Assembly Line

Molding

Soft material is forced into a cavity under pressure. Once the expensive mold exists, each extra part is very cheap.

136 lines that use it

Acoustic guitar 8 stations · 16 raw sources Action figure 7 stations · 22 raw sources American football 7 stations · 18 raw sources Backpack 6 stations · 16 raw sources Bagel 6 stations · 13 raw sources Baguette 7 stations · 11 raw sources Balloon 8 stations · 3 raw sources Ballpoint pen 7 stations · 27 raw sources Baseball 7 stations · 22 raw sources Basketball 8 stations · 20 raw sources Bike helmet 7 stations · 11 raw sources Blackboard chalk 6 stations · 9 raw sources Blender 7 stations · 30 raw sources Bread 7 stations · 11 raw sources Bronze bell 6 stations · 8 raw sources Bronze statue 7 stations · 9 raw sources Bubble wrap 5 stations · 3 raw sources Camera drone 7 stations · 29 raw sources Camera lens 6 stations · 10 raw sources Candy cane 7 stations · 14 raw sources Candy-coated chocolate 10 stations · 20 raw sources Canoe 7 stations · 13 raw sources Cardboard 6 stations · 9 raw sources Cast iron pan 6 stations · 11 raw sources Cello 10 stations · 13 raw sources Ceramic 6 stations · 4 raw sources Chicken nuggets 7 stations · 15 raw sources Chocolate 8 stations · 7 raw sources Compact disc 6 stations · 20 raw sources Computer keyboard 6 stations · 25 raw sources Computer mouse 5 stations · 24 raw sources Condom 9 stations · 13 raw sources Contact lens 6 stations · 9 raw sources Croissant 7 stations · 12 raw sources Dental floss 7 stations · 12 raw sources Desk globe 6 stations · 15 raw sources Dice 7 stations · 21 raw sources Die-cast toy car 8 stations · 24 raw sources Digital thermometer 7 stations · 26 raw sources Dinner plate 8 stations · 2 raw sources Dishwasher 11 stations · 27 raw sources Egg carton 6 stations · 7 raw sources Electric kettle 10 stations · 27 raw sources Electric toothbrush 6 stations · 32 raw sources Eyeglass lens 6 stations · 13 raw sources Fashion doll 7 stations · 21 raw sources Faucet 11 stations · 23 raw sources Fertilizer 7 stations · 10 raw sources Flip-flops 6 stations · 15 raw sources Flying disc 7 stations · 15 raw sources Foam cup 5 stations · 4 raw sources Fountain pen 6 stations · 20 raw sources Gelatin dessert 5 stations · 6 raw sources Glass 5 stations · 10 raw sources Glass jar 5 stations · 10 raw sources Gold ring 8 stations · 12 raw sources Golf ball 8 stations · 21 raw sources Golf club 10 stations · 27 raw sources Gummy bears 6 stations · 7 raw sources Hard-shell suitcase 6 stations · 22 raw sources Harmonica 8 stations · 19 raw sources Headphones 6 stations · 14 raw sources Hearing aid 6 stations · 24 raw sources High heels 8 stations · 23 raw sources Highlighter 6 stations · 16 raw sources Hiking boots 6 stations · 16 raw sources Hockey puck 8 stations · 5 raw sources Ice cream 7 stations · 9 raw sources Ice skates 8 stations · 22 raw sources Inkjet printer 6 stations · 31 raw sources Instant coffee 7 stations · 2 raw sources Jelly beans 6 stations · 7 raw sources Laptop 6 stations · 31 raw sources Leather shoe 6 stations · 17 raw sources LED 8 stations · 10 raw sources LEGO brick 6 stations · 9 raw sources Light switch 8 stations · 26 raw sources Lollipop 6 stations · 5 raw sources Loudspeaker 10 stations · 19 raw sources Marker pen 5 stations · 16 raw sources Mattress 6 stations · 16 raw sources MDF 7 stations · 8 raw sources N95 mask 8 stations · 7 raw sources Nitrile glove 8 stations · 17 raw sources Office chair 7 stations · 17 raw sources Paper cup 7 stations · 18 raw sources Parmesan 8 stations · 3 raw sources Pasteurized milk 6 stations · 1 raw source Phone charger 8 stations · 26 raw sources Plastic 5 stations · 3 raw sources Plastic bottle 5 stations · 8 raw sources Plastic straw 7 stations · 12 raw sources Polystyrene 6 stations · 4 raw sources Porcelain 6 stations · 11 raw sources Power outlet 6 stations · 18 raw sources Pretzel 7 stations · 12 raw sources Prosthetic leg 6 stations · 15 raw sources PTFE 5 stations · 6 raw sources Refrigerator 11 stations · 27 raw sources Remote control 7 stations · 27 raw sources Roller skates 8 stations · 15 raw sources Rubber boots 6 stations · 9 raw sources Rubik's Cube 7 stations · 21 raw sources Sailboat 11 stations · 21 raw sources Sandwich cookie 7 stations · 14 raw sources Ski 8 stations · 24 raw sources Smoke detector 8 stations · 25 raw sources Sneaker 6 stations · 13 raw sources Soccer ball 7 stations · 17 raw sources Sourdough bread 6 stations · 11 raw sources Stoneware pottery 7 stations · 4 raw sources Styrofoam 5 stations · 4 raw sources Sunglasses 9 stations · 15 raw sources Surfboard 8 stations · 14 raw sources Syringe 7 stations · 23 raw sources Television 6 stations · 26 raw sources Tennis ball 8 stations · 10 raw sources Tennis racket 9 stations · 25 raw sources Tire 8 stations · 22 raw sources Toothbrush 7 stations · 14 raw sources Trumpet 7 stations · 18 raw sources Turbine blade 8 stations · 20 raw sources Ukulele 9 stations · 11 raw sources USB cable 9 stations · 22 raw sources Vacuum cleaner 11 stations · 24 raw sources Video game console 7 stations · 29 raw sources Vinyl record 9 stations · 24 raw sources Violin 8 stations · 13 raw sources Volleyball 5 stations · 14 raw sources Vulcanized rubber 6 stations · 7 raw sources Washing machine 12 stations · 31 raw sources Water heater 6 stations · 24 raw sources White chocolate 7 stations · 10 raw sources Wireless earbuds 9 stations · 34 raw sources Yo-yo 8 stations · 18 raw sources Zipper 6 stations · 16 raw sources

What it looks like on the line

  • Bike helmetMold the liner. Beads fill a steel mold in the shape of the helmet, with channels for ventilation. When heated, they weld themselves into a single piece of foam.
  • Candy caneBend the crook. In large-scale production the shepherd's hook comes last, formed after the stick is already wrapped. Factory canes tend to be thinner than handmade ones.
  • FertilizerForm granules or prills. Liquid urea is dropped from a tower and falls as tiny beads, called prills, that harden on the way down. Other plants tumble damp powder in a drum so it grows into granules.
  • SunglassesForm and tint lenses. Lenses are molded from glass or plastic and tinted, and some receive a polarizing layer or a mirror coating.
  • Yo-yoShoot the plastic halves. Plastic is injected into the closed mold to form each half. A conventional setup places a threaded insert on a core pin first. Yomega's patent molds a hexagonal socket instead, so continuous automated machines can run without anyone loading inserts.
  • CondomRoll the rim. At a beading station the open end of the film rolls up on itself into the ring that makes the product easy to put on.
  • USB cableMold the outer plug. A second molding forms the outer plug and strain relief. A final electrical test checks every line before packing.
  • Digital thermometerMold the housing. Plastic halves are injection molded, then snapped and sealed around the board, with a window for the display.
  • Golf ballMold the dimpled cover. The core is placed in a mold with a pattern of dimples, and a plastic cover flows around it. Common cover plastics are ionomers and urethane.
  • Desk globeVacuum-form the dome. The sheet is heated in a vacuum former and drawn into a concave mold. The top of the dome tends to thin. One Chinese patent lays a small oval heat shield over the center so the sheet stays more even.
  • MDFLay down the mat. The dry fibers are sucked into a machine that spreads them into an even mat, hundreds of millimeters thick. The mat is lightly compressed so it can move on.
  • HeadphonesForm the diaphragm. A diaphragm is made from a lightweight, stiff material such as cellulose, polymer, carbon or paper. The coil is attached to it.