Plastic injection molding is one of the technologies that can produce perfect and reliable parts at reasonable costs. Nevertheless, as with any other manufacturing processes, various glitches may lead to less than stellar results. Here are five design tips to follow in order to ensure that your outcome will always be just perfect.
Design Details Can Make All The Difference
1. Determine the proper wall thickness. When it comes to designing parts, the thinner the walls, the less raw material is required and the faster the production process will be, due to shorter cooling times. At the same time, thicker walls make stronger parts. For the best outcome possible, you have to balance the need to cut production time and costs with the strength of the finished product.
2. Keep wall thickness consistent. Uniform wall thickness provides structural strength to plastic parts. This is the best method to prevent warping and variable shrinkage. Also, keeping the wall thickness constant is an effective way to ensure that molds will fill properly. In case of wall thickness variations of more than 10%, quality issues may arise.
3. Pick the ideal location for the gate. The position of the gate has a direct influence on that way the mold will fill. Best practices call for the gate to be positioned at the thickest part of the cavity. This way, the material will enter and will find its way into narrower spaces with ease. If you can’t avoid slight variations of the wall thickness, you’ll have to be extremely careful when choosing to location of the gate.
4. Avoid sharp corners. Fluid plastic that moves inside a mold needs to be able to navigate corners. The more generous the radius, the easier the material will flow through to fill the whole space. On the contrary, narrow corners may lead to uneven shrinkage that creates stress points, thus affecting the surface of the finished product.
5. Choose the right draft angle. When it comes about manufacturability and production cost, the ideal draft angle is the greatest angle that won’t affect the overall quality of the product. The resin supplier is the one who should make this judgement. As a general rule, an angle between 2° and 5° per side is the best, even though there are cases in which 1° per side would do. having no draft angle is not a viable option.
Over 20 Years Of Design Review Experience
We have over two decades of experience in plastic injection molding. During all this time, we have the chance to work with many designs that were perfectly optimized for the manufacturing process, but also with others that were not. We will make use of our expertise to help you create the perfect design. Just contact us to schedule an appointment to discuss your upcoming projects.
