7809776

Product & Technology H&GT GESC Bangalore Quality • Excellence • Support
Product & Technology
Global Engineering Support Center
Designing with plastics

10.09.2004
H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

1
Contents
Design guidelines
• Uniform wall thickness
• Coring out
• Shrinkage and warpage
• Radius
• Parting lines
• Draft
• Undercuts
• Flow pattern & weld lines
• Gate size and location
Strengthening features
• Bosses
• Ribs and Gussets
• Structural reinforcements
Special Features
• Threads and inserts
• Snap fits
• Living hinges
• Press fits

2
Uniform wall thickness

• Generally range from 2 mm to 4 mm. Thin wall
injection molding ~ 0.5 mm
• Thinner wall faster cooling of part, short cycle times

=>lowest part costs
• Avoids warpage and build-up of stress

Design guidelines
• Easier to fill in the mold cavity
• Any transitions should be uniform
Uniform wall thickness eliminates air entrapment.

3
Coring out
• Coring out helps maintain uniform wall thickness
• Leads to lesser usage of material
• Often stronger design

Coring out aids in eliminating air entrapment
• Lesser cost
Design guidelines
Examples of coring in injection molded parts

4
Shrinkage & Warpage

• Shrinkage affects the dimensional accuracy
• Shrinkage occurs in two forms - initial and post-molding
• Initial shrinkage occurs when the part cools
• Post-molding shrinkage is defined as shrinkage

Shrinkage across the diagonal is higher than along
occurring after 24h of the molding the edges, tension force along the diagonal causes
Design guidelines
corners to curl up or down

• Non-uniform shrinkage lead to warpage of parts
Uneven sections cause distortion, warpage, cracks,

sinks, and strains because of differences in
shrinkage from one section to another
Comparison of a normal and a warped part

5
Radius
• Generally 1xThickness
• Fillet radiuses provide streamlined flow paths for the molten plastic
• Sharp corners greatly increase the stress concentration
• From Graph R/T over 0.5 the stress concentration factor gets lower
Design guidelines

6
Parting lines
• Parting line is the place at which the core and cavity meet
• More specifically the moving and stationery parts of the mold
• The part should be designed so as to present a good parting

line to the mold maker
• A flash is usually produced at the P/L and has to be finished

manually or mechanically
Design guidelines
• If the part is aesthetically important the P/L should be

concealed on a thin inconspicuous edge of the part
Parting line selection
Parting line selection for different parts

7
Parting lines
Tolerances have to relaxed for dimensions across P/L

Design guidelines
Excessive wear on mold parting lines can

create a mismatch on a molded part that
Possibility of parting line mismatch
will appear greatly exaggerated
Ways to avoid flash at P/L

8
Exercise
Where would you place the parting line?
Where would you place the parting line?

9
Draft
• Draft is the angle between the direction of ejection
of a part from the mold and the surface of the part
• Facilitates part removal from the mold
• General draft 0.5 - 2 degrees

draft_eject_anim.gif
• 1.5° min. per 0.025mm depth of texture

Design guidelines
Using parallel drafts with heavy walls.
Example of using multiple drafts

to permit ease of part removal

10
Undercuts
• Undercuts are any design features that inhibits the normal
opening of the mold
Mold opening direction

Design guidelines
Undercuts

11
Undercuts
• Inside undercuts can be made with removable wedges or
ejector pins and ejector wedges
• Undercuts can be avoided by simple changes in design of part
• Complicated undercuts need special mechanisms in mold

Design guidelines
Ways to avoid undercuts

A) mold knock-out pin through opening in part
B) cavity cutoff approaches.
Split-mold design
eliminates the undercut
problem but the part
develops a parting line.

12
Undercuts
Mold opening direction
Design guidelines
Creating undercuts with simple tooling.
Creating undercuts with cams

13
Exercise
Identify the undercuts & parting line

14
Flow patterns
• Incorrect design leads to flow patterns that lead to defects
• Weld lines caused by opposite flow fronts
• Meld lines are caused by parallel flow fronts fillpattern_anim.gif
• Appropriate changes in design and gate location can lead to

better flow patterns
Design guidelines
Meld line with parallel flow fronts

Opposite flow fronts produce a weld line
that could also contain entrapped air.
Part failed on a weld line
weldline_anim.gif

15
Gates and ejection

• Gate is the opening through which the melt enters the mold
cavity
• Correct selection of type and position of gate ensures

defect free part
• Aesthetic requirements need to be specified by the designer

Some types of gates
• Ejection of the part is also to be considered during design
Design guidelines
• An ejector pin "landing pad" can be integrated into the wall

of a part design in order to provide material to seat the
ejector pins
Recessed gate in a hidden area of a handle
Gate and ejection system designed for a part

Ejector pin "landing pads

16
Bosses
• Bosses are projections on a plastic part designed to
– add strength
– facilitate alignment
– attach fasteners such as screws or accept

threaded inserts
• Wall thickness < 60 % of nominal wall

Strength features
• Isolate bosses to eliminate sinks
Isolate bosses from nominal walls

17
Bosses
Strength features
Design guidelines for molding bosses.

Guidelines for designing a gusset

18
Ribs
• Ribs increase the bending stiffness of a part
• Rib thickness should be ~60% the wall thickness

Strength features
Examples of rib design characteristics.

19
Exercises
Identify Bosses
Identify Strengthening features used

20
Structural reinforcements
Strength features
Examples of geometric structural reinforcement techniques.
A B
(A) Circular or diagonal ribbing eliminates twisting
(B) Bi-directional ribbing eliminates sagging or bending

21
Summary

22
Comment on guidelines followed

Comment on guidelines followed

23
Threads and inserts

• Threads can be molded or tapped into a plastic
• Internal threads usually need a rotary action in the mold
• External threads can be molded splitting the mold

Examples of internal and external threads.
• Screw threads should be of the coarse type and have
the outside of the thread rounded
• Metal inserts can be used for quality threads

Special features

24
Threads and inserts
Knurls and grooves anchor inserts in molded products

Special features
Examples of self-threading screws.
Counter bore are often better than countersinks and

Molded-in countersinks avoids chipping and burrs
avoids breakage due to hoop stress developed

25
Threads and inserts

Special features
Other ways to assemble inserts
Hot-roll plastic technique over inserts

26
Snap fit design

• Snap fits rationalizes the assembly of plastic parts
• Takes over other functions like bearing, spring

cushioning, fixing
• Fixing of the joined parts is weaker than in welding,

bonding, and screw joining
Special features
Examples of different snap-fit designs

27
Snap fit design

Special features
Core and cavity for creating the snap

28
Living hinges
• Materials such as Polypropylene can be molded
with a living hinge
• Direction of flow of material should be perpendicular

to hinge
• Used primarily in packaging products but can have

engineering applications too
Special features
Some examples of living hinges.
Example of basic polypropylene integral hinge design

(All dimensions are in inches.)

29
Press-fits
• Press fit is when a plastic boss accepts a plastic or
metal shaft or pin
• The features should be dimensioned correctly so as

to get the right interference
Special features
Press-fit conditions for two typical situations

30
Press-fits
Special features
Alternate press-fit designs for metal pins in a plastic hub

31
Joining plastics
• Ultrasonic welding
• Hot-plate welding
• Spin welding
Special features

32
Decorating plastics
• Hot stamping
• Tampo printing
• Offset printing
• In-mold decorating
• Textures and colors

Special features

33
Building
a New Electric World

34

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Product & Technology H&GT GESC Bangalore Quality • Excellence • Support

Product & Technology

Global Engineering Support Center

Designing with plastics

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

Uniform wall thickness

• Thinner wall faster cooling of part, short cycle times

• Avoids warpage and build-up of stress

• Easier to fill in the mold cavity

• Any transitions should be uniform

Uniform wall thickness eliminates air entrapment.

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

• Leads to lesser usage of material

• Often stronger design

Examples of coring in injection molded parts

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

Shrinkage & Warpage

• Shrinkage occurs in two forms - initial and post-molding

• Initial shrinkage occurs when the part cools

• Post-molding shrinkage is defined as shrinkage

corners to curl up or down

Uneven sections cause distortion, warpage, cracks,

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

• Sharp corners greatly increase the stress concentration

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

• More specifically the moving and stationery parts of the mold

• The part should be designed so as to present a good parting

• A flash is usually produced at the P/L and has to be finished

• If the part is aesthetically important the P/L should be

Parting line selection

Parting line selection for different parts

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

Tolerances have to relaxed for dimensions across P/L

Excessive wear on mold parting lines can

Ways to avoid flash at P/L

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

Where would you place the parting line?

Where would you place the parting line?

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

• Facilitates part removal from the mold

• General draft 0.5 - 2 degrees

• 1.5° min. per 0.025mm depth of texture

Using parallel drafts with heavy walls.

Example of using multiple drafts

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

Mold opening direction

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

• Undercuts can be avoided by simple changes in design of part

• Complicated undercuts need special mechanisms in mold

Ways to avoid undercuts

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

Creating undercuts with simple tooling.

Creating undercuts with cams

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

Identify the undercuts & parting line

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

• Weld lines caused by opposite flow fronts

• Meld lines are caused by parallel flow fronts fillpattern_anim.gif

• Appropriate changes in design and gate location can lead to

Meld line with parallel flow fronts

H&GT Organization - 06/25/2004

Gates and ejection

• Correct selection of type and position of gate ensures