1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15)

Given Part Design Order Quantity Target Production Costs Selection of Moulding Machine Estimate Cycle Time Calculation of Optimum no. of Cavities Selection of Type of Mould Preliminary Cavity Layout Runner & Gate Layouts CAE Filling Analysis, Shrinkage / Cooling Analysis Recheck Runner & Gate Design Layout Cooling Channels Mould Layout & Details Mould Base Layout Ejection & Venting Final Drawings & Bill of Materials

Design of Injection Moulds

Plastics Materials : General Characteristics

1. Verstality 2. Relatively Easy to Mould into Complex Shapes

3. Low Specific Gravity

4. Transparency & Colouring 5. Relatively low energy requirements for processing

6. Chemical resistance
7. Mechanical performance 8. Good Electrical & Thermal insulation

9. Flammability
10. Poor weather resistance 11. Relatively high coefficient of Thermal Expansion

Feed-System
Flow-way to connect machine nozzle to each impression.

Gates for Injection Moulds

Gate is a channel or orifice connecting the runner with the impression.

Allows the molten-plastic to flow from the runner or from the sprue into the cavity.
Much smaller than Runner. Large enough for suitable filling & small enough to seal-off and prevent backflow or packing. Should be located for economical removal (de-gating) & finishing of the part.

Gate : Small Cross-Sectional Area

Small cross-section area is necessary for :1. Gate freezes soon after impression is filled 2. Allows for simple de-gating 3. Small witness mark on the moulding

4. Better control of the filling of multi-cavities

5. Over-packing of cavities is minimized

Gate-Size
Depth, Shape, Size, Thickness

Start with 0.6 mm in depth

Gate thickness = 40 to 60% of part thichness Optimum size of the gate will depends on :1. Flow characteristics of the plastic material 2. Wall-thickness of the moulding 3. Volume of material to be injected into the cavity 4. Melt-temperature 5. Mould-temperature

Balanced Gate System

For multi-impression moulds Impressions near to sprue will fill earlier Over-packing of nearest cavities Farthest cavities may not fill fully Two methods :-

1. By varying the land length

2. By varying the cross-sectional area

Gate Position
The position of the gate should be such that :1. Even flow of the melt in the impression

2. Uniform filling of the impression

3. All extremities fills at the same time Central Gating :- results in even flow & the core is held centrally Jetting should be avoided Weld-lines :by keeping the cooling away from weld-line areas, melt temperature may be increased slightly for proper knitting of melt-fronts.

Types of Gates
Twelve Types :1. Sprue-Gate 3. Overlap-Gate 5. Tab-Gate 7. Ring-Gate 9. Pin-Point-Gate 2. Rectangular-Edge-Gate 4. Fan-Gate 6. Diaphragm-Gate 8. Film-Gate 10. Round-Edge-Gate

11. Subsurface-Gate

12. Winkle-Gate

Injection Moulding Recommended Runner Sizes S.No. 1 2 3 4 Plastic ABS, SAN Acetal PMMA Cellulosics Size - mm Min 4.7 3.1 7.5 4.7 Max 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5

5
6 7 8 9 10 11

Nylon
PC PE PP PPO PolySulfone PS

1.5
4.7 1.5 4.7 6.3 6.3 3.1

9.5
9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5

12

PVC

3.1

9.5

Runners for Injection Moulds

A channel machined into the mould plate to connect the sprue with the gate (entrance) to the impression. A Channel that connects the Sprue with the Cavity Gate. Can be machined on either half of the mould. Preferably on the Moving-half. Highly Polished to reduce friction ( molten-plastics & metal ) Polished in the line-of-draw Runner Design Considerations :1). Shape of the Cross-Section 3). Runner Layout 2). Size of Runner

Runners : Shape of Cross-Section

Efficient Runner Design : Criteria

Runner should provide :a maximum Cross-Sectional Area for pressure-transfer & a minimum Contact on the periphery for heat-transfer.

Runner Efficiency = ( Area / Periphery )

Types of Runners : Shape of Cross-Section

Six Types :1. Full-Round 2. Half-Round 3. Quarter-Round 4. Square 5. Trapezoidal 6. Modified Trapezoidal

Runner-Size
As small as possible Empirical (based on practical-experience) formula :For moulding weighing 200 gm & wall-thickness 3mm

D=
D = Runner Dia, mm L = Height of runner, mm

( W x

4L

) / 3.7

W = Wt. of moulding, gm