12/09/2022

Metal Inserts METAL INSERTS

• Inserts are an integral part of a plastic
moulding consisting of metal or other
material that may be moulded or
pressed in to position after the
moulding is completed.
•Inserts may be used in plastic parts to
take wear and tear, to carry
mechanical stresses that are beyond the
limits of the plastic material, to decorate
Durga Prasad the part, to transmit electric current,
CIPET, Ahmedabad and to aid in assembly work.

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

• Usually a medium or coarse diamond
knurl is made to provide adequate strength.
• Inserts must be designed to ensure a secure
anchorage to the plastic parts, to prevent
rotation as well as pulling out.
• Inserts are made of brass, aluminium, steel,
or other materials including ceramics and
plastics.
• Mostly brass is used as an insert because it
does not rust or corrode and is inexpensive
and easy to machine.

1
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Factors to be considered in moulded in inserts
• The insert must provide the required
mechanical strength. It should be sufficient
size to resist forces likely to met by the part in
service. Sufficient anchorage must
be provided to prevent the insert from pulling
out of plastics.
•It is not feasible to mould insert in all
plastic materials. Some plastic material
will crack around the insert after they have
aged. Other materials will creep in aging.
Factors to be considered in moulded in inserts
•The flow of the moulding material should not
dislodge the insert.
•Sufficient wall section should be allowed
around the insert to prevent cracking of the
plastics as it cools.
•Inserts may require, retapping, facing or other
expensive cleaning operations after they have
been moulded in the part.

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts Shapes of male and female inserts
•Tolerances on the minor thread diameters
•The end of the insert to be of female inserts should be held to plus
embedded in the plastics is 0.050 mm and for precision work minus
chamfered or rounded, so that the 0.001 mm.
plastics will flow easily around the •Tolerances on the major thread diameters
insert. of male inserts should be held to plus 0.05
mm and for precision work minus 0.001 mm.
•Embedded sharp corners on insert
•Close tolerances on this dimension give the
causes the plastics to crack at the
insert a positive location in the moulded part
corners. and help to prevent compound from flowing
into the insert during moulding.

2
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts Shapes of male and female inserts
Various designed inserts are
usedin moulded plastics are:
a)Blind hole female insert with
internal threads,
b)Open endsfemale insert with
internal threads,
c)Blind hole female insert with internal
threads and counter bore,
d)Male stud with internal thread

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts Shapes of male and female inserts

e)Eyelet projecting,
f)Eyelet both ends projecting,
g)Projecting rivet,
h)Double projecting insert with external
threads,

3
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts Shapes of male and female inserts

i) Blindhole female insert with

internal threads and double sealing
shoulder,
j)Metal stamped insert,
k)Female insert with undercut,
l)Rod or pin type insert

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts Shapes of male and female inserts

•Inserts should be located so as to

be parallel to the movement of the
mould as it opens and closes.
•Inserts located at right angles
and oblique angles are difficult and
expensive to mould.
•This also holds true with moulded
holes.

4
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts Shapes of male and female inserts

•Female inserts open at both ends and

are moulded through the part, should be
0.025 mm to 0.050 mm over size; if the
axes are moulded parallel to the draw.
•The extra length on the end of the
insert aids greatly in preventing
plastic compound from covering the
ends of the insert and getting inside.

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts Shapes of male and female inserts

•If the outside diameters of the inserts

are used to hold the insert in place
during the moulding operation, tight
tolerances are required.

5

METAL INSERTS
Shapes of male and female inserts
METAL INSERTS
Shapes of male and female inserts
12/09/2022
METAL INSERTS
Shapes of male and female inserts
•A female insert located on a mould pin
will re-quire close tolerances in
order to prevent misalignment.
•It will be noted in the drawing that the
true inside radius of the insert must be
held to
0.075 mm maximum in relation to
the outside radius of the insert.
METAL INSERTS
Shapes of male and female inserts
•Male and female inserts should be
provided with a shoulder in order to
prevent plastic compound from flowing into
the threads.
•Male inserts as bolts that are not
provided with a shoulder should be
avoided, because compound will flow
up into the threads during moulding.
•A single sealing shoulder is better.
•Double sealing shoulder is best but
more expensive.
6
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts Shapes of male and female inserts

• The necessity of chasing these threads after

moulding may be eliminated on male inserts
that are not having shoulders, if threaded
lugs or bullets are used.
• This procedure increases the parts cost.
• The threaded mould section must
be unscrewed from the insert after each part
is moulded.

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts Shapes of male and female inserts

•The portion of a moulded in insert

that extends above the surface of the
part should be rounded.
•Square holes are difficult
and expensive to machine in the
mould.

7
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts Shapes of male and female inserts

•A round shoulder on the top part of

a hexagonal insert eliminates the
necessity to machine a hexagonal hole
in the metal mould.

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts Shapes of male and female inserts

•Avoid male inserts that extend

above the top and below the bottom of
the part.
•Mould misalignment may cause
damage to the insert as well as the
mould, when the mould closes.

8
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts
Shapes of male and female inserts

•Female spun-over inserts are used

to provide a permanent assembly of
contact strips and washers to the
moulded part.

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts
Shapes of male and female inserts

•Rubber ‘O’ rings are sometimes

moulded with the metal insert to prevent
gas or liquid seepage around the insert.
•Sometimes the rubber ‘O’ ring is
placed around the insert and
assembled after moulding

9
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts Shapes of male and female inserts

•An insert subject to excessive

axial pull should be grooved in
addition to being knurled to aid in
providing good anchorage.

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Shapes of male and female inserts Effect on mould strength

• If compression moulding is used, it is

advisable to have the length of the
embedded portion of a closed-end insert
should not be more then twice its
diameter, when the insert is moulded
parallel to the draw.
•When moulded perpendicular to the
draw, the length should be no longer
than the diameter.

10
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Effect on mould strength
Effect on mould strength

•When compression moulding is

used, a through insert when
moulded parallel to the draw
should be no longer than twice its
diameter.

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Effect on mould strength Location of Insert in the part
•Inserts that are improperly located in a part,
from a moulding stand point, may result in
objectionable decorative effects, poor
electrical properties, a weak part, a weak
mould, or excessive finishing costs.
•If sink marks and blisters are to be avoided
at the end of inserts, the thickness (T) of the
plastic at the embedded end of the insert
should be at least 1/6 the diameter (D) of
the insert.

11
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Location of Insert in the part Location of Insert in the part

• Inserts used in making and

breaking electri-cal circuits should
extend above the plastic part.

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Location of Insert in the part Location of Insert in the part

•Avoid locating inserts too near the

edge of the part.
•If insert supporting pins are
used, the thin adjoining mould
section may crack.
•Minimum allowable thick-nessfor
the mould section is 0.50 mm.

12
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Location of Insert in the part Location of Insert in the part

•Metal inserts in bosses should

extend to within one material
thickness of the opposite wall.
•Ribs can be added for additional
support to the boss.
•When stresses are
encountered, the insert should
carry the load and not the plastics.

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Location of Insert in the part Location of Insert in the part

•Mould recesses for male inserts

should be at least 0.5 mm from the
edge of the mould if cracking of the
mould is to be avoided.

13
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Location of Insert in the part Location of Insert in the part

• Metal inserts moulded in either

thermosetting or thermoplastic materials
require a wall of compound around them of
sufficient thickness to prevent
cracking upon alternate heating and
cooling and aging of the part.

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Location of Insert in the part Location of Insert in the part

Inserts that are moulded in opposite sides

of a thermosetting part should be no
closer than 3.2 mm.
Cracking of the compound between
the inserts may occur if they are closer.
If inserts moulded in this position carry
electric current, they may short circuit
through the crack.

14
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Location of Insert in the part Location of Insert in the part

• Inserts with sharp corners should

be avoided. Such inserts may
cause cracking of the part.

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Location of Insert in the part Location of Insert in the part

•If a boss supporting insert is

required, it may be necessary to
avoid bring the boss down to a
narrow fin around the insert.
•Inserts moulded in bosses should
have enough compound around
them to prevent cracking.

15
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Location of Insert in the part Location of Insert in the part

•A metal insert moulded around a

plastic part should be provided
with proper undercuts in order to
hold the plastic and metal together
and to prevent it from falling off.

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Location of Insert in the part Location of Insert in the part

•It may be necessary to face off an

in-sert after moulding if a plastic
material with high shrinkage values
has been used.
•Inserts to be faced after moulding
should project above the part at least
0.4 mm.

16
 12/09/2022

METAL INSERTS METAL INSERTS

Location of Insert in the part Location of Insert in the part

Thank you

17