Whatever your material might be, it is placed into a heated barrel of an injection molding machine, or injection press. From there, it is blended together and pushed into a mold cavity where it cools. At that point, it hardens and takes the permanent shape of the mold. Click here to view an interactive graphic that takes you through each step.
Molds are typically designed by a moldmaker or toolmaker out of metal and can be created to form almost anything—even entire body panels on cars.
This video shows an injection molding machine in all of its three modes: manual, semi-automatic and automatic.
