Material Wall Thickness Guide

Optimizing wall thickness will help you develop stronger, better

looking parts while also reducing blemishes and potential part warp.

Recommended
Wall thickness will often determine Material Wall Thickness
the mechanical performance, (Inches)
cosmetic appearance, moldability ABS Plastic 0.045" – 0.140"
and cost-effectiveness of your
Acetate 0.030" – 0.120"
plastic injection molded parts.
Acrylic 0.025" – 0.500"
Achieving optimal wall thickness
is a balance between strength Liquid Crystal Polymer 0.030" – 0.120"
and weight and directly affects Long-fiber Reinforced Plastic 0.075" – 0.100"
both durability and overall cost.
During design, give careful Nylon 0.030" – 0.115"
consideration to wall thickness Polycarbonate (PC) 0.040" – 0.150"
in order to minimize expensive
Polyester 0.025" – 0.125"
tooling changes down the road.
Polyethylene 0.030" – 0.200"
Utilizing ribs, curves and
corrugations can help you to Polyethylene Sulfide 0.020" – 0.120"
reduce material costs and still Polypropylene 0.015"
provide rigid strength and
durability in your plastic Polystyrene 0.020"
molded parts. Polyurethane 0.018" – 0.020"

Best Practices
Maintaining a uniform wall thickness Coring out unneeded thickness and wall
throughout the part allows for even stock facilitates uniform shrinkage and a
melt flow and uniform shrinkage faster cycle time
Utilize ribs to reinforce walls without adding Use ribs, stiffening features and
to thickness supports to provide equivalent stiffness
A 10% increase in thickness = 33% increase with less wall thickness
in stiffness with most materials If nominal wall thickness must change, the
Changes in wall thickness should be change should be gradual and should not
transitioned in order to avoid stress exceed 15% of the nominal wall
concentrations and cooling differences

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Xcentric Mold & Engineering™, Reference: Bayer MaterialScience LLC, Engineering Polymers Part and Mold Design Thermoplastics A Design Guide,
Copyright © 2000, Bayer Corporation.