Design Guidelines: Plastic Injection Molding

Our basic guidelines for plastic injection molding include important design
considerations to help improve part moldability, enhance cosmetic appearance,
and reduce overall production time.
Typically, machining tolerance of +/- 0.003 in. (0.08mm) with an included resin tolerance that can be greater than but
no less than +/- 0.002 in./in. (0.002mm/mm).

Materials
 ABS
 ABS/PC
 Acetal
 Acetal Copolymer
 Acetal Homopolymer
 ETPU
 HDPE
 LCP

 LDPE
 LLDPE
 Nylon 6
 Nylon 5/12
 PBT
 PC/PBT
 PEEK
 PEI

 PET
 PETG
 PMMA
 Polycarbonate
 Polypropylene
 PPA
 PPE/PS
 PS

Manufacturing
Material Attributes
Process

 Cosmetic appearance
 Dimensional stability Injection Molding
ABS
 Impact resistance CNC Machining
 Manufacturing
Material Attributes
Process

 Cosmetic appearance
 Dimensional stability
ABS/PC Injection Molding
 Impact resistance

 Crack resistance
 Durability
ETPU Injection Molding
 Impact resistance

 Durability
 Impact resistant Injection Molding
HDPE
 Stiffness CNC Machining

 Strength
LCP  Temperature resistance Injection Molding

 Crack resistance
 Flexibility Injection Molding
LDPE
 Impact resistance CNC Machining

 Flexibility
LLDPE Injection Molding

 Cosmetic appearance
 Durability
LSR  Flexibility Injection Molding
 Temperature resistance

 Fuel and oil resistance

 Suitable for fluids
LSR (Fluorosilicone) Injection Molding
 Temperature resistance

 Biocompatability
LSR (Medical)  Temperature resistance Injection Molding

 Temperature resistance
LSR (Optical)  Optical clarity Injection Molding

PA (Nylon)  Rigidity Injection Molding

 Manufacturing
Material Attributes
Process

 Strength CNC Machining

 Temperature resistance 3D Printing

 Chemical resistance
 Dimensional stability
PBT Injection Molding
 Low moisture absorption

 Dimensional stability
Injection Molding
Polycarbonate (PC)  Impact resistance
CNC Machining

 Impact resistance
PC/PBT Injection Molding

 Chemical resistance
 Sterilizability
Injection Molding
PEEK  Stiffness
CNC Machining
 Strength

 Heat resistance
 Impact resistance Injection Molding
PEI (Ultem)
 Strength CNC Machining

 Chemical resistance
 Stiffness Injection Molding
PET
 Strength CNC Machining

 Durability
PETG  Transparency Injection Molding

 Optical clarity
Injection Molding
PMMA (Acrylic)  Rigidity
CNC Machining

 Chemical resistance Injection Molding

POM (Acetal/Delrin)
CNC Machining

 Chemical resistance
Injection Molding
PP  Solvent resistance
CNC Machining

PPE/PS  Dimensional stability Injection Molding

 Manufacturing
Material Attributes
Process

 Low moisture absorption CNC Machining

 Suitable for fluids

 Chemical resistance
PPS  Temperature resistance Injection Molding

 Chemical resistance
 Flame resistance Injection Molding
PPSU
 Impact resistance CNC Machining

 Impact resistance
Injection Molding
PS  Stiffness
CNC Machining

 Corrosion resistance
 Mineral resistance
Injection Molding
PSU  Sterilizability
CNC Machining
 Strength

 Stiffness
 Transparency
SB Injection Molding
 Warp resistance

 Flexibility
TPE/TPV Injection Molding

 Abrasion resistance
 Flexibility Injection Molding
TPU
 Impact resistance 3D Printing

Surface Finishes
FINISH DESCRIPTION

PM-F0 non-cosmetic, finish to Protolabs' discretion

PM-F1 low-cosmetic, most toolmarks removed

PM-F2 non-cosmetic, EDM permissible

SPI-C1 600 grit stone, 10-12 Ra

PM-T1 SPI-C1 + light bead blast

PM-T2 SPI-C1 + medium bead blast

SPI-B1 600 grit paper, 2-3 Ra

SPI-A2 grade #2 diamond buff, 1-2 Ra

Custom Color Matching & Secondary Finishing Options

Custom color matching is offered on customer-supplied Pantone numbers and customer-supplied part samples.

Mold texturing applies industry standard textures to a mold and you can expect the equivalent of a Mold-Tech finish.

Threaded inserts are possible through secondary heat staking and ultrasonic welding processes.

Pad printing transfers a two-dimensional image like company logos onto a three-dimensional object.

Laser engraving is applied to the mold or directly to final parts for information such as part numbers.

Basic assembly includes fastening molded parts together that we’ve manufactured and/or applying of labels to
individually bagged parts.

Draft
VERTICAL FACES 0.5°

MOST SITUATIONS 2°

MINIMUM FOR SHUT OFF 3°

MINIMUM FOR LIGHT TEXTURE (PM-T1) 3°

MINIMUM FOR LIGHT TEXTURE (PM-T2) 5°+

Undercuts
Maximum Side Core Dimensions

PULL
WIDTH HEIGHT

< 213.84mm < 60.38mm < 73.66mm

Wall Thickness
RECOMMENDED WALL
MATERIAL THICKNESS

ABS 1.143MM - 3.556MM

ACETAL 0.762MM - 3.048MM

ACRYLIC 0.635MM - 12.7MM

LIQUID CRYSTAL POLYMER 0.762MM - 3.048MM

LONG-FIBER REINFORCED 1.905M - 25.4MM

PLASTICS

NYLON 0.762MM - 2.921MM

1.016MM - 3.81MM
POLYCARBONATE

POLYESTER 0.635MM - 3.175MM

POLYETHYLENE 0.762MM - 5.08MM

POLYPHENYLENE SULFIDE 0.508MM - 4.572MM

POLYPROPYLENE 0.635MM - 3.81MM

POLYSTYNENE 0.889MM - 3.81MM

POLYURETHANE 2.032MM - 19.05MM