Process: Plastic material is either injected (see injection moulding) or compressed (see compression moulding) into a mould that contains a pre-placed insert. The process allows a single object to contain multiple materials while eliminating assembly time and reducing costs. Inserts can either be placed by a robot or a human process operator.
Introduced: Unknown
Plastics: Any material that can be injection moulded or compression moulded.
Marks: The presence of more than one material type.
Tooling cost: High
Production volume: High
Uses: Inserts can be made of plastics, metals, ceramics, or any materials that can withstand the moulding process. The process is used to place screw threads or to secure wire, connectors, knobs, controls, warnings, labels and electronics. The reduction of the amount of metal or other materials and replacing the body of a product with plastics can help to lower overall weight and costs.