availability, design changes and approval timing can all add to lead time. We confirm your schedule with your quote.
The shop builds molds up to 10,000 lb, and our presses run molds up to 40,000 lb. Tooling support covers hot runners, core pulls and valve gates.
Custom injection molding
Injection molding on more than 70 all-electric presses
We mold custom plastic parts on more than 70 all-electric injection molding presses, from 45 to 1,800 tons, in a climate-controlled plant that runs 24/7, including insert molding, multi-shot options and gate cutting for complex parts. We run a design-for-manufacturing (DFM) review before a mold is built, looking at your part design, material and tooling, so your part is ready for reliable, repeatable production. We mold all common resins, from commodity grades like polypropylene to engineering grades like nylon.
Engineering support
DFM review and 3D-printed prototypes
Our engineers can get involved as early as the quote. They review part designs for manufacturability, recommend materials and tooling, and support cost and risk assessments. Our in-house 3D printers make prototype parts for form and fit checks before steel is cut. We help companies bring new concepts to market, from first idea to full production.
Automation
Robotic automation in every molding cell
Robots handle repetitive work in our molding cells. More than 40 3-axis Cartesian robots remove parts from the mold and place them on conveyors or into automated stations, so every part is handled the same way, cycle after cycle. Downstream, 6-axis robots assist with gate cutting, laser marking of individual part labels, case erecting and more, while vibratory bowl feeders and ultrasonic welding support sub-assembly, vision systems support inspection, and real-time monitoring software tracks every machine on our network.
Assembly & secondary operations
Parts that ship ready for your line
Many programs need more than a molded part. Our secondary operations include automated gate cutting, laser marking of individual part labels, ultrasonic welding, sub-assembly and automated case erecting, so components leave our plant ready for the next step in your production. Assembly cells combine 6-axis robots, vibratory bowl feeders and part-specific fixtures, and parts are checked in fixtures at the station. Tell us what happens to your part after molding, and we will look at what we can take on.
Quality control
ISO 9001 certified quality
Quality is built into every step. Midwest Molding is ISO 9001 certified, and detailed inspection and verification processes ensure parts meet dimensional and customer requirements, from raw materials to finished products. Inspection tools on our floor include vision systems, part-specific checking fixtures and blue-light 3D scanners that compare parts with CAD data. Ask us how we would inspect your part.
Mold maintenance
In-house mold maintenance and cleaning
Dry-ice cleaning, ultrasonic cleaning and preventive maintenance keep your tool running and your parts consistent, from the first shot to the millionth. Transferred molds are evaluated in our company-owned tool shop before production.
Connected plant
Cloud-based ERP, EDI and real-time monitoring
We run on a modern cloud-based ERP system with EDI capabilities, so orders and documents can move electronically between your system and ours. Every piece of equipment on our floor is connected to our network, not just the presses: thermolators, dryers, hot runner controls, feeders and more. Real-time monitoring software shows us what every machine is doing as it happens, so we catch problems early and can give you accurate status on your orders.
Equipment & capacity
What runs on our floor
| Injection molding machines | More than 70 all-electric presses, from 45 to 1,800 tons |
|---|---|
| Press brands | Mostly Shibaura Machine (formerly Toshiba Machine), plus FANUC ROBOSHOT, all all-electric |
| Robots | More than 40 3-axis Cartesian take-out robots, including Wittmann and Yushin; Yaskawa, FANUC and Universal Robots 6-axis robots for downstream automation |
| Tool build lead time | New molds from PO to parts in hand in as little as 3 weeks, depending on part complexity and other factors |
| Tooling support | Hot runners, core pulls, valve gates; molds built up to 10,000 lb; presses run molds up to 40,000 lb; in-house mold maintenance with dry-ice and ultrasonic cleaning; molds also built to run in your plant |
| Downstream automation | Automated gate cutting, laser marking of individual part labels, case erectors, ultrasonic welding, sub-assembly with vibratory bowl feeders |
| Inspection | Vision systems, part-specific checking fixtures, blue-light 3D scanners |
| Material handling | Automatic resin loaders |
| Production monitoring | Real-time monitoring software; every machine on our network, including thermolators, dryers, hot runner controls and feeders |
| ERP & EDI | Modern cloud-based ERP system with EDI capabilities |
| Materials | All common resins, from commodity grades like polypropylene to engineering grades like nylon, including high-temperature materials |
| Prototyping | In-house 3D printers for prototype parts, for form and fit checks before steel is cut |
| Plants | Plain City, Ohio, and Cleveland, Tennessee: more than 225,000 sq ft of manufacturing and warehouse space; production runs 24/7 |
Mold transfers & reshoring
Moving a mold from another supplier?
We take over existing tools from overseas and from other U.S. molders. Transferred molds are evaluated in our company-owned tool shop and are usually in production within a couple of weeks.
Have a part to quote?
Send a drawing, a sample or just the details, or call (614) 873-1572.