Injection Moulding

FROM: Prof Sandeep Patil Mechanical Dept-SRGS IOT

Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Successful injection moulding depends on the good interaction between: 1.Part Design 2.Mould Design 3.Processing Equipment and process control 4.Material selection.

Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Part Design Aspects

Mould Design aspects (general , Hot runner)

Flow Simulation examples.

Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

1, Part Design Aspects Firstly, part requirements have to be defined. Mechanical behavior (stiffness, impact) Thermal behavior ( stiffness, Creep) Chemical resistance ( material selection) Cosmetics (surface finish, color, gate location, ribs, weld line) Mould ability ( wall thickness, flow length, gating ) Assembly ( screws, welding , bonding) Painting

Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Part Design aspects Design for mould ability Design for stiffness Design for impact Design for appearance Design for precision.

Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

1, Design for Mould ability

Constant wall thickness recommended If not possible, transitions should be smooth.

Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Mould ability

Ribs - if needed - max.0.6 x nominal wall at root, min.0.5 degree draft on each side.

Filling thin ribs can be problematic

Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Mould ability

Bosses for screws same rule as ribs, to increase stiffness boss can be supported with gussets. Sharp corners rounded off , better release, better strength.

Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Mould ability Undercuts should be avoided where possible. If needed, use undercuts without sliding cores.

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Mould ability

Draft angles

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Mould ability Ejection Allow for sufficient ejection locations, specially complex shapes with many ribs and pockets can be critical with higher viscous materials. Ribs are best ejected on the rib itself with blade ejectors. Use as large as possible ejector pins, lowest deformations will occur.

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Gating Flow should be from thick to thin, if not constant wall thickness. Gate location(s) to be considered to prevent filling issues. Flow curves can be used for first check.

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Mould ability

Gate shapes Gate size is important for shear rate control Flow simulation useful for predicting shear and pressure drop.

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Venting Important for part quality. Good venting is always needed where air traps and weld lines are expected , also at the end of flow. Dynamic vents ( using ejectors with facets) are suitable for local air traps, mould parting line should always be vented. Size of venting depending on material viscosity.

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

1. 2.

Design for stiffness

Part stiffness determined by: Material E module Shape of the part Stiffness increase Higher E module Ribs Corrugations Hollow parts

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for stiffness

Stiffness to weight ratio.

Most efficient material use in corrugated design. Structural analysis can help to check mechanical behavior in advance.

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for impact Avoid stress concentrators ( sharp corners, transitions, notches) Avoid impact load near gates and weld lines Avoid poor processing conditions (moulded in stress) Choose the right material ( ductile /brittle transition) In critical cases perform structural analysis.

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Appearance Possible surface defects gate marks sink marks due to ribbing or thick sections weld lines air traps. voids jetting

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Appearance Sink mark reduction
Design feature applied To eliminate visible sink mark

Gas assist can reduce sink marks Under ribs

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Appearance

Sudden changes in thickness should be avoided

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Appearance
Try to avoid jetting when choosing the gate location

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Precision Important factors: material choice (GF, GB, CF, Amorphous, Crystalline), shrinkage behavior gating (type and size of gate) mould design ( cooling, gating) processing ( temperatures , pressures, orientation)

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Precision (shrinkage control) Design related aspects for precision Wall thickness distribution gate location, gate size, gate type Processing related aspects melt-mould temperature , injection profile Post moulding effects Expansion, post shrinkage, moisture absorption

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Precision

Gating type and size important for orientation shrinkage differences between flow and cross flow for Crystalline and glass filled materials.

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Precision Thin long ribs shrink different compared to nominal wall this can cause warpage.

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Design Guidelines Injection Moulding

Design for Mould ability

Bosses for screws same rule as ribs, to increase stiffness boss can be supported with gussets. Sharp corners rounded off , better release, better strength.

Thank you for your attention

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