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CONCURRENT DESIGN OF PLASTICS INJECTION MOULDS Abstract
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The plastic product manufacturing industry has been growing rapidly in recent years. One of the most popular processes for making plastic parts is injection molding. The design of injection mould is critically important to product quality and efficient product processing. Mould-making companies, who wish to maintain the competitive edge, desire to shorten both design and manufacturing leading times of the by applying a systematic mould design process.7508
The mould industry is an important support industry during the product development process, serving as an important link between the product designer and manufacturer. Product development has changed from the traditional serial process of design, followed by manufacture, to a more organized concurrent process where design and manufacture are considered at a very early stage of design. The concept of concurrent engineering (CE) is no longer new and yet it is still applicable and relevant in today’s manufacturing environment. Team working spirit, management involvement, total design process and integration of IT tools are still the essence of CE. The application of The CE process to the design of an injection process involves the simultaneous consideration of plastic part design, mould design and injection molding machine selection, production scheduling and cost as early as possible in the design stage.
This paper presents the basic structure of an injection mould design. The basis of this system arises from an analysis of the injection mould design process for mould design companies. This injection mould design system covers both the mould design process and mould knowledge management. Finally the principle of concurrent engineering process is outlined and then its principle is applied to the design of a plastic injection mould.
Keywords: Plastic injection mould design, Concurrent engineering, Computer aided engineering, Molding conditions, Plastic injection molding, Flow simulation
1. Introduction
Injection moulds are always expensive to make, unfortunately without a mould it can not be possible ho have a molded product. Every mould maker has his/her own approach to design a mould and there are many different ways of designing and building a mould. Surely one of the most critical parameters to be considered in the design stage of the mould is the number of cavities, methods of injection, types of runners, methods of gating, methods of ejection, capacity and features of the injection molding machines. Mould cost, mould quality and cost of mould product are inseparable.
In today’s completive environment, computer aided mould filling simulation packages can accurately predict the fill patterns of any part. This allows for quick simulations of gate placements and helps finding the optimal location. Engineers can perform molding trials on the computer before the part design is completed. Process engineers can systematically predict a design and process window, and can obtain information about the cumulative effect of the process variables that influence part performance, cost, and appearance.
2. Injection Molding
Injection molding is one of the most effective ways to bring out the best in plastics. It is universally used to make complex, finished parts, often in a single step, economically, precisely and with little waste. Mass production of plastic parts mostly utilizes moulds. The manufacturing process and involving moulds must be designed after passing through the appearance evaluation and the structure optimization of the product design. Designers face a huge number of options when they create injection-molded components. Concurrent engineering requires an engineer to consider the manufacturing process of the designed product in the development phase. A good design of the product is unable to go to the market if its manufacturing process is impossible or too expensive. Integration of process simulation, rapid prototyping and manufacturing can reduce the risk associated with moving from CAD to CAM and further enhance the validity of the product development.