Your Trusted Manufacturing Partner

Bring our experience and know how to your plastic products.

Plastic Component Manufacturing

Plastic components are used in almost every industry, from everyday consumer products through to specialist components used in manufacturing, construction, food production and industrial applications. Injection moulding provides a reliable way to manufacture these components repeatedly and accurately, particularly where businesses need consistent dimensions, controlled material properties and a dependable supply of parts.

At Hillbrush, we provide UK plastic component manufacturing from our production facility in Mere, Wiltshire. Alongside manufacturing our own cleaning equipment, our injection moulding operation supports other businesses that need additional manufacturing capacity, a partner for an existing mould tool, or help taking a new plastic component from concept into production.
Images

What is plastic component manufacturing?

Plastic component manufacturing covers a number of different production processes. One of the most widely used is injection moulding, which is capable of producing anything from relatively simple components to detailed engineered parts.

The basic principle is straightforward. Plastic material is heated until it can flow, injected into a mould tool under pressure and allowed to cool into the required shape. The mould opens, the component is removed and the cycle begins again.

Once the process has been established correctly, injection moulding can produce large numbers of consistent components efficiently. The British Plastics Federation identifies injection moulding as one of the main processes used for producing plastic articles, including precision engineering components and everyday manufactured products.
Images

From product idea to finished component

The moulding machine is only one part of a successful manufacturing project.

Before production begins, consideration needs to be given to the component design, material, intended application, tolerances, surface finish, production quantity and the way the finished component will eventually be assembled or used.

A typical project may include:

  1. Initial product and component review
  2. Material selection
  3. Product design and development
  4. Prototype production and testing
  5. Mould tool design or assessment
  6. Production trials
  7. Component manufacture
  8. Quality checks
  9. Assembly and packing
  10. Delivery or fulfilment

Hillbrush can support projects from initial development through to manufacture, assembly, packing and fulfilment. We can also work with customers who already have a finished product and existing injection mould tooling.

images

UK Manufacturing

images

ISO 9001 Certified

images

End-to-End Manufacturing

images

Assembly, Packing & Fulfilment

Choosing the right plastic

There is no single plastic that is right for every component. Material choice depends on what the component actually needs to do. Strength, flexibility, temperature resistance, chemical resistance, impact performance, appearance, weight and regulatory requirements may all influence the decision.

Hillbrush currently works with materials including polypropylene, thermoplastic elastomers, nylon and glass-reinforced polymers, with controlled dosing systems also allowing colour and specialist additives to be introduced where required.

For more detailed information, see our guide to Injection Moulding Materials.

Polypropylene

Thermo Plastic Elastomer

Glass-Reinforced Polymers

Nylon

Images

New tooling or an existing mould?

Not every plastic component project starts from scratch.

If you already own an injection mould tool, it may be possible to transfer that tool to another manufacturing partner rather than investing in replacement tooling.

Before production begins, the existing mould should be assessed for condition, compatibility and any maintenance or modifications that may be required. Previous samples, drawings, material specifications and production information can all make this process considerably easier.

Read our Injection Mould Tool Transfer Guide for more information.
Images

Looking for a UK plastic component manufacturer?

Hillbrush has more than 100 years of manufacturing experience and operates an ISO 9001 certified UK manufacturing facility in Mere, Wiltshire.

If you have a new plastic component that you would like to manufacture, an existing mould tool that requires production capacity, or simply want to understand whether injection moulding is suitable for your project, speak to our manufacturing team.

Discuss Your Plastic Component Project

Whether we design you a tool or you have an existing tool and you need capacity to run it, we are here to support you. Get in touch with our team today.