by A well-optimized design is likely the most critical aspect of your production process. This mold’s design can make a big difference between the success and failure of a project. To be on the safer side, you need to consider things such as materials, part geometry, and manufacturability.
In this article, we’ll share various design tips to help you optimize your design effortlessly. Whether you are a business handling a custom mold design or working with an injection molding company, these tips will ensure you complete the project smoothly.
Understanding the Basics Of Injection Molding
The injection molding isn’t a complicated procedure as it entails melting plastic pellets. The next step is injecting the molten material into a mold. You will give it time to cool and solidify to make the final product. Even though this process is highly efficient, it has a few challenges such as parting lines, warping and sink marks. Well, you can minimize these issues through proper design.
Make sure you learn a thing or two about Design for Manufacturability (DFM) principle. This is an important aspect when it comes to designing for injection molding. This principle allows you to create several parts that seem easier to manufacture. It’s one of the fantastic approaches as it reduces production expenses and improves efficiency. Having said that, it’s extremely important to understand the basics of injection molding and incorporating the DFM principles. We know you want to ensure a smoother production procedure while avoiding common pitfalls.
Simplify Part Geometry
It goes without saying that complex part geometries will result in difficulties in mold making, longer cycle times, and high costs. Simplifying your mold designs will have a great influence on your process. Doing this will reduce material waste, production challenges, and tool wear. Let’s look at some of the tips to help you simplify part geometry:
- Avoid complex curves and thin walls: Generally, thin-walled and complex curved features can lead to molding problems such as inconsistent filling and warping. So, it would be nice if you opt for simple and uniform shapes.
- Draft angles: Our second tip is incorporating draft angles (typically up to 3 degrees. With this, the parts can be easily removed from the mold without causing any damage.
- Uniform wall thickness: Another tip you shouldn’t ignore is maintaining consistent wall thickness throughout the design. This prevents uneven cooling sink marks and warping.
For example, a client reduced production expenses by up to 20% by simplifying the part’s geometry. This makes it easy to mold and reduce cycle times.
Consider Material Selection Carefully
The choice of materials significantly influences the cost and performance of the manufacturing process. Here is a breakdown of what to consider:
- Compatibility with the mold: The materials you choose should work well with the mold designs and standard tooling. This plays a role in helping you avoid additional expenses.
- Strength and durability: Make sure the materials you pick meet the part’s performance requirements, including flexibility and heat resistance.
- Cost vs performance: Effectively balancing the costs of materials with performance of the part is essential. So, you might not need complex and high-end materials. Besides, don’t want you to over specify material properties since this will lead to high costs without any benefits.
- Recycled materials: When it comes to creating no-critical parts, it is OK to choose recycled materials. This decision will reduce the material costs and meet the required performance standards. Additionally, using recycled and regrind plastics will reduce environmental impact.
For example, a customer reduced manufacturing expenses by 25% by ditching high end materials to more cost-effective ones. What’s more interesting is that they met their performance requirements.
Optimize Mold Design
The design of the mold plays a significant role in the success of your injection molding project. Therefore, poor mold design will result in increased production costs and defects. But how can you optimize your mold design? Let’s find out!
- Gate location and design: placing the gate on the right location will minimize flow lines, excess pressure and air traps. You might need several gates for large parts as this will ensure uniform filling.
- Vents and cooling channels: a good design should have a proper venting system. This is to allow gasses and excess air to easily escape. What this means is that you will not see burn marks. That’s not all. A good cooling channel must offer even cooling to avoid warping.
- Ejection mechanism: Having an effective ejection mechanism is important as it ensures the excellent success of your injection molding project. The mechanims allows all the finished parts to be removed from the mold fast without damage. This maintains the quality of the products and speeds up the production cycle. Note that poor ejection design will cause part deformation, surfaces or mold damage, hence leading to expensive delays and rework.
For instance, a client managed to reduce cycle time by 15% by optimizing the location gate and cooling channels. This improved the general efficiency.
Conclusion
Optimize your design for plastic injection molding if you want to attain cost-effective and top-quality production. However, you want to overcome the many challenges and improve your manufacturing procedure. One of the ways to achieve this is by simplifying geometry, optimizing your mold design, and carefully choosing materials. However, if you feel like you can’t do it on your own, enlist the professional help of a reliable plastic injection molding service. This is another amazing way to get the best results.
