CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

Partingline
TuulaHkTampereUniversityofTechnology
Apartinglineistheborderinwhichdraftangleschangedirection(Seeimagebelow).
Itisalsotheline,whichsplitsthepartintocoreandcavityhalves.Partinglinecanbea
startingpointforthemouldpartingsurface,butnotnecessarily.

Image1. Apartingline,pullingdirection
and the part core and cavity sides. The
partisgenerouslydrafted.
Thepartdesignerdefinestheparting:thepartingline,theshapeofapartingsurface
andthecorners,whichcanberoundandwhichcannotberound.Thetooldesigner
follows the shapes and finds the predefined parting line from the model. This
divisionofdutiesisimportanttopayattentionto.Ifthepartingisnotwelldone,the
tooldesignercontactsthepartdesignereitherdirectlyorthroughtheinjectionmould
ing company or high pressure die casting foundry. The tool designer negotiates
changestogetherwiththecastingormouldingcompany,butitisthepartdesigneror
thepartdesigningcompany,whohastomakethemodifications.
Theimagesinthenextpagesshowsomeexampleshowdraftinginfluencesthepart
inglineandtheshapesinthemouldordiecavityandcoresides.Theshapeisrather
similar,butthetoolcostsvarysignificantly.Thetoolcostsareexplainednexttoeach
image.
AsapartdesigneryoushouldlearnhowtousetheCADsoftwaredraftanalysistools.
Makethedraftanalysiseverynowandthenandseeifthereisanythingtofix.Itmight
beverydifficultandslowtostartrepairingthemistakesonlyinthefinalphaseofthe
design process. The parting line and parting surface should be the starting point.
Growthepartbelowandabovethepartingwithdrafted(notorthogonal)surfacesand
trytofigurethecavityshapeswhiledesigning.Changethewayofthinking:Youare
notdesigningholesandcavitiestothepart.Insteadoftheseyouaredesigningcored
surfaceswithadraftandselectingfromwhichsideofthetoolthesecoresareextend
ing.
Thecavityfillinghastobeconsideredwhenselectingthedraftingdirectionsandthe
placeforparting.Highpressurediecastingsarealwaysfilledfromthepartingline.In
injection mouldings the place for filling can vary. See the texts about cold runner
systemsandhotrunnersystemsininjectionmoulding.

Partingline1
CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign
Partingexamples
Partingline2
Image2. Partingisinthemiddleofthepart.Thecore
isdividedtotwosections:onehalfofthecoreisinthe
mould cavity side and the other half in the core side.
Core and cavity sides are exactly similar. Both sides
need diesink EDM production method or placing a
separatefixedcore.Thissolutionisexpensive.

Image3. Partinginthebottomofthepart.Thecore
is divided to two sections like in the image 2: one
half of the core is in the mould cavity side and the
other half in the core side. The core side is rather
simple to manufacture. It has one relatively low
core. The cavity side consists of a low core and a
cavityforthepartoutershapes.Theslotbetweenthe
coreandthecavityinthemould/diecavitysidehas
to be prepared by diesink EDM or by extracting a
separate fixed core from the cavity. This solution is
cheaper than in the previous example, but still not
thecheapestone.

Partdraftanalysisresults
Mould/diecoreside Mould/diecavityside
Partdraftanalysisresults
Mould/diecoreside
Mould/diecavityside
CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign
Image4. Parting in the bottom of the part. The core
is located fully in the mould/die core side and the
cavity on the cavity side. The cheapest and best
solution from the mould/die making point of view.
There is one high core placed to the mould/die core
side and one deep cavity on the cavity side. Both
shapes can be prepared by common machining
methods.Ifitisnecessarytosavecorematerial,itis
possible to extract a separate fixed core to the core
sideofthetool.Thepartwallthicknessisuniversal.
Partingline3

Image5. Parting in the bottom of the part. The

core is located in the same mould/die half as the
cavity.Thecavitysideofthetoolisflat.Thecore
sidecontainsadeepslot.Thebestmanufacturing
methodisbyextractingaseparatefixedcore.

Partdraftanalysisresults
Mould/diecoreside Mould/diecavityside
Partdraftanalysisresults
Mould/diecoreside
Mould/diecavityside
CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

Image6. A separate fixed core in the tool core side. Right: A cross section image. The wall
thicknessisnotuniversalinthisstructure.

Nexttherearetwoexamplesofacupshapedpartwithacoredholeatthebottom.The
draft angle direction and the place for a parting line are obvious. The core can be
placed either to the fixed or to the moving die half. The draft angle direction is set
accordingtotheselection.

Image7. A cup shaped part with a boss and a cored hole at

thebottom.Thecoreisinthefixeddie/mouldhalf.Thedraft
angledirections are as shown in the image.Theparting line
followsthecupopeningandthecoretopinthecornerswhere
the surface color changes from green to red. The die/mould
movinghalfconsistsofthepartinnersurfaces.Thefixedhalf
consistsofthecupoutersurfacesandthecoresurfaces.This
solution is rather easy to machine and cheaper than the
secondoption.

Partdraftanalysisresults

Partingline4

Mould/diecoreside Mould/diecavityside
CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

Image8. Thebossisasinthepreviousexample,butthefixedcoreisinthemovingdie/mould
half. Pay attention to the fillet between the fixed core surface and the part outer surface. The
fillethastoendinadraftangleinthecornerbetweenthecoreandcavitysurfaces(intheimage
thatisthecornerbetweenredandgreencolors).Onecanmakeveryeasilyamistakehere.

Image9. Left:Mouldcoreside.Almostallthecoresurfacesarehere.Alsothefixedcore,which
formstheholeinthemiddleoftheboss.Thecorehastobeextracted,andmachinedasasepa
ratepiece.Thissolutionismoreexpensive,becausethereisaneedtomachineaseparatefixed
coreandwireEDMaholeforthefixedcore.Right:Mouldcavityside.Theshapeissimpleand
easytomanufacture.

The parting surface should always be flat. It is the cheapest and most practical solu
tion. In order to keep the molten material inside the cavity, the mould/die parting
surface has to be perfectly planar and both halved has to fit perfectly together. It is
very difficult to grind a shaped surface so that both sides of the mould/die have ex
actlythesameshapeandfittogether.
Usually in the case ofa cupshaped part with a nonflat opening it isstill possible to
manufacture the mould/die with a flat parting surface. Also in the case of one open
side.Seetheexamplesinthefollowingimages.

Partingline5
CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

Partingline6
Image10. Acupshapedpartwithanonflatopeningandthecoresideofthemould/die.
Thepartingsurfaceisflatandsecurestheefficientclosingofthetool.

Image11. Left: Parting surface as the SolidWorks parting line tool suggests it. The
shapeisnotnicefromthemachiningpointofview.Notarecommendedsolution.Right:Well
designedpartingsurface.

Payattentiontothecaseofroundshapesendingtoapartingline.Itisaverycommon
mistake to create a zero draft condition in the parting line. Aluminum high pressure
die castings are especially sensitive to solder formation if there are even small zero
draft surfaces in the cavity. When designing injection mouldings with textured sur
faces, the designer should also be especially careful with drafting. See the following
image.Anothersimilarexamplewasintheimage8.Therewasafilletedcornerinthe
borderofcoreandcavitysurfaces.

Image12. No clear parting. Avoid this condition.

Endthesurfacestoanangle.