Tooling fabrication: Once an injection molding design is finalized the first step in the manufacturing process is to mill the tooling, which is typically fabricated from steel or aluminum. In most cases, the metal block of material is placed in a CNC mill, which then carves out a negative of the final plastic part. Additional treatments like polishing or laser etching can then be applied to the tooling to achieve specific surface finishes.
Part production: The actual production of plastic parts begins by loading resin pellets into a barrel. The temperature of the barrel is raised until the resin pellets reach a molten state and are then compressed. Next, the molten plastic is injected into the metal tool through a runner system, which then feed into the mold cavity through gates. The part then cools down, solidifies, and is ejected from the tool with ejector pins.
The term injection molding encompasses a handful of processes that inject liquid resin into a tool to form plastic parts. Here are four common types:
Thermoplastic injection molding: Thermoplastic injection molding is the most common type of molding. It injects thermoplastic resin into the mold where the material cools to form the final part.
Liquid silicone rubber molding: Liquid silicone rubber uses thermoset materials and a chemical reaction creates the plastic part.
Overmolding: Overmolding is a process used to manufacturing plastic parts with two or more materials. You’ll often find this on parts to improve grip by adding rubber to the handle.
Insert Molding: Insert molding is process that begins with an insert component placed into the mold before resin enters. The material is then injected and flows around the insert, typically metal, to form the final part. This is frequently used for parts that require metal threads.
Tolerances
With our injection molding process, we can hold about ±0.003 in. machining accuracy. Shrink tolerance depends mainly on part design and resin choice. It varies from 0.002 in./in. for stable resins like ABS and polycarbonate to 0.025 in./in. for unstable resins like TPE.
Wall Thickness
Wall thickness is important because it can lead to defects such as sink and warp. It is best practice to maintain a uniform thickness throughout an injection-molded part. We recommend walls to be no less than 40 to 60 percent of adjacent wall thickness, and all should fit within recommended thickness ranges for the selected resin.
Core Geometry
Core out parts to eliminate thick walls. You get the same functionality in a good molded part. Unnecessary thickness can alter part dimensions, reduce strength, and necessitate post-process machining.
Draft
Applying draft to molded parts is critical to ensure parts do not warp during the cool down process and it helps the part easily eject from the mold. Applying 1 to 2 degrees works well in most scenarios. If there are vertical faces, we advise incorporating .5 degrees of draft.
Side Actions
A portion of the mold that is pushed into place as the mold closes, using a cam-actuated slide. Typically, side-actions are used to resolve an undercut, or sometimes to allow an undrafted outside wall. As the mold opens, the side action pulls away from the part, allowing the part to be ejected. Also called a “cam.”
Undercuts
A portion of the part that shadows another portion of the part, creating an interlock between the part and one or both of the mold halves. An example is a hole perpendicular to the mold opening direction bored into the side of a part. An undercut prevents the part from being ejected, or the mold from opening, or both.
Bosses
A raised stud feature that is used to engage fasteners or support features of other parts passing through them. There can be a tendency to design thick bosses which will increase the likelihood of sink and voids in a part. Consider reinforcing bosses with ribs or gussets for extra strength
Gates
A gate is an opening in the injection mold tool that allows resin to enter and fill the cavity. There are three common types of injection molding gates.
Ribs
A rib is a thin, wall-like feature parallel to the mold opening direction, its used to add strength and support to features like bosses and walls. To prevent sink, ribs should be no more than 60% of the wall’s thickness.
Ejector Pins
Ejector pins are installed in the B-side of the mold and help to release the plastic part from the tool after the part has cooled sufficiently. Designing in sufficient draft can help reduce the need for ejector pins on a part.
Logos and Text
Sans serif fonts will be the easiest to mill into a mold with text. We recommend font larger than 20 pt. and no deeper than 0.010 in to 0.015 in.