Mold design is a start of success molding processing; an optimum mold design is aim for the best molding performance.
To achieve a good mold design, you need to take elements into consideration as below:
- The most optimum mold cavities layout.
- Proper mold base size and guiding way.
- Provide reasonable injection mold flow and filling performance.
- Use reasonable shrinkage factors ,especially parts in long length).
- Study the part design in 2D, the tolerance required determine the way you design and machine it greatly.
- Adequate cooling layout.
- Proper ejection distance, de-molding way.
- Minimum injection molding cycle time and as less as possible secondary works such as de-gating, drilling.
- Appropriate gating location, welding line position accepted by the customer.
- Minimum clamp force requirements, as less as possible injection pressure requirements. (the injection molding machine required smaller, the injection molding cost lower)
- Adequate venting as well as reliable sealing to avoid flash occurs.
- Minimum scrap rate (most important factor to influence the real cost of injection molding process).
- Proper selected steel and heat treatment, just fit the demands of the customer ( otherwise it would be called “over-designed”).
- Watch out the particular features such as sliders, lifters, make sure all the mechanisms designed perform well
- Study the part design in 2D, the tolerance required determine the way you design and machine it greatly
- Minimum clamp force requirements, as less as possible injection pressure requirements. (the injection molding machine required smaller, the injection molding cost lower).
A lot of defects occur frequently can be minimized by good mold design:
- Flash
- Sink mark
- Surface defects
- Short-shot
- Unbalance filling
- Many other common defects
A good mold design can reduce the manufacturing cost as well as shorten the delivery time, it also increases mold quality, productivity and provides best performance stability.
