Before encountering injection molding machines, you may have wondered how the various plastic parts that we encounter daily, which are both oddly shaped yet designed with ingenuity, are produced. Examples include car keys, electronic components embedded in plastic, and mobile phone stands. In fact, these are all products made possible by the collaboration between injection molding machines and carefully designed molds. An injection molding machine, as the name suggests, is a machine that heats plastic pellets to a molten state and injects them into molds. The advent of injection molding machines has provided the means for people’s creative designs to come to life. But how exactly did injection molding machines evolve from nothing into what they are today?

    The story begins in 1872, when J.W. Hyatt of the United States invented a "packaging machine" designed to solve the problem of plastifying and molding a mixture of nitrocellulose and camphor. Though the machine appeared cumbersome, it laid the groundwork for the development of modern injection molding machines.

    In 1921, H. Buchholz manufactured the first injection molding machine, a manually operated plunger-style machine that resembled the screw-type extrusion machines of the time. In 1926, Eckert and Ziehler introduced the first mass-produced injection molding machines, which featured manually operated clamping systems and used pneumatic pressure for the injection process. By this time, the rudimentary form of the injection molding machine had already emerged.

    With technological advancements, injection molding machines underwent significant progress. In the 1950s, the introduction of rod-type injection structures and the application of computer-controlled technology greatly improved the performance and precision of injection molding machines. The development of injection molding theories, including melt flow, cooling, and other related processes, as well as the widespread use of thermoplastic materials, marked the gradual maturation of injection molding technology.

    By the 1990s, the rapid development of computer technology enabled injection molding machines to incorporate more advanced functions, such as automatic control and intelligent operations. As the range of materials that could be processed expanded, along with the increasing complexity and variety of products, the quality of injection molded products improved significantly. This period marked a new stage of comprehensive application, development, and innovation for injection molding technology.