170 ton vs 260 ton injection molding machine: Product Capacity & Application Scope

260 ton injection molding machine

2025/12/22 By le zhan

For medium-sized plastic product manufacturers, the choice between a 170 ton and a 260 ton machine typically depends on product size and material requirements, which directly impact part quality, production efficiency, and procurement budget. Therefore, we have compared the production capacity, application range, mold requirements, and material compatibility of the 170 ton and 260 ton injection molding machine from a practical perspective to help you choose the machine that best suits your product and production goals.

Comparison of the 170 ton and 260 ton Injection Molding Machine

The main differences between a 260 ton and a 170 ton injection molding machine lie in clamping force, maximum injection volume, mold size, and structural rigidity. These differences directly affect the types of parts you can produce, the achievable production cycle times, and the machine’s suitability for thick-walled parts or parts with high internal stress.

Key Differences:

Clamping Force: The 260 ton injection molding machine offers a higher clamping force, allowing you to mold larger parts, parts with larger projected areas, or use higher injection pressures without flashing. This is crucial for molding parts with numerous thin-walled features or parts requiring high holding pressure to avoid sink marks and voids.

Injection Volume: Machines with higher clamping force typically have larger injection units, resulting in higher injection volumes. This makes 260 ton injection molding machines more suitable for single-shot molding of large parts or multi-cavity molds.

Mold Size and Tie Bar Spacing: The platen area and tie bar spacing of the 260 ton injection molding machine can accommodate wider and taller mold assemblies. If your parts require large inserts, multi-cavity molds, or complex side actions, a larger machine can often simplify mold design.

In contrast, the 170 ton injection molding machine is generally more suitable for small mechanical parts, compact housings, consumer electronics components, and scenarios where footprint, faster cycle times, and lower initial investment costs are critical.

Clamping Force, Injection Volume, and Production Capacity of the 260 ton Injection Molding Machine

When we discuss production capacity, we consider how many parts a machine can produce per hour and the size of the parts. The 260 ton injection molding machine offers higher clamping force, enabling higher injection pressures and providing better control when producing thicker parts or parts with larger projected areas. Therefore, this directly affects the integrity and repeatability of the parts.

Factors to consider when choosing:

Clamping force: The required clamping force is proportional to the projected area of the part and the cavity pressure. Larger projected areas require greater clamping force to prevent flashing. If the projected area of your part approaches or exceeds the maximum safe projected area of a 170 ton injection molding machine at your set safety margin, a 260 ton injection molding machine should be chosen.

Injection volume: Larger injection units provide greater injection volume, allowing for the molding of larger parts in a single shot. For example, applications such as automotive interior panels, heavy-duty housings, or large medical equipment enclosures often require the larger injection volume offered by a 260 ton injection molding machine platform.

Cycle time impact: While larger machines may have slightly longer mechanical response times, modern servo-driven 260 ton injection molding machines can maintain efficient cycle times through optimized injection curves and powerful clamping force. When properly matched, a 260 ton injection molding machine can improve net productivity.

Common Application Areas

260 ton injection molding machines are suitable for a wide range of industries and part types, with applications far exceeding the practical capabilities of a 170 ton machine.

Common application areas for 260 ton injection molding machines:

Automotive: Large interior panels, door trims, center consoles, or engine compartment structural components requiring large molds and higher holding pressure.

Appliance housings: Rice cooker housings, dishwasher housings (internal components), and large control panel bezels.

Medical device components: Large instrument housings or sterilizable trays requiring thicker walls and precise holding pressure.

Consumer goods: High-end, large toy components or large cosmetic packaging where appearance and rigidity are critical.

In contrast, 170-ton injection molding machines are typically suitable for:

Small to medium-sized electronic product housings

Small consumer goods and accessories

Thin-walled beverage bottle caps or small components where high cavity counts on smaller molds provide optimal economic benefits.

Differences in Material Compatibility

Material compatibility is also very important in the selection of an injection molding machine. 260 ton injection moulding machines offer greater material compatibility and a broader processing window, making them especially suitable for processing high-performance polymers. The Importance of Material Selection:

For example, engineering plastics (such as PA66 GF and PBT GF) have good thermal expansion resistance but require higher injection pressure to fill complex moulds. A 260-ton injection molding machine’s greater clamping force and larger screw diameter can meet these requirements. Materials such as PEEK, LCP, or high-viscosity blends require a robust injection unit and a stable barrel heating system. 260 ton injection molding machines typically offer injection stroke and screw options necessary for these materials. Additionally, thin-walled parts often require fast injection and high fluidity. In contrast, thick-walled structural parts benefit from the larger screw capacity and higher clamping stability of a 260-ton injection molding machine.

In terms of processing window and machine flexibility, a larger injection volume allows you to use various screw diameters and length-to-diameter ratios, thereby optimizing production of shear-sensitive materials. Furthermore, servo-driven 260 ton injection molding machines typically offer more precise metering control, reducing shear heating of sensitive elastomers or filled composite materials.

engineering plastics (such as PA66 GF, PBT GF)

Molds, Mold Size, and Part Complexity

Molds are the primary recurring cost in injection molding. A 260 ton injection molding machine can accommodate larger molds and more complex mold structures, but this also brings several considerations regarding molds and operation.

First, in terms of mold compatibility, a larger platen area can accommodate larger molds, multi-layer inserts, and slider/side mechanisms. This flexibility enables the production of complex parts, such as side cores, thread demolding, and mechanical demolding, that smaller injection moulding machines cannot effectively support. At the same time, larger molds are heavier and require appropriate lifting equipment, mold bases, and maintenance space. When installing a 260 ton injection molding machine, mold handling equipment, crane capacity, and floor load capacity should be considered.

While a 260 ton injection molding machine can achieve high-cavity production of large parts or complex combination molds with multiple part geometries, this can significantly reduce the cost per part but increases mold complexity and initial investment. Therefore, we recommend coordinating mold design and selecting the injection molding machine at an early stage of the project. If you plan to run multi-cavity molds on a 260 ton injection molding machine, simulate the mold weight, cooling requirements, and installation/removal processes in your factory layout planning to avoid unexpected issues later on.

Please make your choice based on your specific production needs.

The choice between a 170 ton and a 260 ton injection molding machine depends more on product geometry, material selection, molding strategy, and business growth plans. The 260 ton machine offers greater injection volume, higher clamping force, and the ability to run larger molds or more cavities – advantages that facilitate the production of larger structural components and engineering plastic products, and that enable expansion into more complex product lines. Conversely, the 170 ton machine is generally more advantageous in terms of capital efficiency, footprint, and quick mold changes for small parts and diversified product portfolios.

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170 ton vs 260 ton injection molding machine: Product Capacity & Application Scope

Comparison of the 170 ton and 260 ton Injection Molding Machine