I wouldn't expect volume manufacturing to have just one mould/production process. You make it sound like there is an elf making each component one at a time.So, no, you cannot just mould something in one colour, then push different coloured plastic in for the next one. You have to stop the machine, let it cool down, clean and polish the mould (which, even though they are made of metal, have a finite lifetime), remove all traces of the old plastic colour, then restart the machine and allow it to heat up to operating temperature, then force the new coloured plastic into the mould.It's not quite that simple, there needs to be tweaking of the mould to prevent colour blooming, although this is less required for black.
It is fairly easy to change the colour of anything made from plastic, you just inject different coloured plastic into the injection moulder.
So, yes it is fairly easy to change the colour, it is very time consuming, so it is usually done when the moulds require repolishing, which they do on a regular basis.
Statistics: Posted by andrew_pi — Thu Dec 12, 2024 4:22 pm