Injection Molding

Essay

Author's Note: I have done a project on Injection Molding, and I wrote an essay to cover the field trip aspect of our learning. At first I had a piece that seemed forced, but then my teacher, Mr. Roehl, helped me change it so it was better.

When you think of a “field trip”, what comes to mind? Is it the time in Kindergarten when you go to the zoo and look at the animals? Or is it a different, special field trip, that’s unique to where you went to school? Whatever it is, field trips are always a special thing to kids, no matter what their age is. Field trips can teach kids, no matter the age, important skills that can help with college and career readiness.
 
Thinking back to the field trips I went on through the elementary grades, I felt like I had no control over what we learning, although I figure that was because we weren’t mature enough. Field trips were enjoyable, and were a fun way to learn away from school, however, we never chose where we were going or why we were going there. This is an aspect of school that does not help college and career readiness.


Recently, I went on a field trip where I, along with my partner, got to chose where we were going, and more importantly, why we were going there. We were doing a project on injection molding, and we decided to go to a local factory where they used injection molding. We wanted to go there not only to learn about injection molding, but also what it was like in the workplace. That’s exactly what we learned. We got to go throughout the factory,watching the machines work, while we saw the employees work with them. This was interesting and pretty amazing, because we hadn’t realized what injection molding was really like in the real world, although we had learned about how it works. This is the aspect that original field trips don’t cover. We learned valuable college and career readiness skills, like collaboration, leadership, and communication.

Field trips are a good way for kids to get out of school, while still learning, although they help more than some people realize. They help kids learn and grow in their education and their personality. How have field trips in your past affected how you are today? Did you realize back then the results you would get from them? These are what field trips are really for.

Pictures from PM Plastics Field Trip

Example of mold

Mold taken apart

Ejector pins in the mold

Plastic after it comes out of the mold, compared to the mold

Other side of the mold

Ejector pins pushed out on the mold (and Drew)

Canals where molten plastic flows through

Plastic cup mold. The shinier the mold, the clearer the plastic

Both side of the mold next to each other

Bottom of cup that came out of mold

Since the clear plastic cup can't have any markings on it,  the ring pushes it out

Internal silos where plastic pellets are stored

Box where pellets fall into and are taken to injection molding machine

Exterior silos where plastic pellets are stored

Injection molding machine, in progress

Reciprocating screw, and hopper 

Products coming out of machine

Machine ejecting products

Inside of injection molding machine, with no mold

Robot that picks up products from machine