From Art to Part 2009

Plastics Part Design

By: Sidney Wong & KM Ho
Tel: 27667616, 27667620
E-mail: icsidney@polyu.edu.hk
ickmho@polyu.edu.hk

Intended Learning Outcomes

After completing this training session, YOU are expected able to:

Address the key design concepts for thermoplastic part

design
List out the common thermoplastic part assembly
methods , select and applying them in the group
project
Apply general plastic design rules/ simple calculation
in designing a thermoplastic product

General Design Rules of Injection

Moulded
Mould
ed Part
Uniform wall thickness
Part Geometries
Draft Angle
Radii / Fillet
Structural Ribs Design
Bosses
Snap-Fit Design

Uniform Wall Thickness (UWT)

Why Uniform Wall Thickness is important in
plastic part design?
Non-uniform and/or heavy wall thicknesses can
cause serious warpage and dimensional control
problems in the injection molded products.
Heavy wall sections cause not only internal
shrinkage, voids, and surface sink marks, but
also non-uniform shrinkage resulting in poor
dimensional control and warpage problems.

Uniform Wall Thickness (UWT)

Uniform Wall Thickness (UWT)

RIBS

How to achieve UWT

Coring
should be employed where possible to
eliminate material masses in the part. When wall thickness
transitions cannot be avoided, the transition should be
made gradually, on the order of 3 to 1.

Part Geometries
Although UWT is achieved, sometimes the part
geometries itself will generate moulding problems

Part Geometries

Task 1
Try to modify below part geometry to
improve the manufacturability

Draft Angle
Draft angles for internal
and external walls are
essential to the ejection
of the moulded parts
from the mould.
External walls require
smaller draft angles
than the internal walls.

Draft Angle

Minimum Draft Angle

External Wall

Internal Wall

W/O
Texture

W/ Texture

W/O
Texture

Depth < 1

0 15 to 0
30

(0 15 to 0 0 30 to 1
30) +

(0 30 to 1)
+

Depth > 1

1.0 to
1.0 30

(1.0 to
1.0 30) +

(1.0 30 to
3.0) +

1.0 30 to
3.0

W/ Texture

Radii / Fillet
Internal sharp corners and notches are the
leading cause of failure in injection moulded
thermoplastic parts. To avoid the problem
occurred, radii / fillet is commonly employed to
all sharp feature

Radii / Fillet

A fillet radius should be between 25 to 60% the nominal wall

thickness. The larger fillet radius is suggested for load carrying
features

Radii / Fillet
The outside corner
radius should be
equal to the inside
radii plus the wall
thickness (R = r + t).

Structural Ribs
Ribs Design
Rib is one of the common features used in
plastic part design to strength the structure
and to reduce the weight of the product.

Structural Ribs
Ribs Design
However, for many resins, the use of ribs will produce
sink marks on the external surface and this defect
becomes very noticeable on the moulded product.
There are several resins on the market that have good
surface appearance behind the rib area, for example,
PVC, ABS, PC, LCP, PBT, PET

Structural Ribs
Ribs Design

Structural Ribs
Ribs Design
The thickness of the rib at the intersection with
the nominal wall should be 50 to 60% of the
nominal wall.
Maximum rib height: h=3 x nominal wall thickness.
Typical draft for ribs is 1 to 1.5. Minimum draft
should be 1/2 per side.
Spacing between two parallel ribs should be a
minimum of 2 x wall thickness.

Task 2
Try to integrate the concept of Draft,
Fillet & Rips to enhance the design

Bosses
Bosses are thermoplastic cylinders
attached to a side wall or end corners.
Special self-tapping screws are used to
mount other components. The bosss
outside and holes inside diameters are
based on size, depth and type of screws,
pullout torque requirements, resin modulus
of elasticity, creep, and boss weld line
strength.

Bosses

Bosses

Bosses
Typically the boss OD = 2 ID.
The wall thickness at the base of
the boss should remain less than
60% of the nominal wall thickness.
The boss height should be less
than 3 OD.
Draft on the OD is 1/2 and ID is
1/4 Min.
Keep the minimum distance of
twice the nominal wall thickness
between 2 bosses.

SnapSnap-Fit Design
Snap fits are commonly used as an assembly
method for injection molded parts. Snap fits are
very useful because they eliminate screws, clips,
adhesives, or other joining methods. The snaps
are molded into the product, so additional parts
are not needed to join them together.
There are three main types of snap fits:
Annular, Cantilever, and Torsional.

http://engr.bd.psu.edu/pkoch/plasticdesign/snap_design.htm

Annular Snap Fit

ASJs are generally stronger, but need greater
assembly force than their cantilevered
counterparts.
Annular Snap Fit are basically interference rings.

http://machinedesign.com/ContentItem/61167/FundamentalsofAnnularSnapFitJoints.aspx

Annular Snap Fit childchild-proof bottles

The ridge geometry of the
annular snap-fit plug
determines the assembly force
F needed to engage the joint.
A shallow return angle of 30
easily separates while a 90
angle is permanent. Designers
of child-proof bottles employ a
clever trick to transform a
permanent snap joint into one
that easily disengages.
http://machinedesign.com/ContentItem/61167/FundamentalsofAnnularSnapFitJoints.aspx

Key points of applying Annular Snap Fit

Dont use cylindrical snap-fits with very stiff
materials, making the plug from a more rigid
material than its mating female hub.
Use an engagement angle of 20
20 to 30
30 and a
release angle of 40 to 50.
Place the undercut near the open end of the hub.
Size the undercut so that the design stress
figure is not exceeded.

Cantilever Snap Fit

Cantilever snap fits are
the most widely used
type of snap fit. There is
a considerable amount
of calculation and
engineering that goes
into designing a good
snap fit

http://engr.bd.psu.edu/pkoch/plasticdesign/snap_design.htm

Cantilever Snap Fit

http://engr.bd.psu.edu/pkoch/plasticdesign/snap_design.htm

Key points of applying Cantilever Snap Fit

Keep within the allowable strain figure.
If the calculated allowable deflection is too small,
try increasing the snap hook length.
Design so that the snap hook is no longer flexed
after it has clicked into the catch
Snap-fits are meant to be used either once or
just a few times, so fatigue and wear can be
neglected.
Radius the root of the snap hook to reduce
stress concentration.

Torsional Snap Fit

The torsional snap-fit relies for its spring effect
on twisting rather than flexing like the other
types.
It is a good way of fastening a hinged lid on a
box or container.

Key points of applying Torsional Snap Fit

Use torsional snap-fits when you want to be able
to release the catch easily.
Include a design feature to show where to press.
Design a stop feature to prevent excessive
torsion.
Do not make the catch lever length too short
otherwise the twist angle and torsion becomes
too great.
Reduce the opening force by making the length
of the opening lever longer than the catch lever.