CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

FeedingPoint
TechnicalUniversityofGabrovoHristoHristov

Injection casting design of plastic products requires taking into account the point Feedingpoint
where the plastic melt is fed into the mould. The selection of this point is deter
minedbytheproductconfiguration,dimensionsandloading.

Inthecaseofproductswithfilletstheplastichastobefedinthemostmassivepart

oftheproduct(Fig.1b),ratherthaninthemiddle(Fig.1a),toavoidtheoccurrenceof
shrinkages.Themeltcanalsobefedinthemiddleoftheproduct,ifthedesignis
changedinsuchawaythattheproductwallsareofthesamethicknessthroughout
(Fig.1b).
Themelthastobefedintothemouldinsuchawayastopreventthepossibilityfor
airentrapmentinthemouldcavity,whichwouldresultinblowholes,asshownin
Fig.1c.Blowholescanbeavoidedbychangingthepointwherethemeltisfedin
theexampleshownitisfedinthemiddle(Fig.1d).
Inthemouldfillingprocess,themeltshouldnotflowasajet(Fig.1e);instead,itis
necessarytomakesurethemeltismixedbydirectingitagainstanobstructionorat
anangletothesidewall(Fig.1f).
Another important requirement is that the flow of molten polymer should not be
allowedtoreachtheendoftheproductandthenspreadsideways,becauseitmay
getovercooled,whichwillresultinflawsintheproduct(Fig.1g).Whenthemould
cavityisfilledslowlywiththemelt(Fig.1h),theseflawscanbeavoided.
Itisalsonecessarytoavoidovercoolingofthemeltwhenitgetsincontactwiththe
cavitywalls(Fig.1i).Thiscanbeachievedbyfeedingtheflowofmoltenpolymerat
anangletothebottompartofthecavity(Fig.1j).
It is desirable that the ingate is perpendicular to the direction in which the forces
insidetheproductactduringitsoperation;moreover,itshouldbepositionedinthe
area where their action is the weakest. The product strength can be increased by
movingthemeltfeedingpointfromthemiddle(Fig.1k)tooneofitsends(Fig.1l).
WhenthemeltisfedintothemouldinthewayshowninFig.1m,theweldlineis
formed where the distance between the hole and the outer wall is the shortest,
which reduces the strength in this area even more. If the melt feeding point is
movedtotheotherside(Fig.1n),thelocationoftheweldlinechangesanditisno
longerintheweakestarea.Inthecaseoflargeholeswhenthemeltisfedfromone
side (Fig.1o), a large weld line is formed at the place where the melt flow fronts
merge together. In this case the melt should be fed through the centre of thehole
(Fig.1p), whereby the places of merger become smaller and do not have a signifi
canteffectontheproductappearanceandquality.
Inthecaseofproductshavinggreaterheight,themoltenpolymershouldnotbefed
fromabove(Fig.1q).

FeedingPoint1
 CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

Incorrect Correct




a b

Blowhole d
c

e f

g h

i j

k l

m n

o p

q
r
Fig.1ar.Choiceoffeedingpointlocation

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 CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

Itismoresuitabletofeedthemeltfrombelow,asshowninFig.1r,whichguaran
teesuniformmouldfillingpattern.
The designer chooses the most suitable point for feeding the melt, taking into Gatingsystem
account all of the above considerations. The point chosen for feeding the cavity
determinesthechoiceofasuitablegatingsystem.

Plastic parts are commonly produced by injection moulding. The molten polymer

reachestheshapeformingsurfacesinthemouldthroughasystemofrunnersand

gates,orgatingsystem.Accordingtotheirpurposeandlocation,theelementsina

branched gating system are: central gate (sprue) 1, runners 2, gates 3, ingates 4

(Fig.2).Dependingonthenumberofproducts5inthemould,theirlocationandthe

fillingpattern,someoftheelementsmaybemissing,othersmaybemultiplied,or

theremaybedifferentcombinationsofthem.

The melt is fed from the machine
1 nozzleintothesprue,fromthereitis
2 ledintotherunners,whichconveyit
to the gates, and they take the melt
through the ingate to the mould
3 cavity. The ingate separates the
product from the gating system and
creates better conditions for cavity
filling and easy separation of the
gatingsystemfromtheproduct.
4 Gatingsystemsaregenerallydivided
5 into three groups coldrunner
systems, hotrunner systems and
Fig.2.Gatingsystem relativelycoldsystems.Thelatterare
used for injection moulding of ther
mosettingplastics.

Normallycoldrunnersystemsareamongthemostcommon.Theyarewidelyused, Coldrunner
both in singlecavity and multicavity moulds. It is only recently that they have systems
cometobereplacedbythesocalledhotrunnersystems.

Thedirect(cone)gate1inFig.3aistypicalofsinglecavitymoulds.Itistheconnec Direct(cone)gate
tion between the machine nozzle and the mould cavity. The wide end of the gate
hastoreachthethickestpartoftheproducttoensuregoodfilling.Themaximum
gatediameterhastobeequaltoorgreaterthanthethicknessofthewallonwhichit
islocated.

A disadvantage of the direct gate is the large visible trace that is left when it is
removed. Additional machining and polishing is often required to eliminate this
trace. It is recommended to mould the direct runner into a replaceable bush 2
(Fig.3a).Itcanwithstandthepressureofthemachinenozzleandprovidesagood
junctionbetweenthetwo.Thejunctionisalongaspherical,conicalorflatsurface.
Thecornerradiusinthebushjunctionhastobe0.51mmgreaterthanthenozzle
radius.Thediameterofthegateholed,inthejunctionlocation,alsohastobe0.51
mmgreaterthanthatofthenozzle.

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 CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

1
1








3 2 2 b
3


2



1

3 d
c
Fig.3.Coldrunnergatingsystems

The diameter of runner d is
=5 chosen depending on the prod
1600 uct mass and its wall
M,g

d
=4 =6 thickness . The dependence
showninFig.4hasbeenobtained
a

1200 =3 by experiment. The recom

mended formula for products of
short melt flow paths is:
800 d=amax+1,5m;
=2
This is the minimum value
whichpreventstheoccurrenceof
400 shrinkages, since they are com
pensated by sufficient quantities
of melt. To reduce the resistance
0 during melt flow in the junction
3 4 5 6 7 8 between the cone gate and the
productwall,aconcavityshaped
d,mm
like a sphere 3 is made in the
front against the gate. The con

cavity helps to strengthen the

Fig.4.Diagramfordeterminingthegatediameter product bottom and avoid the
pitsinit.

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 CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

Theangleoftheconegateisrecommendedtobebetween2and5,dependingon
theshrinkageoftheplastic,toprovideeasyejectionofthegate.

The gate length should not exceed 15 times its diameter; otherwise the melt will

start to cool, as a result of which lines will occur in the product around the gate,

even pits, scratches and incomplete filling. In this case insulation of the bush is

applied.

Theindirectconegateisacombinationofadirectgateandrunners,gatesandan Indirect(cone)
ingate (Fig.3b). The runners and gates are located on the mould opening plane. gate
Theycanbeusedforbothsinglecavityandmulticavitymoulds.













a b















Fig.5.Runners

c


Thestraightindirectgate(Fig.3b)formulticavitymouldsconveysthemelttothe Straightindirect
cavities by means of runners and gates. The melt enters the product along its pe gate
riphery.Thespruebushingscanbeavoidedbyusinglongnozzleslocateddeepin
themouldleadingtotherunnersandgates.
Thetabgate(Fig.3c)isejectedalongwiththeproduct,inotherwords,itisdispos Tabgate
able.Thisgate1isdetachedfromthetab2bymeansofanotchinthenozzlefront
3.
Astheplasticsolidifies,itcatchesthenotchandwhenthenozzleisdrawn,thegate
isejected.Thegatecanalsobeejectedbymeansofcompressedair.Itisadvisable
thatthetabshouldberelativelysmall,inordertoreducethequantityofthewaste
andshortenthemeltpath.

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 CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

600 600

M,g
M,g =3
=2,5
ABS PE,PP
500 500
=2 =2
=1,
400 400 =1
=1 =3
300 300
=3,5
=4
200 =4 200
=4,5
100 100
=5,
=5,
0 0
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Dk,mm Dk,mm

Fig.6.Diagramfordeterminingthediameterofrunners

Specific indirect gates normally have a curved crescent shape (Fig.3d). They are Specificindirect
ejectedbymeansofelasticdeformation.Themeltinthemisconveyedatthesideof gate
theproduct,throughatunnelgate,oranotherrunneroringate1.Specificgatesare
produced bymeans of anadditional insert 2and die 3. Theyare only applied for
flexibleplastics.

Runners (Fig.5) have to convey the melt from the sprue to the gates and through Runners
them to the mould cavities, and this should be achieved with minimum pressure
andtemperaturelosses.
The melt flow is affected by: the size and shape of the runner crosssection (and
hence the surfacevolume ratio), the runner length, the change in the melt flow
direction,theshapeofthebranchesandthesurfaceroughness.
The cooling rate of the melt in the runners is proportional to the surfacevolume
ratio.Whenthecrosssectioniscircular,thecoolingrateisthelowest.
Inthecaseofasemicircularcrosssectionthecoolingisacceleratedandthepres
suredropisincreased.Moreover,theproductionofsuchrunnersisquitedifficult.
Thetrapezoidalshapewithasideangle2=15isconsideredtobeacceptable.
Thefollowingruleshavetobeobservedinthedesignofrunners:
theirlengthhastobeminimum;
thejunctionstoothergatesshouldhavearounding(rmin=1mm);
theirbranchesmusthavesmallercrosssections;
therunnerendshavetobeproducedinsuchawayastoretaintheso
calledfreezeoff.

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 CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

a b

c d

e
f








g

Fig.7.Gates

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 CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

The diameter of the runners Dk can be determined from the diagrams in Fig.6
dependingontheproductmassanditswallthickness.

ThediameterhastobemodifiedbycoefficientL,whichexhibitstheeffectofthe

runnerlengthL.

Dk=DkKL

L
KL = 1+ 0,15
100
Gatestakethemeltfromtherunnersordirectlyfromthesprue(Fig.7).Whenthey Gates
takethemeltfromthesprue,theyalsoperformthefunctionofrunners.Theircross
sectionsarecalculatedinthesamewayasthoseofrunners.

In singlecavity moulds gates function entirely as runners. In some designs it is

difficult to differentiate between and dimension them, because they overlap with
ingates (Fig.7). Their number is determined by the length of the melt flow, the
volume,theproductqualityandshape.
Long thinwall bushings require the use of umbrellashaped gates, which partly
coincidewiththerunnersandingate(Fig.7b).
Certain disadvantages of multicavity gating systems, like the occurrence of weld
linesanddeformationsintheproducts,canbeavoidedbygatesshapedlikedisks
(Fig.7c).Theyenablethecavitytobefilleduniformly,withoutweldlines,andare
ejectedbytrimmingordrawingthem.
Forproductshavinggreaterdiameters,itisadvisabletouseringgates(Fig.7d),to
avoidmaterialwaste.Suchagateisfilledentirelyandundertheeffectofincreased
pressureitpassesthemelttothecavityevenlyandsteadily.
Thesideorcentralfilmgates(Fig.7fand7g)areusedforproductsforwhichinner
stressesanddeformationsareinadmissible.Thecentralfilmgaterequiresamould
withsideopening.
Gates in multicavity moulds are determined by the number and volume of
cavities, the type of plastic machined, the product wall thickness, etc. When the
cavitiesarefeddirectly(withoutrunners),thegatesfeedalimitednumberofcavi
ties.Theycanbeconnectedeitherinseriesorinparallel.
Thejunctionsbetweenrunnersandgatesmustbeshapedinsuchawayastofacili
tate the melt flow.Sharp edges willimpede the melt flow, which is why they are
rounded.Designswithdraftedorarcshapedgatesprovideeasycavityfilling.The
draftangleisrecommendedtobe600.
If the gates are drafted in the opposite direction, simultaneous cavity filling is
ensuredafterthegatesarefilled.
When highviscosity materials are molded, it is very important to prevent heat
lossesingates.Theninadditiontothefreezeofflocations1(Fig.8),narrowing2are
alsoenvisagedingates3inthedesignphase.
The narrowing separates the gates in 1:2 ratio (length in front of and behind the
narrowing). Their purpose is to raise the melt temperature before it enters the
cavityasaresultoftheincreasedspeed.Besides,jettingandtherelatedimperfec
tionsaretransferredfromthecavitytothegate,wherethejetissloweddownand
smoothfillingofthecavityisprovided.Inordertoimprovethefilling,thegate4is
located at right angles to the gate axis 5, as a result of which the jet leaving the
narrowinghasasphericalshapeandflowssmoothlyaroundthecavity.

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 CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

1 2 3







5 4



Fig.8.Reducingheatlossesingates Fig.9.Crosssectionofingates

Theingateisthenarrowedchannelofthegateorthedirectgateconnectingittothe Ingate
cavity.Theflowmeltspeedisacceleratedinit.Thefrictioninthisareaisgreater,as
aresultofwhichthemelttemperatureraises,hence,themouldfillingisimproved.
The ingate keeps the melt, which hasstarted to solidify due to the fact that it has
transmitteditsheattothewalls.Thusitisonlytheplasticcorethatpassesthrough
the gate with sufficient mobility. The melt cools down rapidly in the ingate and
doesnotallowthematerialtoflowbackfromthecavity.Thisleadstoshorteningof
thetimeneededforkeepingthemeltunderpressure,whichwouldotherwisehave
tobemaintaineduntilthecompletesolidificationoftheproduct.Itisveryeasyto
separatetheproductfromthegatingsystemattheingate.

Theingateisproducedaxiallywiththechanneland,ifpossible,onthethicksideof
theproduct.Ithastobelocatedinsuchawayastopreventjetting.Itisdesirableto
directittoawalloranobstruction.Iftheingateislocatedinonehalfofthemould,
itbecomespossibleforthefreezeofftobetakentothecavity.Theintroductionof
anabrupttransitionkeepsthecoreliquid.Thecentralpositionoftheingateanda
sharptransitionwithroughchannelsdecreasestheflawsonthesurface.Theround
ingofthetransitiontothecavitylaminatestheflowandpreventsjetting.
The shape of the ingate crosssection can be classified in three groups circular
(round),rectangularandflat(Fig.9).

There is a significant reduction of waste if there is no solidification, i.e. the sprue

and runners are not discarded. This is achieved using the next group of gating

systemshotrunnersystems.

The hotrunner system (Fig.10) consists of a sprue bushing 1, manifold 2 and the Hotrunner
sprue bushings contained in it 4, cartridges 3 and heating elements 5. The plastic systems
melt passes through the sprue bushing and enters the channels of the heating
manifold 6, and from there passes into the space between the internally heated
cartridgeandthenozzles.Finallyitentersthemouldcavitythroughapiningate.

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 CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

1 2 3 4







5


6







Fig.10.Hotrunnersystems


Hotrunner systems are classified into three groups heated runner, insulated
runnerandrunnerlesssystems.
Heatedrunner systems can be divided into four subgroups direct, direct com Heatedrunner
binedwithsolidgates,indirectandindirectcombinedwithsolidgates. systems

Asfarasdesignisconcerned,thefoursubgroupshavetwomajorelements:
manifolds
cartridgesandnozzles

In the case of externallyheated manifolds 2 (Fig.10) the runners 6 have to be di Externallyheated

mensionedinsuchawayastoprovidecompletereplacementofthemeltinthemat manifolds
every third shot of injection. Their diameter is 510 mm. The roughness of the
channelhastobeRa=50.Thechannelshavetochangethemeltinsuchawaythat
nodeadspotsshouldoccurinthecorners.

The manifold runners are blocked with pins sideways for easy cleaning when
changingthepolymercolor.Thepinsarefixedtopreventthemfromrotating.The
inputbush1ismadewithacylindricalholeandistightenedtothemanifold

Internally heated manifolds differ from externally heated in the fact that their Internallyheated
heatingelementsarelocatedinthemiddleofthechannelthroughwhichthemelt manifolds
flows.Duringthefirstfillingthemeltstickstothechannelwalls,solidifiesandacts
asaheatinsulator.Thenextportionofmeltpassesbetweenthepreviouslysolidi
fied melt and the heating element. It is advisable to insulate them from the cold
mould, as a result of which the thickness of the layer of solidified plastic would
remainalmostconstant.Thesemanifoldshaveagreatervoltagedrop.

Indirectlyheated hotrunner cartridges (Fig.11) are attached to the manifold and Indirectlyheated
are consequently heated by it. The cartridge heated in this way can maintain the hotrunner
melt temperature in the ingate area. This cartridge design does not allow local cartridges
overheating of the melt. For better heat transfer, cartridge 1 is attached to sprue
bushing2.

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 CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

1 2 3
1 2
d..

3

4
Fig.11.Indirectlyheatedhotrunner Fig.12.Directlyheatedhotrunnercar
cartridges tridge

2 1

3 2

Fig.13.Indirectlyheatednozzles Fig.14.Directlyexternallyheatednozzles

The numberof holesin the cartridge is from5 to8,of diameter 24 mm. The car
tridgeisdimensionedusingtheformula:

dpkdot n ,where:

dpkisthediameterofthemanifoldrunners,
dotisthediameteroftheholesinthecartridgebody;
nisthenumberofrunnersinthecartridge

The ends of the runners have to be rounded to achieve better streamlining. Their
lengthis1.52timesthecartridgediameterd.

When the diameter of the inner sprue bushing d is determined, the following
ratioisrecommendedforproperoperation:

d . d
= 2 ,i.e. =
d 2
Thevalueofdisrecommendedtobeabove6mm.

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 CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

Theinnerspruebushing3providestheconnectionbetweenthegatingsystemand
theproduct.Forthestandardmodification,aftertheproductisejected,aprojection
about0.3mmhighremainsonit.Ifnecessary,thebushingiscombinedwithacold
runner.
ThedesignofadirectlyheatedhotrunnercartridgeisshowninFig.12.Itconsists Directlyheated
ofalongnozzle1thatconveysthemeltthroughthesetofplates2andahotrunner hotrunner
cartridge3withaheatingelement4. cartridge

As pointed out above, in addition to cartridges, hotrunner nozzles can also be

used.Thelatteraredividedintothreegroupsindirectlyheated,directlyexternally

heatedanddirectlyinternallyheatednozzles.
Indirectlyheated
The operation of indirectly heated nozzles (Fig.13) is similar to that of indirectly
nozzles
heatedcartridges.Fromthedistributionchannelsthemeltpassesthroughnozzle1

andgoestothesocalledtabbushing2,whichformsapiningateintheproduct.

Thetemperatureinthecontactareaofthenozzleandthetabbushinghastobehigh
enoughtokeeptheplasticliquid,butnotexcessivelyhigh,sothatthemeltthatis
close to the tab bushing would be able to cool down. The heatinsulating layer
obtainedfromsolidifiedplasticstucktothenozzlewallsgivesthebestresultswhen
itsthicknessis2mminthesidepartandthetaperand0.51.0mminthefrontpart.
Fromthepointofviewofhydraulics,directlyheatednozzlesprovidetheoptimal Directlyheated
solution. The closer the heater is to the nozzle top and the greater the heat nozzles
conductingcrosssectionis,theeasiertheheatingoftheingatecriticalareais.The
good operation of the nozzles requires that no heat should be transferred to the
supports.SuchanozzleisshowninFig.14.Theheater1iswoundaroundbushing2
andisexternallyinsulatedbysteelcover3.Thevoltageofthenozzleheatingcur
rentisbetween5.6and14.5V.


2 1 1









3

Fig.15.Directlyinternallyheated Fig.16.Hotrunnersystemwithinsulated
nozzles runnersdirecttabgate

Directly internally heated nozzles are called cartridge designs. Just like in Directlyinternally
manifolds, the melt passes round the cartridge and solidifies on the walls. The heatednozzles
heating cannot be carried out close to the thermallycritical section of the gate.
There are such designs of the nozzle 1 (Fig.15), in which the cartridge is directly
conducting2withaverysmallcrosssection.Itendswithataper3positionedinthe
ingatecriticalsection,which,duetothesmallcrosssection,freelyemitsheat.The
temperatureisregulatedbychangingthecurrentstrengthsmoothly.

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 CAEDSInjectionMouldedPartDesign

When using hotrunner systems with insulated runners, the melt enters the wide Hotrunner
runnerandstickstothecoldwalls,thusforminganinsulatinglayerthatimpedes systemswith
thefurtherheattransfertothemould.Asaresultthecorestaysliquid. insulatedrunners

Thesesystemswithinsulatedrunnerscanbeclassifiedintothreetypesdirecttab

gates,indirectandcombinedwithsolidgates.

Singlecavity moulds are classified as direct tab gate systems. The shape and di Directtabgate
mensionsofthetab1arethemostimportantthinginthem(Fig.16). systems
Indirectinsulatedgatingsystemsalsohaveaspruebushing1immediatelyinfront Indirectinsulated
of the product (Fig.17). This is a variation of the twocavity mould, in which the gatingsystems
productisfedfromthebottombymeansofapiningate.

Indirect insulated runnerscombined with a solid gate eliminate the problemwith Indirectinsulated
ingatesolidification,butrequirealongercycle.Thediameteroftheinsulatedrun runnerscombined
nersisnormally23timesasgreatasthediameteroftheregularrunnersandgates. withasolidgate



1 2 1





2

3





Fig.17.Indirectinsulatedgatingsystems Fig.18.Runnerlessinjectionmolding


Another disadvantage is the fact that if the injection molding processin insulated
runners stops for a few minutes, the melt solidifies. The mould then has to be
disassembledtobecleaned.Thisrequiresprovidingapossibilityforeasyassembly
anddisassembly.

Moulds with insulated runners have a simple design and efficient operation. The Runnerless
regularmouldswiththreeplatescaneasilybemodifiedintomouldswithinsulated injectionmolding
channels.
Runnerless injection molding is applied for products which require part of the
surface to be molded directly from the machine nozzle 1 (Fig.18). In this way the
plasticmeltfromthenozzleentersdirectlythecavity2,andthepressurelossesare
minimal.Thistypeofnozzlescanalsobemadewithaneedlevalve,thusprevent
ingtheoutflowofplastic.Thenozzlesareheatedwithflatheatershavingapower
from150to300W.Themainadvantageofthesemouldsistheshortcycleandthe
lackofmaterialwaste.

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