Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(Download PDF) Injection Moulds For Beginners Rainer Dangel Eds Full Chapter PDF
(Download PDF) Injection Moulds For Beginners Rainer Dangel Eds Full Chapter PDF
Dangel (Eds.)
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookmass.com/product/injection-moulds-for-beginners-rainer-dangel-eds/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...
https://ebookmass.com/product/notfall-manual-8th-edition-rainer-
schua/
https://ebookmass.com/product/machine-learning-for-beginners-
aldrich-hill/
https://ebookmass.com/product/gas-injection-methods-zhaomin-li/
https://ebookmass.com/product/coding-for-kids-5-books-
in-1-javascript-python-and-c-guide-for-kids-and-beginners-coding-
for-absolute-beginners-mather/
Read and Speak Arabic for Beginners 3rd Edition Jane
Wightwick
https://ebookmass.com/product/read-and-speak-arabic-for-
beginners-3rd-edition-jane-wightwick/
https://ebookmass.com/product/the-market-research-toolbox-a-
concise-guide-for-beginners/
https://ebookmass.com/product/modern-c-for-absolute-beginners-
second-edition-solbodan-dmitrovic/
https://ebookmass.com/product/modern-c-for-absolute-
beginners-2nd-edition-slobodan-dmitrovic/
https://ebookmass.com/product/c-programming-for-beginners-by-
sett-john-hafeez-abdulmutolib/
Dangel
Injection Moulds for Beginners
Rainer Dangel
Injection Moulds
for Beginners
The use of general descriptive names, trademarks, etc., in this publication, even if the former are not especially
identified, is not to be taken as a sign that such names, as understood by the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks
Act, may accordingly be used freely by anyone. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true
and accurate at the date of going to press, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal
responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied,
with respect to the material contained herein.
The final determination of the suitability of any information for the use contemplated for a given application
remains the sole responsibility of the user.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-56990-631-6
E-Book ISBN: 978-1-56990-632-3
Foreword
German die and mould making is a brand with global significance. The reasons for
this are diverse, but the industry’s secrets to success can certainly be attributed to
smart design with a great deal of know-how, top performance production engineer-
ing and quality related criteria. One major aim of this book is to disseminate this
philosophy to a wider, English-speaking readership.
Rapid implementation of innovations through close information exchange between
all parties is planned for the future. Injection moulds today already play a key role
in modern production engineering in the manufacturing industry. Visions of the
future such as the “smart factory” in the context of injection moulding now offer
the chance to raise the energy and resource efficiency of the production process to
a new level with intelligent management and network flexibility. But the basis for
this is a solid knowledge of the basics of engineering and manufacturing processes
in mould making. The above-mentioned topics can only be implemented based on
this knowledge and wealth of experience. And this is exactly where this technical
book from Rainer Dangel comes in. What is required for bringing a product into
shape?
In the book the author didactically as well as technically breaks new ground in the
field of technical literature for injection mould making. In a very clear way, he com-
bines theory with practice, always focussing on the following questions: “What is
this product relevant for? What needs to be solved technically for which product
specifications?” And, regarding the method of the manufacturing implementation:
“How and with what can I fulfil the product requirement within the scope of
the design and also the manufacturing process?” Through Mr. Dangel’s technical
expertise which he established and developed over many years, it quickly becomes
clear when studying the book that the practical implementation of the described
has great significance. Basic knowledge and solutions are holistically considered.
Advantages and disadvantages are presented and discussed. The wealth of 35 years
of experience, beginning with training as a tool maker to the master craftsman’s
diploma then to owning a private company flows through this technical book.
VI Foreword
“Injection Moulds for Beginners”, the title of this book, hits the bull’s eye and old
hands who think it is no challenge to them might be taught a lesson!
Rainer Dangel began his professional career in mould making with training as a
tool maker from 1976 to 1980. As a young skilled worker, he already realised the
possibilities of making a difference in this emerging technical profession. He laid
VIII The Author
the foundations for his career with the master craftsman’s diploma in mechanics at
the age of 23.
He segued into self employment in 1987. He began with a small CNC milling shop
for mould making components which within a few years developed into a modern,
technically high-quality specialist company for manufacturing injection moulds for
various requirements. He had already introduced and was using the first 3-D CAD
CAM system successfully in 1995.
All manufacturing options of modern mould making could now be offered. Rainer
Dangel made it his duty to actively continue to develop and perfect the manufac-
turing processes. In 2006, the company built their own injection mould making
shop in order to expand the process chain and be able to supply finished plastic
components. Through the certification in accordance with DIN EN ISO 9001:2008
in 2008, his company was able to supply a variety of industries. Among other
things plastic parts for the automotive industry could be VDA tested and approved
(VDA = Association of German Automobile Manufacturers, see https://www.vda.
de/en).
In the generally difficult economic year of 2009, the mould making company was
closed. After that, Rainer Dangel was the head of the technology centre at the
Heller brothers machining company in Nürtingen, where he was responsible for
the support of the customers in the area of die and mould making.
Now back in the mould making arena, Rainer Dangel is currently active in two
main branches: Firstly, project management for injection moulds, from part design
via tool design all the way to start of production. Included in this are the procure-
ment and support of injection moulds externally. The second branch is the educa-
tion and training of young people on the topic of injection moulds generally, but
especially in the considerably demanding area of milling in mould making.
Acknowledgement
Formenbau Schweiger GmbH & Co. KG, Uffing am Staffelsee, Germany, Anton
Schweiger (Vice President)
Formenbau Rapp GmbH, Löchgau, Germany, Markus Bay (Director of Training)
VDWF, Schwendi, Germany, Ralf Dürrwächter (Marketing)
bkl-Lasertechnik, Rödental, Germany, Bernd Klötzer
Cimatron GmbH, Ettlingen, Germany, Dirk Dombert
exeron GmbH, Oberndorf, Germany, Udo Baur
Gebr. Heller Maschinenfabrik GmbH, Nürtingen, Germany, Marcus Kurringer,
Jörg Bauknecht
GF Machining Solutions GmbH, Schorndorf, Germany, Gabriele Urhahn
Hans Knecht GmbH, Reutlingen, Germany, Hans Knecht
MAKINO Europe GmbH, Kirchheim-Teck, Germany, Andreas Walbert
Meusburger Georg GmbH & Co KG, Wolfurt, Austria, Andreas Sutter
PSG Plastic Service GmbH, Mannheim, Germany, Andreas Kißler
Reichle GmbH, Gravier- und Laserschweißzentrum, Bissingen, Germany, Volker
Reichle, Marco Reichle
Werz Vakuum-Wärmebehandlung GmbH, Gammertingen-Harthausen, Germany,
Henry Werz
wortundform GmbH, Munich, Fabian Diehr
X Acknowledgement
The following are not association members, but were also on hand to help me. For
this a heartfelt thank you to:
Friedrich Heibel GmbH Formplast, Heuchlingen, Stefan Heibel
Carl Hanser Publishers, Munich, Ulrike Wittmann, Jörg Strohbach
Finally, I would like to thank the Translation Management department at Meus-
burger Georg GmbH & Co. KG, Wolfurt, Austria, in particular Kristin Bylund
Thurnher and Birgit Lins, for their expert translation of my German text into
English. Achieving a high-quality translation of a specialist technical book is no
trivial task, and for this the professional support of Meusburger is most warmly
acknowledged.
Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V
Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IX
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Mould Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1 Simple Open/Close Mould . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.1 Classic Structure of an Open/Close Mould . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.1.2 Guiding Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.1.3 Backing Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2 Moulds with Moving Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2.1 Undercut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2.2 Slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2.3 Slide Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.4 Latch, Clip Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.2.5 Inclined Ejector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2.6 Forced Demoulding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2.7 Mould Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.3 Mould for Threads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.3.1 External Threads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.3.2 Internal Threads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.3.3 Drive Types for De-spindling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.3.3.1 Hydraulic Unscrewing Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.3.3.2 Gear Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.3.3.3 High-Helix Lead Screw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.3.3.4 Multi-cavity Moulds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
XII Contents
3 Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.1 CAD System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.2 Data Transfer, Procedure, and Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.2.1 Data Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.2.2 Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.2.2.1 IGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.2.2.2 STEP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.2.2.3 STL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.2.3 Data Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.2.4 Shrinkage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.2.4.1 Material Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.2.4.2 Shrinkage (Physical Process) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.2.4.3 Influencing Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.2.5 Calculation and Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.2.5.1 Free Shrinkage, Constrained Shrinkage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.2.5.2 Warping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.3 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.3.1 Location of the Component inside the Injection Mould . . . . . . . . 59
3.3.1.1 Demoulding Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.3.2 Number of Cavities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.3.3 Arrangement of Cavities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.4 Material Selection for Injection Moulds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
3.5 Mould Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Contents XIII
4 Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4.1 Mould Inserts/Mould Cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4.1.1 Mould Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4.1.2 Mould Cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
4.2 Slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
4.2.1 Application Areas of Slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
4.2.2 Design of a Slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
4.2.2.1 Mould Contour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
4.2.2.2 Split Line on Slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
4.2.2.3 Slide Body and Guiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
4.2.2.4 Operation of Slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
4.2.2.5 Locking in the End Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
4.2.2.6 Cooling in Slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
4.2.3 Further Slide Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
4.2.3.1 Slide in Slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
4.2.3.2 “Backpack” Slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
4.3 Ejectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
4.3.1 Types of Ejectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
4.3.2 Ejectors as Auxiliary Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
4.3.3 Inclined Ejectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
4.3.4 Stripper Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
4.3.5 Two-Stage Ejectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
4.3.6 Collapsible Cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
4.3.7 Forced Demoulding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
4.4 Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
4.4.1 Cooling Type and Auxiliary Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
4.4.1.1 Drilled Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
4.4.1.2 Redirection of Cooling Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
4.4.1.3 Copper Cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
4.4.1.4 Heating Cartridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
4.4.1.5 Connection of circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
4.4.2 Connection and Sealing of Cooling Holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
4.5 Components and Marking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
4.6 Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
4.6.1 Rough Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
4.6.2 EDM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
4.6.3 Graining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
4.6.4 Laser Texturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
4.6.5 Polishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Contents XV
5 Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
5.1 Systematic Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
5.2 Spotting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
5.3 Connection of Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
5.4 Check the Cooling for Leaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
5.5 Further Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
How to Use This Book
Figure 2 Container
Figure 3 Cover
There are further chapters in which the existing designs of actually manufactured
injection moulds are the basis for the explanations.
1 Introduction
“Where do all these plastic parts actually come from? Who makes them and how
are these plastic components even manufactured?” These are questions that hardly
anyone asks. “What are those little curls on or in the plastic part, what are they
for? Then there is a small spot that looks as if something was cut or torn.” These
are all characteristics that are visible on each part and arise in the manufacturing
of plastic parts. For this manufacturing technique, besides an injection moulding
machine and plastic granulates, an injection mould is needed.
Review your day and think about how many plastic parts you held in your hand,
and then you can imagine that firstly there is an incredible number of injection
moulds and secondly the diversity of injection moulds there must be in a variety of
industries, applications, or life situations.
have contact with plastic parts. Without injection moulds, the interior of a car is
unimaginable. Seats, steering wheel, switches, buttons, handles, levers, blinds,
instruments, covering, trays and so on, a countless number of injection moulds are
used for the manufacturing of a vehicle.
Plastics surround us in the immediate vicinity of our workplace, whether it is in
the workshop, in the office or in school. It doesn’t matter what you hold in your
hand or use, again it’s plastic parts. A computer, a keyboard, whether it is on the
machine or on the desk. Everywhere there are things made of plastic, in different
colours, contours, shapes, and degrees of hardness—from hard and stable printer
housings to the soft and flexible protective covers for the mobile phone.
Last but not least, a child’s room! Almost all children’s toy boxes are full of toys
made from plastic: toy blocks, board game figurines, racetracks, puppets, game
consoles, etc. Plastic parts, no matter what we do or where we are, accompany us
the whole day. Plastic parts are everywhere, and without them a normal life would
be inconceivable.
The list goes on and on. Everyone goes through their day, consciously or uncon-
sciously in contact with plastic parts, but no one thinks about their origin, even
though there is a huge worldwide industry behind them. Not only are there manu-
facturers of injection moulds all over the world but also large corporations that
manufacture the machines for the production of the plastic parts and very large
chemical companies that constantly develop and produce new plastics for different
applications. Millions of people are at home in this inconspicuous world.
Through the constant development of ever improving high-quality plastics the
application possibilities continue to increase. Sheet metal parts made of steel or
aluminium are gradually replaced by plastic parts. Brackets made of metal used for
fixing cables, fuel lines, containers, or the like in a car’s engine compartment are
replaced today by high-strength plastic parts.
Further evidence that this development will certainly continue is the progress in
the production of bioplastics. To put it simply, for bioplastics, the petroleum used
normally as raw material is replaced by biologically derived material. These oils
are extracted from renewable raw materials and are also biodegradable. So far
there have only been a few applications that were often only explored by scientific
facilities. The whole thing is still in the stages of development. However, if only
from the sustainability point of view, bioplastic is predicted to have a bright and
important future.
The most significant advantage of plastic parts is that after manufacturing or the
injection process a ready-to-use piece comes out of the injection moulding machine.
The manufacturing time for such a component is only a few seconds. This also has
an impact on the much lower cost per piece. But now we come back to the contents
of this book—the success of this whole process depends on a high-quality injection
mould.
2 Mould Types
upper part
(fixed half)
demoulding direction
of an
open/close mould
lower part
(moving half)
The plastic parts which are to be produced with such an injection mould have no
structural elements which deviate from the main demoulding direction. Cup-
shaped or flat parts, for example, are manufactured with this type of mould.
A plastic part can have elements such as side openings, latches and clips, later-
ally protruding edges or pipes. For the demoulding of these elements, moving
components—called slides or inserts—are designed for the mould. In a secondary
demoulding direction, these elements called undercuts can be removed from the
mould without damage. More on this in Section 2.2.
The previously mentioned “expanding” parts container and cover is shown in Fig-
ure 2.2 to illustrate how such plastic parts produced in an open/close mould can
look.
Here already is the first addition to container and cover. To connect the two and be
able to close the container, a sleeve is introduced in every corner of the container
and, aligning to the sleeve, a stepped bore is introduced in the cover. Now you can
screw down the cover on the container with four screws.
Both the size of the injection mould as well as the open and close technique do not
change despite these additions to the plastic parts. The additional elements are
also in the demoulding direction.
2.1 Simple Open/Close Mould 5
demoulding direction
cover
container
In Figure 2.3, the additional sleeves in the container and the stepped bores in the
cover are shown. The demoulding direction remains the same.
container
cover
demoulding direction
Figure 2.3 Parts for the open/close mould with additional elements
6 2 Mould Types
The upper part (fixed half) and the lower part (moving half) are made up of several
plates and risers. Via the integrated guides, that is, bolts in the fixed half and the
bushes in the moving half, the mould closes precisely.
The fixed half consists of the clamping plate and the cavity plate. The guide bolts
are installed in the cavity plate. The guide bolts are provided at the back end with
a collar, which is embedded in the cavity plate. Against the slip out of the guide
bolts the clamping plate is screwed tightly with the cavity plate. The cavity plate is
fixed to the mould plate via another fitting diameter at the guide bolt.
The moving half of a classic open/close mould is made up of the mould plate,
possibly a backing plate, the risers and the lower cavity plate. The ejector set is
between the risers. The guide bushes are also provided with a collar here and
mounted in the cavity plate. They are secured in the moving half through the
risers, which are attached, like the fixed half, via the back fitting diameter of the
guide bush. The risers are again installed with the clamping plate and with the
additional guide sleeves. Everything is screwed tightly together with long screws
from the clamping plate through to the mould plate. This guarantees that all com-
ponents are aligned and tightly connected. Ejectors are the moving parts in the
injection mould that eject or expel the plastic part after opening the mould. Ejec-
tors are usually round pins which are installed in the ejector set. The small rings
mentioned at the beginning which are usually visible on the plastic part are the
imprints of these ejectors.
In Figure 2.4 several longitudinal and cross sections through an injection mould
are represented so that the classic structure of an open/close mould can be seen.
FH clamping plate
guide bush
with fitting collar MH cavity plate
backing plate
risers
guide bush MH screws
ejector set
MH clamping plate
demoulding direction
FH = fixed half
MH = moving half
The guiding elements in an injection mould are very important. They ensure that
both mould halves are already centred while closing against each other. Except in
special solutions, guide bolts are built into the fixed half and guide bushes are built
into the moving half. The tolerances between the cavity plates and the guide bolts
and bushes are so small that they are installed with a light press fit.
The fixed half with the guiding bolts fits exactly, free of play, into the guide bushes
of the moving half. Only in this way is it guaranteed that both sides fit together on
top of each other precisely and repeatedly. If this were not the case, the mould
halves could move radially, which among other things can lead to different wall
thicknesses in the plastic parts. This is also called mould offset.
Figure 2.5 shows what can happen when the guiding elements of an injection
mould are not exactly aligned.
8 2 Mould Types
fixed half
moving half
demoulding direction If the fixed half and the moving half are not exactly aligned
and positively locked on top of each other this can lead to
different wall thicknesses on the plastic part.
Here are a few comparisons to get an idea of how important the accuracy of
the guiding is. The tolerances between the bolt and the plate have to be so
accurate that some light strikes are required when installing the bolt in the
plate. If the bolt is just 0.006 mm too thick, it will be very difficult to install.
The tolerance between the guiding bolt and the guiding bush is even smaller.
The difference between free of play movement and getting jammed is a
maximum of 0.004 mm in diameter.
If the centre distance between the guiding elements of the plates in the
upper part and the lower part differs by more than 0.02 mm it is difficult for
the mould to close.
Anti-rotation Protection
Today nearly all injection moulds are rectangular. For this reason normally four
guiding elements are installed, one in every corner. To prevent a false (rotated) as-
sembly of the fixed half and the moving half, one of the guides is smaller or bigger
than the other three.
In Figure 2.6 the fixed half of a mould is displayed: three guide bolts with diameter
(Ø) 18 mm and one guide bolt with Ø 20 mm. This should prevent a false (rotated)
assembly of the fixed half on the moving half.
2.1 Simple Open/Close Mould 9
Fixed Half
guide bolts Ø 18 mm
The following is important for the length selection of the guide bolts: Before the
mould contours of the two halves approach, the guides must already fit into one
another. If the guides are too short, the mould contour could be damaged during
the closing action of the mould halves.
In Figure 2.7 it is clearly visible that the guides are already sliding into one an-
other before both sides can have contact.
These are not used very often in a very simple injection mould. They are installed
when a complex cooling, a core pin or additional components that have no space in
the cavity plate or pass through the cavity plate and should be held by the backing
plate, are required in an injection mould.
In Figure 2.8 a core pin is shown which is installed in the cavity plate and is held
by the backing plate.
The use of a backing plate has more functions and advantages here. One of the
advantages is that the backing plate is installed under the cavity plate and is level.
Therefore all the components which are attached to the backing plate are geomet-
rically determined and on the same level. A further advantage is the manufactur-
ing costs. To achieve a similar fixing of such a core pin, an additional installation of
another cover from below would be necessary. A possibility here is a small built-in
cover plate or a set screw which fixes the core pin.
Moving Half
cavity plate
backing plate
Figure 2.8 The backing plate fixes and holds the core pin
Both alternatives cause higher production costs. If they are used several times in a
mould, it makes sense to install a backing plate.
In Figure 2.9 two possible alternatives for the fixing of core pins are shown.
Further additional and basic designs, functions, elements and components of an
injection mould are discussed individually in the following sections of this book.
2.2 Moulds with Moving Elements 11
Moving Half
demoulding direction
cavity plate
2.2.1 Undercut
The next level of difficulty in plastic parts is elements which cannot be demoulded
in the main demoulding direction like in an open/close mould. These elements,
which are troublesome during demoulding, are called undercuts. They need to be
released or demoulded in an additional demoulding direction. For this purpose
moveable components, such as slides, core pins, ejectors for inclined ejection units
or inserts, are used in the injection mould. They support the plastic piece so that it
can be better demoulded and ejected.
In Figure 2.10 two possible elements, a side bore hole and a side pipe, are seen on
our component. Both elements are an undercut on the plastic part and must be
released via the second demoulding direction. Only this way can the plastic parts
be ejected from the mould without damage. For these two examples slides are used
to do this.
12 2 Mould Types
second
demoulding second
side opening example demoulding
direction
side pipe example direction
2.2.2 Slide
When implementing these side openings the open/close mould becomes a mould
with slides. Slides are moving components inside the injection mould. One or more
parts of the mould contour are incorporated into these slides. The slide itself moves
away from the plastic part during or after the opening of the mould in an additional
demoulding direction. Through this movement the undercuts are released before
the plastic part is ejected from the injection mould. The required path is calculated
and defined in advance. It must be large enough so that the plastic piece drops out
of or can be removed from the injection mould without damage after the ejection.
In Figure 2.11 the slide for demoulding the side opening on our container is shown.
In the front area of the slide a part of the mould contour of the plastic part is incor-
porated. The round surface in front has contact with the fixed insert when the
mould is closed and is injected. During injection, this contact prevents that the
plastic covers this spot and thus forms the bore holes in the plastic part. In techni-
cal language, this contact point is also called an aperture.
2.2 Moulds with Moving Elements 13
To move this slide there are two possibilities. The first possibility is that the slide
is connected with a hydraulic cylinder which is in turn screwed tightly to the injec-
tion mould. The slide is moved via this cylinder. For this solution the cylinder
covers a clearly defined distance. It is bought and installed as a standard part. Find
out more in Section 4.2. The second option is the forced control through an inclined
pin. The pin is installed with a defined inclination on the fixed half of the injection
mould. The front part of the inclined pin submerges in the moving slide. When the
mould opens in the main demoulding direction, through the resulting movement
this inclined pin moves the slide in an additional demoulding direction. There are
additional details in Section 4.2.
Figure 2.12 displays the closed mould on the left and the slightly open mould on
the right. On the slightly open mould the inclined pin has moved the slide in an
additional demoulding direction to the end position.
14 2 Mould Types
closed mould
additional
demoulding direction
slide
Even a very small and harmless looking clip or catch can have a major impact on
the design and on the cost of an injection mould.
The simplest application is a clip for snapping the cover onto the container. Clips
or catches are also used to connect several plastic parts or to fix them together in
an entire assembly group. The assembly of plastic parts has to be done very fast
today and if possible be automated. The use of such clip connections on plastic
parts has, among others, the advantage that they can be quickly and easily in-
stalled without further hand tools.
For the size, type, complexity and also for the costs of an injection mould, it can be
very important if the clip is attached outside or inside of the plastic part. This
should be considered during the planning of the plastic part. If the clip or latch is
outside of the component, it is in the demoulding direction and thus there is no
undercut. Consequently, it is demouldable without further action.
Figure 2.13 shows both variations of a latch, inside and outside. The outer latch is
open above, thus enabling a problem-free demoulding. The inner latch is not open
in the demoulding direction. It will be damaged or even torn away during ejection.
Consequently, one must think of how to prevent this.
2.2 Moulds with Moving Elements 15
demoulding direction
As previously described, the latches usually lie outside of the plastic part, in the
demoulding direction. They can therefore be demoulded without further action. The
situation is different when the latch is inside of the plastic part. Slides are used for
the demoulding of outside undercuts. In contrast, the latch which is located inside
of the part is demoulded with an inclined ejector. The round ejectors were already
mentioned in Section 2.1. They are pushed to the front together with the ejector set
to eject the plastic parts in the demoulding direction. The inclined ejector is also
installed in the ejector set. In contrast to the round ejector the inclined ejector is not
fixed. The inclined ejector is held in the ejector set in a kind of shoe, but can move
radially with the shoe. Like for the slide, this comes from a movement resulting
from the forward movement of the ejector. Therefore a diagonal guiding is incorpo-
rated in the insert. This guiding has a defined angle for the demoulding situation.
The ejector moves forward in this diagonal guiding. The further the ejector moves
forward, the more it releases the latch on the plastic part. In the end position there
is no more undercut and the plastic part can fall unhindered from the mould.
Figure 2.14 presents two situations: on the left, the ejector after the opening of
the injection mould, before it is ejected; on the right, when the ejector set with the
inclined ejector has moved to the front end position. The latch is released and the
plastic part falls from the mould.
16 2 Mould Types
insert
inclined ejector in
moving shoe
t
emen
l mov
radia
ejector set
Figure 2.15 shows again the exact situation in the plastic part; left, again the initial
position before the ejection; right the latch released through the diagonal move-
ment of the ejector. More about this in Section 4.3.3.
plastic part
after the
before the ejection
ejection
insert
inclined ejector
demoulding direction
latch 1 latch 2
Such additional elements can strongly influence the size and therefore the effort
and the costs for an injection mould. This has already been mentioned above. This
influence on the size can be clearly shown in our two examples. Our plastic piece,
the container does not change in the basic dimensions. Only the side opening has
been added, which we can demould via the slide from the outside, and the inside
clip, which generates an undercut that can be released through the inclined ejector.
In Figure 2.17 the difference in the mould size is clearly seen. The edge length in
the direction shown is the same for both moulds. But the width of a mould with
slide is clearly larger.
h
ge
t
ng
ed
le
e
ge
m
ed
sa
e
m
sa
The slide which comes from the outside has a certain size itself. It also needs a
guide in which it can move. This makes a broader tool necessary.
The inclined ejector, like the slide, is associated with more hours of work, but in
this case has no effect on the mould size. The mould with the inclined ejector is
incidentally the same size as the open/close mould in Section 2.1.
Plugs or nipples are plastic parts which consist mainly of only a thread. They are
used for example for sealing an opening or as an adapter for a hose.
In Figure 2.19 more plugs can be seen which are screwed into a fixture plate. The
plugs have an external thread and are screwed into the internal threads of the
fixture plate. In this case, they serve as protection for the screw holes from the
ingress of chips, water, and dirt. The plug itself is seen in the top left of the figure.
plugs as protection
for the threads
The injection mould for the external thread belongs to the category moulds with
moving elements. In our example, the contour of the thread is also an undercut.
What is special about this is that the whole of the thread is an undercut and there-
fore it must be fully incorporated in both slides. Both slides go exactly to the mid-
dle of the thread. With the thread halves, the entire contour of the cover which is
in the demoulding direction of the thread is incorporated in the slides. The thread
itself is round and therefore it does not matter in which direction the slide moves.
In such a case, the shortest distance for the slide to move inside the injection
mould is chosen.
2.3 Mould for Threads 21
In Figure 2.20 the injection mould for the cover with external thread is shown. The
slides are open and are force-controlled by means of inclined pins. The overall
contour is incorporated in the slide. The distance covered by every slide is half the
width of the plastic part plus a few millimetres safety margin. Note also the size of
the injection mould in relation to the size of the plastic part.
tion
ing direc
demould
In Figure 2.21 the slide with all functional surfaces is displayed. Right in the front
there is the split line surface in the middle of the injection mould, where both
slides and the mould contour—where the thread geometry belongs—meet. In
addition, the inclined hole is shown in which the inclined pin for moving the slide
is immersed. On the sides the slide guides, in which the slides are embedded and
are driven in the demoulding direction, are displayed.
Only exception: the contour of the thread lies in the mould and is right in the main
demoulding direction. The threaded plug in the top left corner of Figure 2.19 is
such a plastic part. It is produced with an open/close mould.
22 2 Mould Types
slide guide
The injection mould for the internal thread also belongs to the category moulds
with moving elements but is a completely different mould concept. The thread itself
is also an undercut for this injection mould, but this time it cannot be demoulded
with slides.
There are two significant options for the demoulding of these internal threads:
Option 1 is the collapsible core. This is explained in detail later in Section 4.3.6.
Option 2 is the unscrewing of the thread. Specialists call this de-spindling. Here
the mould core, where the thread is incorporated on the front, unscrews from the
plastic part before it is ejected.
The difficulty when demoulding the internal thread is that there is no room to
move the slide inwardly with a linear movement such as with external thread. The
question is, how do you release the thread or undercut? The solution is to unscrew
the core from the mould contour using the thread.
Previously, all movements that were important for demoulding were linear move-
ments in either the main demoulding direction of the machine or the secondary
demoulding direction through a moving slide. But for unscrewing, a circular or
screwing movement is required.
The screwing movement for a core can be produced in different ways. The three
common types of operating a mould core are: the unscrewing unit, the drive via a
gear with gear rack or a gear with a high-helix lead screw.
2.3 Mould for Threads 23
For all types of de-spindling, it must be ensured that the plastic part does
not rotate during de-spindling with the turning of the mould core. Often the
parts that have an internal thread are round parts. Through serrations on
the outer surface or a polygon or small catches on the bottom edge, the
twisting can be prevented. This is not a problem for our rectangular cover.
In Figure 2.22 the plastic part is shown with the mould core which is injection
moulded with the thread.
part, cover
demoulding direction
mould core
direction of rotation
for de-spindling
The mould core has the thread as mould contour in front, which is later
reproduced in the plastic part. On the back side there is a thread with the
same pitch for the guiding of a guide nut. The diameter of the back thread is
irrelevant; only the pitch must be the same in front and back. Keep in mind
that both threads must be provided with the predetermined shrinkage!
In Figure 2.23 the mould core with insert, guiding above and guide nut below is
represented.
part, cover
insert
guiding mould core
direction of rotation
for de-spindling
In Figure 2.24 the moving half with the complete drive unit is pictured. The gear
rack is drawn out of the mould. The large gear wheel turns counter-clockwise and
actuates the mould core. This turns clockwise and unscrews via the guide nut from
the plastic piece.
The cavity plate of the moving half is not represented in the large picture. The
hydraulic cylinder for operating the gear rack is screwed in on the left of the mould
and tightly connected to the gear rack.
demoulding direction
direction of rotation
of large gear wheel complete moving half
Both drives, both the unscrewing unit as well as the drive with the gear rack, are
suitable for threads on the fixed half as well as on the moving half. It is also possi-
ble for both drives to operate within a closed or open mould. This can be an impor-
tant or even decisive criterion for the selection of the drive.
In Figure 2.25 a complete drive unit with high-helix lead screw, high-helix thread
nut which is installed permanently in the large gear wheel, and the mould core
with guide nut and guiding is displayed.
direction of rotation
of mould core
mould core
large gear wheel
guide nut
direction of rotation
of large gear wheel
In Figure 2.26 the entire assembly of the injection mould with high-helix lead
screw drive is presented. As you can see, a certain assembly space is necessary for
all drives, which makes the injection mould larger.
2.3 Mould for Threads 27
4-cavity mould
6-cavity mould
Figure 2.27 High-helix lead screw with 4-cavity and 6-cavity drives
The plastic parts that are used for this method have different characteristics.
For example they can be hard or soft. For a housing made of hard plastic, a soft
rubber sealing is injected in the second process step. For this pairing the hard and
the soft plastic must permanently bond.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and
discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project
Gutenberg™ works.
• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.
1.F.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in
paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of
other ways including checks, online payments and credit card
donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.
Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org.