Recycled Carbon Fiber in Injection Molding: Increasing the Performance of Plastic While Reducing Cost, Weight, and Carbon Footprint
High-performance injection-molded plastics are mission-critical for manufacturers of durable goods. Injection molding is one of the most common forms of thermoplastic manufacturing. Most brands that sell durable goods to consumers have a network of injection molders that manufacture components for their finished goods.
Successful designs for injection molded parts will balance manufacturing cost, material cost, part complexity, and sustainability to produce a final product that performs well in high-performance applications.
Balancing Performance, Cost, Weight, and Carbon Footprint in Injection Molding
The injection molding supply chain faces a number of competing pressures, balancing (at least) 4 key metrics:
Performance: making sure molded parts pass QA / QC and meet the physical and geometrical demands required for the application.
Cost: lowering material cost, cycle time, energy usage, labor, and other operating costs.
Weight: lowering the weight of the final part comes from a combination of density of the material and the amount of material used in the part.
Carbon Footprint: Brands increasingly place importance on the Scope 3 emissions of their supply chains. Injection molding suppliers that can offer materials and processes leveraging reduced CO2e ratings will be more competitive.
This can be a lot to balance for a business that’s just focused on turning plastic pellets into component parts. Over time, injection molding has become a game of 3D chess.
Key Milestones in Injection Molding
Injection molding has come a long way over the last 150+ years. Here are a few of the key milestones that ushered us into the next phase of this important form of manufacturing.
1872: Invention of injection molding by John Wesley Hyatt.
1909: Introduction of Bakelite by Leo Baekeland.
1946: Invention of the screw injection molding machine by James Watson Hendry.
1980s: Introduction of computerized control and automation in injection molding.
Over the past 40+ years, computer-aided design, process simulation, and manufacturing controls have driven performance and efficiency. This has led to huge efficiencies in the injection-molding manufacturing process, but also creates enormous pressure to be cost-competitive against other similarly-enabled competitors.
Sustainability Trends in Injection Molding
Outside of technology, one of the big trends in manufacturing over the past couple of decades has been reducing environmental impact. Today, it’s not good enough to just produce finished goods that work. Now, manufacturers face more pressures.
Brands are asking for lifecycle assessments and product carbon footprints so they can quantify their scope 3 carbon emissions.
Brands are asking for regulatory compliance and certifications to ensure quality (GMP, GRS, ISO9001/14001, LEED, EPR, etc).
Of course, these requirements are forcing injection molders and brand owners to optimize in ways they previously have not had to.
Using recycled materials (PCR and PIR)
Using biodegradable and biobased materials.
Lightweighting and material optimization.
Energy efficiency.
Smart manufacturing (using AI, ML, and IoT solutions).
Closed loop recycling.
Sustainable mold design.
Sustainable packaging solutions.
Water and waste reduction.
There are more hoops to jump through to win a contract in today’s world. But competitive markets drive efficiency, so in the end, this will result in higher quality and more sustainable products.
In the World of Injection Molding, Cost is Still King
Sustainability has become increasingly important recently, but not at the sacrifice of cost competitiveness and profitability. This means that decisions on sustainable innovations still come down to 1 key question: can we switch to this sustainable alternative and still make a margin? If this is the litmus test that injection molders are using to make decisions, then they are focused on finding cost-effective, sustainable solutions.
Most Sustainable Solutions Require More Spending for Lower Performance
We all hope that one day, sustainable solutions cost less than their usual alternatives. But for the most part, as a society, we are not there yet.
Using recycled materials (PCR and PIR). That’s (usually) going to cost you more.
Using biodegradable and biobased materials. That’s (definitely) going to cost you more.
Lightweighting and material optimization. That usually requires a lot of time, money, and engineering work.
Energy efficiency. This typically requires high upfront costs (even if you save money over time).
Smart manufacturing (using AI, ML, and IoT solutions). There's a cost and learning curve for these technologies.
Closed loop recycling. This requires new vendors to do new things, costing more money than taking products straight to the dump.
Sustainable mold design. Retooling costs an arm and a leg and comes with risks.
Sustainable packaging solutions. Sustainable packaging (definitely) costs more than unsustainable packaging.
Water and waste reduction. Maybe, hopefully, this results in immediate savings!
As you can see, most sustainable solutions require high upfront costs or higher operating costs. This can make it difficult for injection molders to transition to sustainable alternatives since they are already working on tight margins.
The Easiest Starting Point For Injection Molders Making Durable Goods
The higher the performance requirement for the injection-molded plastic, the harder it can be to find a sustainable solution that is cost-effective. Fortunately, this is what we have spent the last 10 years focused on. Brands and suppliers focused on manufacturing some of the highest-performance plastic parts are turning to recycled carbon fiber to increase performance while reducing the cost, weight, and carbon footprint of their goods.
This has required us to break down a lot of the limiting beliefs in the industry.
“Nothing can touch the performance of virgin carbon fiber.”
“There is no way that a recycled material can cost less than a virgin material (and meet performance).”
“If I want high performance, I just have to deal with the high costs. There’s no way around it.”
These are just some of the things we have heard on first calls with the customers we work with today. Over the years, we have broken down these limiting beliefs through extensive R&D, proof of concepts, and commercial programs.
We have been able to meet (or exceed) the performance of plastics reinforced with virgin carbon fiber and/or glass fiber.
We have been able to attain cost reductions of up to 50%.
We have been able to attain CO2 reductions of 96-99%+.
Our recycled carbon fiber feeds just like virgin chopped fiber in traditional compounding feeders.
Throughout the past decade, we have worked to ensure that our customers can ‘have their cake and eat it too.’
Applications for Recycled Carbon Fiber in Injection Molding
Over the years, we have built up applications in many different industries.
Automotive
Aerospace
Additive Manufacturing / 3D Printing
Consumer Electronics
Semiconductors
Sporting Equipment / Goods
Shoes
Furniture
Appliances
These industries require some of the most durable component parts that can be manufactured today. Because of that, we have developed in-house capabilities to support our customers' ability to use recycled carbon fiber in commercial applications. We have in-house plastic compounding (for small runs, R&D work), injection molding, and mechanical performance testing capabilities.
We believe this is part of what is required to support brands and suppliers that are making high-performance plastics. If you believe that high-performance sustainable plastic reinforcements can support your commercial products, please reach out to us here, or email us at sales@vartega.com and someone from our team will get back to you.
As North America’s largest carbon fiber recycler, our team is committed to developing applications for high-performance sustainable products. If you feel that we could potentially support your team’s material innovation efforts, please do not hesitate to reach out today.
