Plastics have become fundamental components in contemporary life, serving critical functions in nearly every sector from healthcare to consumer goods. Their ubiquitous nature demands rigorous quality assurance measures to guarantee various aspects from product safety, environmental sustainability, to performance reliability. For a injection molding factory, ensuring consistent product quality is essential not only for safety and performance but also for staying competitive in the global market. As a leading OEM part on-demand manufacturer, KingStar Mold explores a comprehensive framework for plastic product evaluation, systematically addressing four key dimensions: material specifications, manufacturing protocols, performance benchmarks, and ecological compliance standards. Whether you are a professional or a researcher in a related field, this article is for your reference.
The quality of plastic products is directly affected by raw materials. Conducting strict inspection and control of the quality of plastic raw materials is the basis for ensuring the quality of plastic products. The quality inspection standards for raw materials include but are not limited to the following aspects:
- Appearance requirements: Inspect the surface of raw materials for obvious cracks, bubbles, foreign objects and other defects, and evaluate their color, luster, etc.
- Density inspection: Check whether the density of raw materials meets the requirements by the water immersion or other methods for density measurement.
- Melt flow rate inspection: Based on the type and application of plastic raw materials, the melt flow performance is tested through equipment such as melt flow index testers to determine their adaptability to processing and molding.
- Mechanical property inspection: This includes testing of tensile strength (measuring resistance to pulling forces), impact strength (evaluating shock absorption capacity) and hardness (assessing surface resistance to indentation), along with other mechanical characteristics to verify whether the products’ structural integrity and durability are adequate for intended applications.
- Weather resistance performance inspection: Conducted through controlled exposure testing (outdoor weathering) or laboratory simulations (accelerated aging chambers) that replicate various environmental conditions including UV radiation, temperature fluctuations, and moisture exposure, ensuring material performance stability over the product’s expected lifespan.
II. Quality Inspection Standards for Production Processes
The production process of plastic products is directly related to the structure and performance of the products. Conducting quality inspection on the production process is an important link to ensure the quality of plastic products. The quality inspection standards for production processes include but are not limited to the following aspects:
- Temperature control: By detecting and recording the temperature changes during plastic processing, the temperature is ensured to remain within a reasonable range to prevent overheating and other defects caused by plastic thermal decomposition during processing.
- Pressure control: By detecting and recording pressure changes during the plastic processing, it ensures the stability and rationality of processing pressure, avoiding product defects caused by abnormal pressure.
- Injection molding speed control: By adjusting the injection speed, the plastic can be fully and evenly filled in the mold, avoiding defects such as warping, shrinkage, etc.
- Cooling time control: The cooling time should be reasonably controlled according to the type (and accordingly, the structure) of the plastic to ensure that the plastic products are fully cured and maintain the stability of their shape during the cooling process.
- Mold design and Maintenance: Ensure regular maintenance of reasonably designed molds to reduce wear and deformation during use to improve accuracy and surface quality of products.
Real Scene in KingStar Mold Factory with Workers Inspecting Plastic Products
III. Inspection Standards for Performance Requirements of Plastic Products
The performance requirements of plastic products include multiple aspects such as physical properties, mechanical properties, chemical properties, electrical properties and so on. The performance requirements for different types of plastic products also vary. The inspection standards for the performance requirements of plastic products include but are not limited to the following aspects:
- Physical property tests: density, hygroscopicity, heat distortion temperature, etc.
- Mechanical property tests: tensile strength, impact strength, hardness, etc.
- Chemical property tests: chemical resistance, corrosion resistance, etc.
- Electrical performance tests: insulation resistance, dielectric strength, surface resistance, etc.
IV. Environmental Compliance Inspection Standards for Plastic Products
The environmental protection requirements for plastic products are one of the basic requirements for products in modern society. In order to protect the environment and human health, hte environmental compliance requirements for plastic products also need to be strictly inspected and controlled, including but not limited to the following aspects:
- Harmful substance testing: Test for heavy metals, organic solvents, flame retardants, and other harmful substances in plastic products to ensure that the products do not contain harmful substances that exceed the standard.
- Recycling and utilization of plastic waste: Encourage the use of recyclable plastic raw materials to produce products, enhance the recycling and utilization of waste plastic products, and reduce environmental pollution.
- Assessment of environmental protection of packaging materials: Evaluate the degradability, incinerability, etc. of packaging materials to reduce the environmental impact of plastic waste.
- Environmental compliance requirements for production processes: Encourage the adoption of low-energy consumption and low-pollution production processes to reduce the discharge of waste gas, waste water and solid waste.
The quality inspection standards for plastic products cover multiple aspects, such as the quality control of both raw materials and production processes, and requirements of both product performance and environmental compliance. By rationally formulating and implementing these standards, it can be ensured that plastic products possess excellent qualities in terms of safety, environmental compliance, and reliability, providing better products and services for society and consumers. The plastic industry should strengthen the formulation and update of standards to promote self-development and progress.
For a more detailed breakdown of specific part-level inspection procedures, refer to the Inspection Criteria for Plastic Parts.
