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DS – Injection Casting Design
Drafts
Tampere University of Technology – Sanna Nykänen
Draft angles are almost always necessary for any vertical wall of an injection
moulded product. Draft angles will ease the part’s ejection from a mould. If the
parts are produced using a normal cavity and core configuration, usually the cavity
is motionless and the core is attached to the moving plate. Usually the part will
stay with the core when opening the mould. This is a consequence from two things:
− Material shrinks and causes a contact pressure and frictional forces be‐
tween the core and the part
− The part will be pushed away from the cavity wall because of wall thick‐
ness material shrinkage. Draft angles are usually added to the cavity side of
the mould because this way they assist the part’s release from the cavity
when the mould opens.
Cavity draft angles have many advantages. They reduce the effects of undercuts, Cavity draft angle
eliminate sliding friction and facilitate air movement which compensates the vac‐
uum effect when opening the mould. Draft angles typically range from a fraction to
several degrees. Draft angles are depended on depth of draw, material rigidity and
shrinkage, surface lubricity, and mould surface roughness.
Figure 1. Cavity draft angles
ease the part’s ejection from the mould
.Based on Malloy: Plastic part design
for injection molding, page 89.
It is also possible to manufacture parts with no draft angle at all, but some kind of “Zero‐draft”
special mould action is needed to pull the cavity away from the part when the
mould opens. For example a split cavity is one possibility.
When the mould has been opened and the part ejected from the cavity, it must be Core drafts
then ejected from the core. It is very characteristic for plastic materials to grip
tightly onto the core. Therefore forces needed to eject the part can be very signifi‐
cant. The highest ejection forces are the initial breakaway forces which are
influenced by material shrinkage and modulus, coefficient of friction, surface
roughness, contact area and draft angle. Draft angles from 0.25 ° to 2° are com‐
monly used for cores. Reason for using the draft angles in cores is the same as it is
with cavity drafts. If the draft angles are larger, they will improve the part’s ejection
even more but they also have a remarkable effect on the product’s shape. Core draft
angles reduce the initial ejection forces and this way simplifies ejection system
design.
Drafts ‐ 1
CAE DS – Injection Casting Design
Figure 2. Core drafts are
needed for part’s ejection from the
core after the mould has opened
.Based on Malloy: Plastic part
design for injection molding, page
89.
Draft angles result part’s loosening from the core surface after the initial breakaway
and the ejection forces will drop off quickly after breakaway. This suddenly loss of
contact area makes air easier to flow core’s surrounding area to compensate vac‐
uum effects and can lead to part’s damage. Air valves and venting pins are used
for very large and deep draw parts to break the vacuum and blow the part away
from the core after initial break away. Very often the core draft angles are same as
cavity draft angles. It is recommended to use parallel draft because it results in
part’s uniform wall thickness.
Example 1.
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CAE DS – Injection Casting Design
Example 3.
Figure 5. Using of multiple drafts for easing part
removal .Based on Rosato: Injection molding handbook, page
603.
Example 4.
Figure 6. Using parallel
drafts with heavy walls. . Based on
Rosato: Injection molding handbook,
page 603.
When applying a draft, one difficulty is the creation of heavy walls. Problem can be
solved by using parallel drafts on walls.
Draft angles for different plastics. These values however vary depending on many Draft angles for
previously mentioned reasons. different plastics
Plastic type Draft angle
Polycarbonate (PC) 1‐2°
Polystyrene (PS) > 0.5°
Polyarylsulfone (PSU) 1‐2°
Polyarylethersulfone (PES) 1‐2°
Liquid crystal polymers (LCP) >0.5°
Polybutyleneterephthalate (PBT) 1‐1.5°
Polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) 1‐1.5°
Acrylonitrile/Polybutadiene/Styrene (ABS) >0.5°
Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) >1‐2°
Polyethylene (PE) >0.7‐0.8°
Polypropylene (PP) >0.7°
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CAE DS – Injection Casting Design
Draft angles have a quite big influence on the plastic product’s shape. Every fea‐ Draft angles and
ture, like bosses, ribs and holes must be drafted. For example ribs should have a product features
draft angle on both sides of the cavity. The positive point about these drafts is that
they ease the ejection. However the rib will become harder to fill and it will have
less a stiffening effect. Therefore used draft angle should be a compromise between
improved ejection without causing a remarkable loss of stiffness.
If the injection moulded part is produced using textured surface, it needs additional
draft to ease the ejection. Cavities, that have a random texture, need about 1 to 1.5°
draft angle per side for every 0.025mm of texture depth. Some directional pattern,
like wood grain running perpendicular to the direction of the draw, may usually
need greater draft angles. Surface textures are usually applied to the cavity side of
the tool, outside surface of the moulding. Inside textures which form on a textured
core are very difficult to eject because material shrinks tightly around the core.
Even greater draft angles are needed if these kind of textured cores are used.
Undercut is a draft to the “wrong direction” e.g. to the direction, which prevents Undercuts
the casting ejection. Undercut can also be a hole or recession, which is at least
partially parallel to the mould parting surface. Undercuts should be avoided on
injection moulded parts. Using undercuts on injection moulded part is quite diffi‐
cult. Parts where material’s flexibility makes part ejection possible are exceptions.
Undercuts raise the cost of the mould, approximately from 15 to 30%.
There are some basic rules when designing undercuts. The protruding depth of the Basic design rules
undercut should be 2/3 of the wall thickness or less. Also the mould’s edge, which
is against the part when the part is ejected from the mould, should be radiused. It
prevents shearing action. The part ejected should be hot enough to allow easy
stretching and return to its original shape after it is removed from the mould.
Basically it is not possible to pull parts with external undercuts from the cavity
when the mould opens. In that case it is necessary to use side actions or split cavi‐
ties. Part’s ejection from the core is possible with some degree of internal undercut.
At this phase of the process, the cavity has been withdrawn and the part can de‐
form outwards while the internal undercut rides over the core. The suitable amount
of undercut is depended on undercut design, material properties on ejection tem‐
perature and tolerances required for dimension. Materials like thermoplastic
elastomers can be injection moulded with very large undercuts. On the other hand
rigid, glassy polymers can have a very small amount of undercut.
In some cases internal undercuts are cut into the core to ensure that the part will
stay on the core when opening the mould. Parts that have internal undercuts can be
manufactured to tighter tolerances. The size and the shape of the undercut are not
limited by the ductility of the plastic material when special tool actions are used to
release the undercut. These kinds of actions are unscrewing mechanisms, remov‐
able inserts, lifters and collapsible cores.
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CAE DS – Injection Casting Design
Part won’t be withdrawn by using naturally ejection from the mould. Therefore it is
necessary to make mould parts, which make undercut areas, moving sideward.
This has some effects on parts appearance:
− The boundaries between mould parts become visible on the plastic part.
− There will be flashes between the mould parts.
− The heat regulation of the mould becomes difficult because separate cool‐
ing circuits are necessary for moving parts. Necessarily it is not always
even possible.
References
Järvelä et al., Ruiskuvalu, Plastdata, Tampere,2000.
Rosato et al., Injection Molding Handbook, 3rd ed., Kluwer, 2000.
Malloy, Plastic Part Design for Injection Molding, Hanser Publishers, 1994.
Drafts ‐ 5