Injection Mold Design

Dr. Naresh Bhatnagar

Mechanical Engineering Department

Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi
Basic Structure of an Injection
Mold
 DESIGN PROCESS
• FEEDING SYSTEM (Sprue, Runner,
Gates)
• COOLING SYSTEM (Channel, Coolant,
Temp)
• EJECTION SYSTEM (Pins, Stroke,
Actuation)
 Mold Types
Different types of molds:

(a) the cold-runner two-plate mold

(b) the cold-runner three-plate mold
(c) the hot-runner mold
(d) the insulated hot-runner mold
(e) the hot-manifold mold
( f ) the stacked mold.
Two Plate Injection Mold
Three Plate Injection Mold
Important Phases in Designing
Injection Mold
• Parting Lines
• Weld Lines
• Meld Lines
• Sink Marks
• Vent, Trapped Air, and Ejector
• Undercuts
• Blind Holes
• Runner Design
• Mold-Cooling Design
• Gate Design
Parting Lines
Vent, Trapped Air, and Ejector
 UNDERCUT

Example of an
undercut made
possible by using
an ejector pin
 Multiple-Cavity MOLDS

Partially filled
cavities in an eight-
cavity balanced
runner mold
 Types of Runner Systems
Naturally Balanced Artificially Balanced
Types of Runner Systems
Cold Runners

1
1
2

2 3

2-Plate Mold 3-Plate Mold

 Types of Runner Systems
Hot Runners
Cartridge Shut-Off
Heater Pin
Nozzle
Frozen
Layer
Heater

Gate Melt
Cavity
Melt
Melt

Insulated Internally Externally

Heated Heated
 What is the Best Runner
Diameter?
• Allows the Mold to be Filled Quickly
• Minimizes Scrap in the Runner
• Delivers the Melt as Uniformly as Possible
 What is the Best Runner
Diameter?
800 For PS, ABS, SAN

700 G: Weight (g)

S: Nominal thickness (mm)
600 D: Reference diameter (mm)
500
G(g)

400

300
200
S=1

1.5

3.5

100 4.5
2.5

5
4
2

0
2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5
D’
 When To Use a Hot Runner
System?
• Long Runner Lengths (High Pressure Loss
in Cold Runner)
• Reduce or Eliminate Scrap in the Runner
System
• Minimize Cycle Time for Thin Walled Parts
 Determining the Best Gate
Locations
• Should Allow Part to Fill Within Target
Pressure
• Must Properly Place Weld Lines
• Should Not Be Located in Structural Areas
 Determining the Number of
Gates Needed
• Dependent on Flow Length
• Dependent on Part Thickness
• Dependent on Resin Being Used
• Should Promote a Large Process Window
 Gate Effects

An example of
jetting in an
injection mold
Melt front progression during injection molding of the part. The part is one of the two covers for a 3.5 inch computer floppy disk.
The illustration shows the melt front just before the cavity is filled. Before the availability of molding CAE, the short shot was
the molding engineer’s favorite diagnostic tool.
MOLDFLOW RESULTS

Air traps Weld lines

Orientation at skin Fill time

MOLDFLOW RESULTS
 MOLDFLOW RESULTS
Temperature at flow front
Fill time

Clamp force XY plot

Air traps
FILLING SIMULATION
 Mold-Cooling Design

Differing
temperatures on
opposite sides of the
mold causes the part
to be concave
towards the hot side
 Cooling Design
• How Cooling Time Affects Cycle Time
• How Wall Thickness Impacts Cooling Time
• Considerations for a Good Cooling Design
Good Cooling vs. Bad Cooling

Proper Better Part

Cooling in Shorter Time

Poor Poor Part

Cooling in Longer Time
Part temperature distribution at ejection shows that initial cooling system does not
provide even cooling of the part.
Improved cooling system results in more even temperature distribution.
Mold layout with cooling channels and cavity
Volumetric shrinkage distribution across the molded part at the time of ejection.
Mold wall temperature distribution at the start of the injection cycle.
Walls close to the intersection of the rib and the base structure are warmer
than other areas. Shrinkage will be higher there.
Cooling line layout with manifolds. The flow rate in each cross channel is different, ranging from
4 liters per second at the channel closest to the inlet and outlet, to half that for the channel farthest
from the inlet.
Serial connection of cooling system has equal flow in all legs.
 Fiber Orientation

Fiber Orientation in a
section of a Glass-
filled polypropylene
part
Tensile stress/strain behavior of a 30% carbon fiber reinforced polycarbonate parallel
and perpendicular to the flow direction.
Gate Effect on Flexural
Strength

Edge-Gated part performed but Center-Gated failed

 Gate Positions

The effect of Gate

Position on fiber
orientation
 Warpage

Warpage of a T-
section, end-gated
part with and
without fiber filler
 Gate effect on Warpage

The effect of
differential
shrinkage on a
flat fiber-filled part that
is center-gated
 Warpage Tendency

More shrink on the

side with the hole
causes warpage.
Model of the radiator end cap with a central gate
Cavity filling of the automotive radiator end cap
Warpage resulting from the fiber orientation from a central gate
Warpage from the central gate, with the reference plane changes to the nodes at one end
Warpage predicted for the center gated radiator end cap. The upper left window shows the model.
The upper right widow shows the warpage referenced to a plane defined by the user to be near the
end of the cap. The lower right shows the shrinkage in the X-axis direction due to differential area
shrinkage. The lower left window shows the shrinkage from orientation.
Center gate flow directions as the melt front passes each element. These can be correlated
with the fiber orientation.
Resulting flow directions and fiber orientation for a part with an end gate
Melt front temperature from a mold filling simulation, showing effects of the melt hesitating
in the thin region.
Figure 10.10: Finite element mesh of the part, automatically generated from CAD solids model.
Volumetric shrinkage distribution demonstrates potential different shrinkage that can
cause stresses between different regions of the part. Red areas represent regions of
high shrinkage; cooler colors represent regions of lower shrinkage.
Distribution of process-induced shrinkage of the molded part. Process-induced
warpage includes the effects of both non-uniform shrinkage and uneven cooling of the
cavity faces.
Pressure distribution at the end of the packing phase shows over packing near the gate.
This will also result in lower volumetric shrinkage in this area. Since the time is at the
end of the packing phase, pressure at these points indicate a residual pressure that time.
Fiber orientation on the skin of a molded part. The short lines follow the direction of
fiber or molecular orientation on the surface of the part. This layer is oriented by shear
stresses between the layers of the plastic as the cavity is filling. As the plastic touches
the cold cavity wall, it is frozen with the orientation effects in place.
Comparing a mold filling simulation to
an actual filling pattern in an 8-cavity
mold. The error in the simulation
results from the use of simplified 1D
beams, which are standard with most of
today’s state of the art injection molding
simulation programs.
 Hybrid Composites

Hybrid composite materials, incorporating both fiber and flake

reinforcements, have mold shrinkage values that tend to be more
isotropic than conventional fiber-reinforced polymers
 SIMULATION

Mold Flow
simulated model
Fill Time
 Shear Stress at Wall
Shear stress at wall
at gate location for
different types and
sizes of gates

Material
TUFNYL S13
maximum allowable shear
stress = 0.5 MPa
FILLING SIMULATION
 Fiber Effects

Comparison between
flow and cross-
flow shrinkage and
the effect of fiber
type on shrinkage
THANK YOU