Sample Pages

Injection Mold Design Handbook

Bruce Catoen and Herbert Rees

ISBN (Book): 978-1-56990-815-0

ISBN (E-Book): 978-1-56990-816-7

For further information and order see

[Link] (in the Americas)

[Link] (outside the Americas)

© Carl Hanser Verlag, München
 Preface

From 1990 to 2005 I worked together with Herbert Rees on editing and writing
books and manuals for both Husky Injection Molding Systems, where I worked in
various engineering capacities, and for Hanser Publishers. Herbert was passionate
about molds, design and engineering. As the VP of engineering at Husky during
some of its most formative years, Herbert worked closely with Husky’s founder,
Robert Schad, and together they developed many machine and mold technologies.
Herbert passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 18, 2010, at the age of 95.
Over the years Herbert repeatedly told me that “An injection mold is the heart of
any plastics molding work cell. Since the objective of every molder is to produce as
many good parts as possible, each and every day they MUST understand the pro-
cess and details of designing an injection mold”. Throughout my career I have seen
this proven true again and again. Understanding the principles of an injection
mold design is fundamental to the success of the molded product and the molding
operation.
Mold design encompasses every aspect of mechanical engineering including dy-
namics, statics, thermodynamics, materials, heat transfer and stress. As a result of
its broad application of engineering principles it is a difficult subject to master and
it results in a long learning curve for engineers. Much of the learning I received
during my career was tribal knowledge based on the application of engineering
principles. Gaining this knowledge took being in the right place at the right time
or learning by trial and error. My hope is that this book helps short-circuit the
process of learning good mold design practices.
This book is designed to be a reference handbook for the mold designer, engineer,
project manager and production manager. Since designing an injection mold all
starts with the plastic part, the book will first focus on key features and details of
plastics and the plastic part which are necessary for good mold design. The design
of the main components of an injection mold will be discussed and good design
practices, rules of thumb, and key calculations will be shared. More than 600 fig-
ures, images and tables are provided in the book to illustrate how a mold should
be designed. Chapter 18 contains more than 40 reference mold designs graciously
VI Preface

provided by mold-makers around the world. These references reinforce the previ-
ous chapters and illustrate how to apply the guidelines and principles from the
book into a completed mold design. Finally, the process of testing and gaining cus-
tomer ­acceptance of the mold for production will be detailed.
By using this book as a reference guide, the reader will be able to refer to it as
needed to understand:
ƒ Critical mold design features and design practices that will ensure a success-
ful plastic part is molded
ƒ Detailed steps, calculations and rules of thumb for mold design
ƒ Critical aspects of mold design such as mold layout, mold shoe design, stack
contruction, cooling ejection, runner systems and materials selection
ƒ Plastic part design requirements for a good mold design
ƒ Processes for testing and gaining acceptance of the mold for production.

Bruce Catoen, August 2021

 Acknowledgments

There are many people who helped put this book together, and I am so grateful for
the time and materials that were provided to me. I would like to thank my editors
and reviewers: Mark Smith from Hanser; Glenn Anderson for reviewing Chapter 5
and his contacts throughout the industry; Dr. Davide Masato, Assistant Professor
at University of Massachusetts Lowell, for reviewing Chapter 11 on ejection and
Chapter 12 on cooling, as well as his additional contributions on surface finishes;
Fabrice Fairy for reviewing Chapter 14 on melt distribution and his boundless
­enthusiasm for hot runners; Vince Travaglini for reviewing Chapter 2 on part de-
sign and the tremendous help from StackTeck Systems; Vince Lomax for reviewing
Chapters 9, 10, and 11, his wisdom, and the additional materials he provided on
mold testing and alignment; Jordan Robertson for reviewing Chapter 5; Randy
­Yakimishyn for reviewing Chapters 9 and 10; Rocky Huber for reviewing Chapter
11 on ejection; Don Smith for reviewing Chapters 11 and 12 and the reference
mold designs in Chapter 18; Christian Krammer for reviewing Chapter 19 and the
checklists; and Dr. David Barden from Clearly Scientific Limited for his excellent
edits and suggestions. Thanks to Christina Fuges for her help in connecting me
with mold-makers and other industry experts to review the materials in the book.
The book would not be what it is without the generous support of the many
mold-makers, hot runner suppliers, software providers, and machine manufactur-
ers for the use of their mold designs, figures and pictures. I would like to thank:
Gene Altonen CTO of IMFLUX; Paulo Silva, Managing Director of Plasdan; Mario
Haidlmair, CEO of Haidlmair; Adam Chuickshank, CEO of Fourmark; Peter Smith,
CEO of DME; Vince Travaglini, President of StackTeck Systems; Rui Tocha, the
­Director General of Centimfe; Oliver Lindenberg, VP of Global Sales Moldmasters;
Andy Stirn, VP of Injection Machinery and Aftermarket NA Milacron; Mike Ellis,
Global Business Manager for Hot Runners at Husky Injection Molding Systems;
Miki Bogar, Senior Manager of Global Marketing at Mold-Masters; Andreas Kliber,
GM of FDU Hotrunner; Stefan Von Buren, GM of MHS; Angela Vitz-Schiergens,
VP Hotset; and Don Smith.
VIII Acknowledgments

I am very grateful for all the time and effort it took to provide high-resolution
­drawings and figures with explanations. In particular, I want to thank: Alberto
Silva at Plasdan; Fabio Och at Fourmark; Beth Thompson at DME; Jordan Robertson
at StackTeck; Peter Peschl at Haidlmair; Sylvia Schmidt from Hotset; Rob Irwin at
Nypro Mold; and Brenton Huxel at iMFLUX. I would also like to thank Anthony
Yang and Srikar Vallury at Moldex3D for the use of figures from the Molding
­Simulation book.
Very special thanks to Jigish Shah, who provided much needed assistance with the
creation of many figures for the book.
I am so grateful to Jim Sykes for his contribution of Chapter 17 on dimensioning
and tolerancing.
Many thanks to Willi Miller, John DiSimone, Gord Mackay, Denis Babin, Manfred
Lausenhammer, Randy Yakimishyn, and all the design and mold assembly people
who took the time to teach me about mold design over the years.
Special thanks to the family of Herbert Rees for the use of materials from his
books.
Finally, I want to say a very special thanks to my wife Shelley for her support,
­encouragement, and patience during the time it took to write this book.
 The Author

Bruce Catoen has more than 30 years of experience in

the plastics industry and served as the Chief Technol-
ogy Officer for Milacron and Mold Masters and as a
­senior executive at Husky Injection Molding Systems.
Bruce is the named inventor on more than 50 patents
and is author of the book Selecting Injection Molds.
Through his consulting business, OASIC Consulting,
Bruce advises senior executives on technology devel-
opments, business strategy, leadership and acquisi-
Bruce Catoen, B. A. Sc., tions. In addition to consulting, Bruce serves on two
Mechanical Engineering, not-for-profit boards and mentors new engineers to
P. Eng. Canada.
 Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII

The Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IX

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Benefits of Injection Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 The Injection Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.1 The Role of the Injection Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3 What Is an Injection Mold? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3.1 Elements of an Injection Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.4 Classification of Molds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.5 Continued Innovation in Molds and Hot Runners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.6 The Injection Molding Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

2 Overview of Plastics for Mold Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

2.1 What Is Plastic? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2 Plastics Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.3 Polymer Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.3.1 Shrinkage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.3.2 Multiple Shrinkages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.4 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.5 Mechanical Properties of Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.6 How Molten Plastics Behave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.6.1 How Plastics Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
XII Contents

[Link] Pseudo-Plastic Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

2.6.2 Plastic Flow in Runners and Cavities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.7 Degradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.8 Selection and Requirements for ­Plastic Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

3 Plastic Part Design for Mold Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

3.1 Plastic Part Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.2 Product Shape: How Can the Product Best Be Molded? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.3 Parting Line (P/L) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.4 Uniform Wall Thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.5 L/t Ratio (Length of Flow Divided by Wall Thickness) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.6 Drafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.7 Corners, Fillets, and Chamfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.8 Ribs and Bosses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.9 Rim Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.10 Stripped Undercuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.11 Sidewall Windows in the Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.12 Gate Location and Number of Gates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.12.1 CAE Filling Analysis for Gate Location Optimization . . . . . . . . 57
3.12.2 Two or More Gates per Cavity – Large Products . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.12.3 Gate Dimple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.12.4 Recessed Gate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.12.5 Deep Undercuts and Mold Design Complexity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.13 Re-Design of the Product to Avoid the Need for Side Cores . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.13.1 Selecting Other than the Conventional Parting Line . . . . . . . . 63
3.14 Shape of Threads and Undercuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.15 Need for Multi-Stage Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.16 Post-Molding Operations versus Mold Complexity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3.17 Plastic Part Tolerances and Effect on Mold Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
3.17.1 General and Specific Plastic Part Tolerances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.17.2 Are Special Fits with Matching Products Required? . . . . . . . . 73
3.17.3 Tolerances for the Filling Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.18 Stacking of Products and Free ­Dispensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
 Contents XIII

3.19 Deliberate Mismatches for Easy Mold Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

3.19.1 Mismatch at the Parting Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.19.2 Mismatch between Two Matching Pieces, such as
Box and Lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
3.20 Surface Finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
3.20.1 Finish of Molding Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
[Link] Molding Surface Finish for Ease of Ejection . . . . . . 84
3.20.2 Texturing of Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
3.21 Fitting Surfaces of Mold Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
3.22 Engravings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
3.22.1 Engravings versus Applied Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
3.22.2 Two-Color and Two-Material Engraving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.22.3 Depth of Engravings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
3.22.4 Font Style and Size of Artwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
3.22.5 Polarity of Engraving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
3.22.6 Are the Locations Selected for Engraving Practical? . . . . . . . . 91
3.22.7 Engravings in the Walls and Bottoms of Products . . . . . . . . . . 92
[Link] Engravings on the Outside of the Product
(Engraved Cavities) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
[Link] Engravings on the Inside of the Product
(Engraved Cores) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
3.23 General Appearance of the Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
3.23.1 Flatness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
3.23.2 Sinks and Voids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
3.23.3 Witness Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
[Link] Parting Line Flash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
[Link] Gaps between Cavity and/or Core Parts and
Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
[Link] Clearance of Ejector Pins and Ejector Sleeves . . . . . 104
[Link] Hiding the Gate Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
3.23.4 Weld Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
[Link] Location of Weld Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
3.23.5 Surface Defects (Flow Marks, Splay, Record Grooves,
Haze, Jetting, Hooks, and Ripples) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
XIV Contents

3.24 Identification of the Molded Piece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

3.25 Product Strength Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
3.25.1 The Role of Gate Location in Increasing Product Strength . . . 111
3.26 Special Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
3.26.1 Holes and Counter-Bores for Assembly Screws or R
­ ivets . . . . . 113
3.26.2 Hinges and Snaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

4 Specifying the Right Machine for the Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

4.1 Required Clamp Size (Tonnage) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
4.2 Required Opening Stroke and ­Shut-Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
4.3 Platen Mounting Pattern and ­Ejector Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
4.4 Locating Ring Size and Machine Nozzle Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
4.5 Extruder Sizing and Specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
4.5.1 Extruder Shot Size Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
[Link] Shot Size Calculation for Cold Runners . . . . . . . . . . 129
[Link] Shot Size Calculation for Hot Runners . . . . . . . . . . . 131
[Link] Extruder Sizing Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
4.5.2 Requirements for Machine Plasticizing Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . 132
[Link] Impact of Light-Weighting the Product . . . . . . . . . . 135
4.5.3 Screw Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
4.6 Machine Nozzle Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
4.6.1 Open Nozzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
4.6.2 Shut-off Nozzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
4.7 Injection Unit Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
4.7.1 Reciprocating Screw versus Two-Stage Injection Units . . . . . . 143
4.7.2 Injection Speed and Pressure Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
[Link] Need for High Injection Pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

5 Factors Affecting the Design of an Injection Mold . . . . . . . . . . . 151

5.1 Total Equipment Productivity (TEP) Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
5.2 Cycle Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
5.3 Projected Annual Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
5.4 Purpose of the Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
5.4.1 Prototype Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
 Contents XV

5.4.2 Experimental Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

5.4.3 Combination of Prototype and Experimental Mold . . . . . . . . . . 157
5.4.4 Production Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
5.4.5 New Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
5.4.6 Existing Product, Large Quantities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
5.4.7 Limited Quantities, Limited Product Lifecycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
5.4.8 Short Runs, Small Production Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
5.5 The Injection Molding Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
5.6 The Plant Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
5.6.1 Condition of Ambient (Shop) Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
5.7 Coolant Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
5.7.1 Is the Cooling Water Clean? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
5.7.2 Chiller Sizing Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
5.8 Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

6 Cycle Time Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

6.1 Factors Impacting Cycle Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
6.1.1 Type of Plastic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
6.1.2 Wall Thickness of Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
6.1.3 Mold Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
6.1.4 Efficiency of Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
[Link] Molds for Small-Scale Production (Fewer than
Approx. 1000 Pieces) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
[Link] Molds for Large-Scale Production of Products
0.4–1.3 mm (0.015–0.050") Thick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
[Link] Molds for Large-Scale Production of Products
>3 mm (0.120") Thick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
[Link] Molds for Most Other Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
6.1.5 Venting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
6.1.6 Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
6.1.7 Molding Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
[Link] Machine Dry Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
[Link] Timing of Ejection and Stroke Required . . . . . . . . . 186
6.1.8 Impact of Cold Runners versus Hot Runners on Cycle Time . . 195
6.2 Estimating Cycle Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
XVI Contents

7 Product Cost Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

7.1 Machine Hour Cost per Unit Molded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
7.2 Mold Cost per Unit Molded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
7.3 Labor Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
7.4 Estimating Product Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

8 Mold Layout, Drawings, and Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

8.1 Steps to Designing the Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
8.2 Information and Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
8.2.1 Machine Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
[Link] Mechanical Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
8.2.2 Productivity Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
8.2.3 Additional Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
8.3 Determining the Mold Cavitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
8.3.1 Minimum Number of Cavities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
8.3.2 Preferred (Practical) Number of Cavities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
8.4 Assembly and Detail Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
8.4.1 Drawings and Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
8.4.2 Arrangement of Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
8.4.3 Notes on Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
8.4.4 Additional Information on the Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
8.5 Mold Layout and Assembly Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
8.5.1 Machine Platen Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
8.5.2 Symmetry of Layout, Balancing of Clamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
8.5.3 The Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
8.5.4 Completing the Assembly Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
8.5.5 Bill of Materials (BOM) and “Ballooning” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
8.5.6 Finishing Touches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
8.6 Inspection Features on Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
8.6.1 Rollers or Roller Balls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
8.6.2 How to Inspect Tapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
[Link] External Tapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
[Link] Internal Tapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
 Contents XVII

[Link] Angled Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

[Link] Construction (Checking) Balls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
8.7 Chamfers and Radii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
8.7.1 General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
8.7.2 Specifying Chamfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
8.7.3 Radii in Corners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

9 Mold Shoe Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

9.1 Mold Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
9.2 Mold Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
9.3 Location of Fittings, Hoses, and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
9.4 Forces Affecting Mold Shoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
9.4.1 Deflection of Mold Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
9.4.2 Calculation of Plate Deflection and Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
9.5 Selection of Materials for Mold Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
9.6 Guiding of Moving Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
9.6.1 Gibs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
[Link] Pillars and Bushings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
[Link] Dowel Pins and Bushings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
[Link] Leader Pins with Piston and Stroke Limiters . . . . . 255
9.7 Mounting Holes and Clamp Slots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
9.8 Locating Rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
9.9 Mold Handling – Lift Holes, Lift Bars, and Latches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
9.9.1 Lift Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
9.9.2 Latches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
[Link] Latches for Mold Servicing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
9.10 Mold Identification Nameplates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

10 Cavity and Core Design Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

10.1 Mold Cavity Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
10.2 Plastic versus Steel Part Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
10.3 The Preliminary Stack Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
10.3.1 Where Should the Parting Line Be Located? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
[Link] Primary Parting Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
XVIII Contents

[Link] Secondary Parting Lines: Split Molds and

Side Cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
10.3.2 Will the Product Pull out of the Cavity and Stay
on the Core? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
10.3.3 Will the Product Eject Easily from the Core? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
10.3.4 Is the Cavity Balanced? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
10.4 Determining the Method of Cavity Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
10.4.1 Cavity and/or Core Are Cut Right into the Mold Plate . . . . . . . 277
10.4.2 Individual Cavities and Cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
10.5 Stack Sizing and Total Area of the Stack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
10.6 Forces on the Cores and Cavities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
10.6.1 Checking for Sufficient Steel Shut-off Area in Stack . . . . . . . . . 280
10.6.2 Checking for Stack Compression due to Clamp ­Tonnage . . . . . 281
10.6.3 Checking for Acceptable Hoop Stress in the Cavity . . . . . . . . . 283
10.7 Core and Cavity Material Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
10.8 Determining the Stack Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
10.9 Venting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
10.9.1 Parting Line (P/L) Venting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
10.9.2 Vent Grooves and Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
10.9.3 Vent Pins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
10.9.4 Venting of Ribs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
10.9.5 Venting the Bottom of a Cavity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
10.9.6 Core Cap and Core Sidewall Venting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

11 Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
11.1 Manual or Semi-Automatic Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
11.2 Automatic Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
11.3 Basic Requirements for Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
11.3.1 Machine Opening Stroke for Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
11.3.2 Venting for Ease of Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
11.3.3 Surface Finish Forces on Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
[Link] Mold Surface Roughness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
[Link] Molding Surface Finish Guidelines for Ejection . . . 302
11.4 Force Required for Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
 Contents XIX

11.5 Where to Eject the Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

11.5.1 Ejection of Deep Cup-Shaped Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
11.5.2 Ejection of Parts with Deep Ribs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
11.5.3 Ejection of Bosses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
11.5.4 Ejection of Shallow Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
11.5.5 Ejection of Rim Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
11.5.6 Ejection of Cold Runners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
11.6 Ejector Pins, Blade Ejectors, and Sleeves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
11.6.1 Ejector Pin Clearance (Fit) and Length of Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
11.6.2 Blade Ejectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
11.6.3 Number, Size, and Location of Ejector Pins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
[Link] Ejector Pin Sizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
[Link] Ejector Pin Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
11.6.4 Finish of Ejector Pins and Bores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
11.6.5 Preventing Ejector Pins from Turning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
11.7 Ejector and Ejector Retainer Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
11.7.1 Ejection Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
11.7.2 Injection Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
11.7.3 Number and Location of Machine Ejectors to Be Used . . . . . . . 325
11.7.4 Calculation of Ejector Plate Deflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
11.7.5 Ejector Pin Retainer Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
11.7.6 Ejector Return Pins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
11.7.7 Ejector Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
[Link] Guiding Ejector Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
11.7.8 Returning the Ejector Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
[Link] Tie Ejector Plate to Machine’s Ejector Plate . . . . . . . 333
[Link] Linkages Attached to the Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
[Link] Return Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
[Link] Air Cylinders (Air Springs) for Ejector Return . . . . 336
[Link] Early Ejector Return Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
11.8 Stripper Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
11.8.1 General Rules for Stripper Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
11.8.2 Guiding the Stripper Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
XX Contents

11.8.3 Stripper Rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

[Link] Fixed Stripper Rings or Stripper Inserts . . . . . . . . . 343
[Link] Floating Stripper Rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
11.8.4 Stripper Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
11.8.5 Stripper Ring Ejection of Lids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
11.8.6 Stripping from the Injection (Cavity) Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
11.9 Air Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
11.9.1 Requirements and Timing for Air Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
11.9.2 Poppet Air Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
11.9.3 Core Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
[Link] Fixed Core Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
[Link] Stroking Core Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
[Link] Combination of Air Poppet and
Stroking Core Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
11.9.4 Blow-off Jets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
11.9.5 Blow-down Jets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
11.9.6 Air Ejection from the Cavity Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
11.10 Ejection of Significant Undercuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
11.10.1 Cam Ejection (Internal and External) Using Neck Rings . . . . . 363
11.10.2 Core Pull Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
11.10.3 Collapsible Cores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
11.10.4 Lifter Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
11.10.5 Sliders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
[Link] Split-Cavity Movement on Angled Pins . . . . . . . . . . 374
11.10.6 Unscrewing Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
11.10.7 Cam and Harmonic Linkage Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
11.11 Multiple Ejection Strokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
11.12 Multi-Stage Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
11.12.1 Why and When to Use Multi-Stage Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
11.12.2 Typical Two-Stage Ejection Actuations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
[Link] Latch Locks (Internal and External) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
[Link] Two-Stage Ejection with Levers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
11.12.3 Moving-Cavity Ejection Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
 Contents XXI

12 Mold Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387

12.1 Injection and Mold Temperatures for Common Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
12.2 Coolant Requirements for a Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
12.3 What Affects Mold Cooling ­Performance? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
12.3.1 Temperature of the Cooling Medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
12.3.2 Achieving Steady-State Temperature in the Mold . . . . . . . . . . . 393
12.4 Principles of Heat Transfer and ­Thermodynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
12.4.1 Heat Transfer Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
12.4.2 Melting and Cooling Behavior of Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
12.4.3 Conduction and Thermal Conductivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
[Link] Thermal Conductivity Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
12.4.4 Convective Heat Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
[Link] Reynolds Number (Re) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
[Link] Pressure Drop of Coolant Supply and
Return Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
[Link] Cross-Section of Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
[Link] Length of Cooling Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
[Link] Coolant Viscosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
[Link] Condition of Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
12.5 Calculation of Cooling Requirements for a Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
12.5.1 Heat Input Required to Condition the Plastic for ­Injection . . . 404
12.5.2 Cooling Required to Remove the Inputted Heat . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
12.5.3 Temperature of Cooling Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
12.5.4 Quantity of Cooling Water Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
12.5.5 Efficiency of Cooling on Required Water Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
12.6 General Cooling Design Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
12.7 Cooling Channels in Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
12.7.1 Series and Parallel Plate Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
12.7.2 Distance of Waterlines from Holes and Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . 415
12.7.3 Plugging of Cooling Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
12.7.4 Plugs and Baffles in Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
12.7.5 Cooling of Hot Runner Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
[Link] Calculation of the Sizes of Cooling Channels
for Hot Runner Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
XXII Contents

12.8 Layout of Cooling Channels in Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422

12.8.1 Shrinkage of Plastic and Cooling Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
12.8.2 Preventing Water Leakage in the Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
12.8.3 Cooling Channel Distances in Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
12.8.4 Distance to Pipe Threads and Fittings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
12.8.5 Cooling Channels Split between Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
12.8.6 Design of Insert Cooling for Flat Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
[Link] Drilled and Milled Cooling Circuits in Flat Parts . . 431
12.8.7 Cooling Design for Cup-Shaped Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
[Link] Cavity Cooling in Cup-Shaped Products . . . . . . . . . 433
[Link] Core Cooling of Cup-Shaped Products . . . . . . . . . . . 439
[Link] Cooling of Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
12.8.8 Use of CAE Molding Simulation for Cooling Design
and Warpage Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
12.9 Supplying Water to the Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
12.10 Thermal Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453

13 Mold and Stack Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455

13.1 Leader Pin and Bushing Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
13.2 Taper or Straight Interlock Alignment between Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
13.3 Taper Lock between Each Cavity and Core . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
13.3.1 Backing up a Taper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
13.3.2 Core Lock and Cavity Lock Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
13.4 Preloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
13.4.1 Restoring Preload by Grinding of the Tapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
13.4.2 Preload Stresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
13.4.3 Mounting of Stacks to Mold Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
13.5 Over-Constrained Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476

14 Melt Distribution and Gate Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

14.1 Cold Runners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
14.1.1 Cold Runner, Single-Cavity Molds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
14.1.2 Cold Runner, Two-Plate Molds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
14.1.3 Cold Runner, Three-Plate Molds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
 Contents XXIII

14.1.4 Cold Runner Gate Types and Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484

[Link] General Features of a Cold Runner Gate . . . . . . . . . 484
[Link] Edge, Fan, Tab, and Diaphragm Gates . . . . . . . . . . . 485
[Link] Tunnel Gates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
[Link] Multiple Tunnel Gating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
[Link] Curved or Submarine Tunnel Gating . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
[Link] Three-Plate Gates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
[Link] Optimizing the Cold Runner Gate Placement . . . . . 491
14.1.5 Layout and Balancing of Cold Runner Melt Channels . . . . . . . 493
[Link] Multi-Cavity Runner Layouts
(One Gate per Part) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
[Link] Single-Cavity Multi-Gate Runner Layouts . . . . . . . . 499
14.1.6 Cold Runner Ejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
14.2 Insulated Runners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
14.3 Hot Runners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
14.3.1 Considerations for Specifying a Hot Runner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
14.3.2 Overview of Hot Runner Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
14.3.3 Layout and Balancing of Hot Runner Melt Channels . . . . . . . . 507
[Link] Bridge and Sub-Manifolds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
14.3.4 Melt Channel Sizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514
[Link] Plastic Inventory in the Hot Runner . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
14.3.5 The Hot Runner Manifold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516
[Link] Locating the Manifold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516
[Link] Thermal Expansion of the Manifold, Sealing the
Hot Runner Systems, and Nozzle Tip Position . . . . 517
[Link] Manifold Supports (Back-up Insulators) . . . . . . . . . 518
[Link] Manifold Plate and Manifold Backing Plate . . . . . . . 520
14.3.6 Heating of the Hot Runner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
[Link] Basics of Resistance Heaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
[Link] Heaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
[Link] Heat Input per Mass of the Hot Runner Manifold . . 525
[Link] Thermocouples (T/Cs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
14.3.7 Hot Runner Nozzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
XXIV Contents

14.3.8 Nozzle Tips and Gating in Hot Runners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529

[Link] Hot-Tip Gates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
[Link] Valve Gates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
[Link] Slot Gating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
14.3.9 Hot Runner Temperature Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
14.3.10 Hot Runner Gate Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
14.3.11 Hot Runner Gate Sizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
[Link] Gate Sizing Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
[Link] Gate and Melt Channel Size Calculation . . . . . . . . . 541
[Link] Empirical Calculation of Gate Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
[Link] Gate Land Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543
14.3.12 Gate Inserts (Gate Pads) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543
14.4 Hot and Cold Runner Molds in ­Combination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
14.5 Selection of Hot Runner or Cold ­Runner System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546

15 Selection of Mold Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549

15.1 Forces on the Mold Affect Material Choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
15.1.1 Characteristics of Steels and Other Mold Materials . . . . . . . . . 551
15.2 Steel Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
15.2.1 Types of Steels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558
[Link] Pre-Hardened Steels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558
[Link] Tool Steels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558
[Link] Stainless Steels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
[Link] Copper Alloys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
15.3 Quality of Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
15.4 Manufacturing Considerations for Choosing Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560
15.4.1 EDM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560
15.4.2 Welding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560
15.5 Heat Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560
15.6 Overview of Surface Treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562
15.7 Hardness of Mating Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
 Contents XXV

16 Fasteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
16.1 How Screws Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
16.2 Rolled versus Cut Threads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
16.3 Holding Action and Preload of Screws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
16.4 Influence of Temperature on Screws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573
16.5 Effect of Cyclical Loads on Screws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574
16.6 Screw Standards and Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574
16.7 Length of Thread Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
16.8 Additional Recommendations ­Regarding Screws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576
16.8.1 Always Use Standard Available Screw Sizes and Lengths . . . . 576
16.8.2 Increase the Depth of the Counter-Bore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
16.9 Use of Set Screws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578
16.10 Holding Screws in Place (if Needed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578
16.10.1 Lock Washers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578
16.10.2 Screw-Securing Compounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579
16.10.3 Screws Secured by Plastic Inserts (Nylok™, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . 579

17 Dimensioning and Tolerancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581

17.1 Conventional versus Geometric T
­ olerancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583
17.2 Limitations of Conventional ­Dimensions and Tolerances . . . . . . . . . . . . 584
17.2.1 Origins of Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585
17.2.2 Non-Repeatable Sizes and Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586
17.2.3 Orientation and Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587
17.2.4 Tolerance Accumulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589
17.3 Geometric Dimensioning and ­Tolerancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591
17.3.1 Three Core Steps for Applying or Inspecting GD&T . . . . . . . . . 592
17.3.2 Geometric Tolerancing Benefits versus Conventional
Tolerancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593
[Link] Clear Setup and Origins of Measurement . . . . . . . . 593
[Link] Geometric Controls Apply to Features, not to
­Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
[Link] Repeatable Sizes and Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
[Link] Tolerance Accumulation Is Minimized . . . . . . . . . . . 597
[Link] Tolerance Zones Are Uniform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598
XXVI Contents

[Link] Control of Patterns of Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598

[Link] A Single Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598
17.4 Implementation of Geometric ­Tolerancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598
17.4.1 Implementation of GD&T-Lite (not Recommended) . . . . . . . . . . 599
17.4.2 Implementation of GD&T Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599
17.4.3 Implementation of Model-Based Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600
17.5 Considerations for Tolerancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601
17.5.1 CAD Modelling Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601
17.5.2 Materials, Manufacturing, and Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602
17.5.3 Thermal Expansion and Tolerancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603
17.6 Application of GD&T to Mold Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603
17.6.1 GD&T Applied to an Injection Mold Core . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604
17.6.2 GD&T Applied to an Injection Mold Lock Ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606
17.6.3 GD&T Applied to an Injection Mold Core Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608
17.6.4 GD&T and Mold Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

18 Mold Design References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613

18.1 Plastic Housing (Using Shut-offs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613
18.2 Facemask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615
18.3 Plastic Cutlery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618
18.4 Vial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621
18.5 Open-Ended Floss Spool Tube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623
18.6 Overcap Lid (Using Stripper Ring ­Ejection) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626
18.7 Plug Lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628
18.8 Urine Tub Cap (Using Stripper Ring Ejection) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634
18.9 Deli or Yellow Fats Container (Using Air Ejection and with ­
Cavity Lock Alignment) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637
18.10 Stadium Cup (Using Core Lock ­Alignment) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640
18.11 Polystyrene Tumbler (Using Stripper Ring Ejection) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643
18.12 False-Bottom Cup (Using Moving ­Cavity and Air Ejection) . . . . . . . . . . 648
18.13 Round Closure (Using Stripper Ring (Bump-off) Ejection) . . . . . . . . . . . 649
18.14 Paint Pail with Handle Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652
18.15 Rectangular Container with ­Tamper-Evident Skirt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 654
18.16 Power Tool Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657
 Contents XXVII

18.17 Rear Hatch Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662

18.18 Crinkle Bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663
18.19 Preform (Using Neck Ring Ejection) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665
18.20 Living Hinge Cap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670
18.21 Rectangular Box with Undercuts (Using Split-Cavity Mold) . . . . . . . . . 673
18.22 Detergent Cap (Using Unscrewing Ejection) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
18.23 Folding Crate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679
18.24 Automotive Panel Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 682
18.25 Pallet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
18.26 Automotive Covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685
18.27 Double-Walled Threaded Cap (Using Collapsible-Core Mold) . . . . . . . . 687
18.28 Automotive Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689
18.29 Externally Threaded Cap Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690
18.30 Oxygen Mask (with Side Core ­Retraction) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692
18.31 Living-Hinge Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
18.32 Iron Housing (Using Split-Cavity Mold) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697
18.33 Oral Care Product (Using Split-Cavity Mold) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
18.34 Actuator (Using Split Cavity with Multi-Stage Ejection) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705

19 Mold Testing, Approval, and Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707

19.1 Information to Be Supplied to the Mold Tester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707
19.2 Dry-Cycle Testing before Injecting P
­ lastic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708
19.2.1 Bluing to Ensure Proper Shut-off, Venting, and
Taper Fit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
19.2.2 Procedure for Aligning Mold Halves in the
Injection Molding Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712
19.2.3 Lead Test Procedure to Check Wall Thicknesses and
Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712
19.3 Initial Mold Start-up and First Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713
19.3.1 Mold Start-up Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714
19.4 Changing Materials or Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
19.4.1 General Color Change Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719
19.5 Mold Test Information and Data to Be Collected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
19.5.1 Core Shift Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721
XXVIII Contents

19.6 APQP and PPAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722

19.7 Mold Test Troubleshooting Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 723

20 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733
Appendix 1: Mold Material Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733
Appendix 2: Frequently Used Conversion Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735
Appendix 3: Plastics and their Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737
Appendix 4: Mold Design Review Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739
Appendix 5: Contents of a Mold Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745
Appendix 6: Mold Setup Guide Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746
Appendix 7: Order Confirmation Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751
Appendix 8: General Properties of Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753
Appendix 9: Thermal Properties of Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 755
Appendix 10: Mechanical Properties of ­Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
Appendix 11: Thermal and Processing ­Properties of Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761
Appendix 12: Mold Preventative ­Maintenance Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 766
Appendix 13: Surface Finishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 767

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 769
 1 Introduction

Injection molding is a relatively new process compared to other manufacturing

processes. However, in a very short period of a few decades injection molding has
become one of the world’s most productive and cost-effective means of producing a
high-quality product.
Injection molding is a process by which plastic pellets are melted using heat and
shear in an extruder and injected, at high pressure and flow, into an injection mold
to form the part. While this process seems straightforward, it is full of engineering
challenges and complexities.
An injection molding work cell can consist contain 4 to 16 separate elements
(dryer, hopper loader, machine, hot runner, mold, robot, conveyer, etc.). Many of
these elements will be standard catalog items. However, there will ALWAYS be one
unique element in the work cell, and that is the mold. The mold is the heart of the
system and all the other elements of the work cell must work together to make the
unique plastic part. It is therefore critical and fundamental that the mold be de-
signed with the utmost care and attention to detail, for if the mold does not operate
as intended, then the entire work cell will operate in a subpar condition.

An old saying goes that “injection molders make money on weekends”. The
intended meaning is that a molder must run the first five days of the week to
cover their costs, and they make profit when running throughout the week-
end.
What is also written between the lines here is that injection molding is a
7-days-a-week, 24-hours-a-day business. Molders only make money when the
molding work cell is producing parts. If the work cell cannot make a good part
then efficiency is zero. Molders only make money by putting good parts in the
box. As a result, mold design is a critical aspect to every molded part. Since a
work cell could be in ­operation for many years, the mold must not only per-
form well on day one, but also until the last day that the production is needed.

2 1 Introduction

Due to the importance of the mold design, it is critical that all levels of personnel
in the molding plant and the mold-making facility understand the basics of good
mold design, and the techniques used to create a mold that will allow it meet and
exceed its intended purpose.
This book is therefore intended to be used, not just by the mold designer, but also
by every person who comes in contact with the injection mold, so that they too can
understand what makes a good mold and contribute in a meaningful way to build-
ing it.
With new, possibly difficult shapes, decisions on how to design the mold are usu-
ally left to the ingenuity of a mold designer. More frequently, precedents from ear-
lier molds are used and re-applied. However, the mold designer and every person
who will be involved in the molding operation must be aware of (and evaluate) new
ideas, new methods, and developments, which when applied, would lead to better-­
quality, higher-productivity, simpler molds, and savings in the cost of the molded
products.
Before proceeding with any mold design, the mold designer must understand what
kind of mold should be selected. In other words, which features will be most suit-
able for the application to achieve the most economic overall manufacturing
method for the product. This means not just specifying the number of cavities that
will be required for the expected output, but also the selection of mold materials
and the degree of sophistication of the mold. Any planned automation, especially in
product handling after molding, can affect the mold layout, particularly spacing
and orientation of the stacks. The mold designer must never lose sight of the ulti-
mate goal: to produce a part that meets or exceeds all specified requirements,
at the lowest possible cost.
The most important piece of information to know before deciding on the mold de-
sign is the quantity of parts to be molded. However, this is a piece of information,
particularly with new products, that is often very difficult to obtain.
When looking at the overall cost of a plastic part, the per-piece cost of the mold is
generally a few percent of the overall part cost (Figure 1.1 and Figure 1.2). How-
ever, the upfront cost of the mold may seem quite high. But due to the fact that it is
a unique, one-off, engineered product made with very high-precision equipment to
very tight tolerances by highly skilled tradespeople, the cost is realistic. On the
other hand, a poorly engineered and manufactured mold is worthless, as it cannot
produce a single good part.
 1 Introduction 3

Indirect Labor
(Adjusted for run time)
14%
Electricity
(Adjusted for run time)
2%
Maintenance
(Adjusted for run time)
2%
Molds
(Adjusted for # of molds)
4%
Machine
(Adjusted for run time)
4%
Robot
(adjusted for # of cells)
5%
Misc Equip
Direct Labor (Adjusted for run time)
(Adjusted for run time) 1%
56%
Interest on Molds & Robot
7%
Interest on other equipment
(Adjusted for run time)
5%

Figure 1.1 Conversion cost of an injection-molded medical part (resin excluded)

Molds
7% Machines
6%
Automation
1%
Labor Direct
3%

Resin
51%
Labor Indirect, Admin &
Insurance
22%

Maintenance
1%
Building and Sub-Systems
6%
Electricity & Water
3%

Figure 1.2 Part cost of an injection-molded pail

4 1 Introduction

It should also be pointed out that of the total cost of almost all plastic products, the
cost of the plastic material alone constitutes the greatest component. The most so-
phisticated, best-designed mold will not lower the cost of the product by as much
as the reduction of just a few percent of the amount of plastic material, if it could
be removed from the product without affecting its quality or serviceability. Most
often, unnecessarily heavy wall thickness and ribbing affects the cost more than
anything else. Chances are that the lowest weight will be achieved with the highest
quality molds.
The foremost intent of this book is to present, in a logical sequence, the steps and
choices available to the mold designer or decision maker when planning a mold for
a new product, or when planning to increase the productivity for a product for
which a mold exists. The book poses many of the questions that must be asked by
anybody who needs a mold built. Any question left unanswered could significantly
affect the productivity as well as the cost of a mold. For an experienced mold de-
signer, the answers to many of these questions often come automatically, without
being aware of the fact that a decision has been made. But even the most experi-
enced mold designer can gain important information by systematically investigat-
ing all areas that can affect the design and the complexity of the mold, and check-
ing to ensure that no obvious facts have been overlooked.

„ 1.1 Benefits of Injection Molding

Today, injection molding is probably the most important method of processing
plastics in the production of consumer and industrial goods, and is performed
­everywhere in the world. The benefits of using injection molding for a product or
part of a product are vast and compelling. Some of the benefits are as follows:
ƒ Low cost and high efficiency: With injection molding, a processor can produce
parts in massive quantities at very low costs without high complexity or ex-
pensive skilled labor. An injection molder can set up a factory in a basic ware-
house.
ƒ Easily adapts to automated processes: Injection molding can be almost entirely
automated with relative ease and low cost.
ƒ Very high shape flexibility: Almost any shape and detail you can imagine can
be injection-molded.
ƒ Injection molding can produce parts with high tolerances and very highly
­detailed features or finishes.
ƒ Excellent part properties such as light weight, high strength-to-weight ratio,
excellent impact resistance, and low corrosion.
 1.1 Benefits of Injection Molding 5

ƒ Previously produced assemblies of multiple parts using other materials such

as metal can be consolidated into one plastic part.
ƒ Almost infinite color possibilities.
ƒ Injection molding creates a net shape part without needing subsequent finish-
ing.
ƒ Plastics are easy, safe, and efficient to transport.
ƒ Injection molding is a widely used and accepted process, so it is easy to find
molders to make any part.
Before proceeding to use injection molding, the designer should always consider
whether injection molding is the best solution to mold the part. Have alternative
methods or product designs been considered or investigated, employing other
manufacturing processes using the same or a similar materials, or using other
materials which may permit a similar end product, possibly even with better
­quality, and/or at lower cost? A few typical examples of possible manufacturing
alternatives to injection molding are:
ƒ Thermoforming, foam molding, or blow-molding
ƒ Coining and die-stamping (blanking)
ƒ Machining.
The designer should also consider if other materials would be better suited to meet-
ing the project objectives, such as:
ƒ Paper (cardboard), wood, or cloth
ƒ Metals (steel, aluminum, etc.)
ƒ Glass or ceramic.
Once the decision has been made to use injection molding for a new product, a
number of critical steps lie ahead, which will be addressed in this book:
ƒ Plastic part design
ƒ Factors affecting the design of an injection mold
ƒ Mold design
ƒ Testing and acceptance.
6 1 Introduction

„ 1.2 The Injection Mold

The heart of every injection molding work cell is the mold. It contains the form of
the part that will ultimately be filled with plastic. It plays the most critical and
fundamental role in the entire process  – forming the part. The mold forms the
­desired end product. All of the other pieces of equipment in the molding work cell
work to help produce a high-quality part. However, most of the other pieces of
equipment in the work cell act in support of the mold.

1.2.1 The Role of the Injection Mold

Today, an injection molding work cell can contain up to 16 discrete pieces of
­equipment (see Figure 1.3). These devices all serve to help make a good-quality
plastic part. In essence, the mold is the heart of the system, as all the other generic
devices in the work cell allow the mold to make a good part. While the generic
components of the work cell do not change, they must adapt every time a new mold
is installed in the injection molding machine. It is therefore critical to understand
the basics of an injection mold and what makes a good plastic part.

Figure 1.3 Fully automated injection molding work cell for DVD cases, containing 16 compo-
nents in the work cell (Courtesy of Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd.)
 1.3 What Is an Injection Mold? 7

All of the supporting devices to the mold need to be correctly sized and functional
in order to make the mold work well. An injection molding work cell can be consid-
ered to be like a symphony orchestra, with the mold being the conductor. If the devices
are not in tune with each other, then the whole work cell sounds like a bad high-school
band, and they each contribute to making poor-quality plastic parts. If, on the other
hand, all of the supporting equipment is good working order, is correctly sized and
maintained, then the resulting plastic parts will be better quality, and the work cell
will run for longer without issues.

The old saying “the chain is only as strong as the weakest link” holds true in
­injection molding.


„ 1.3 What Is an Injection Mold?

An injection mold is a permanent tool, i. e., a tool that, if properly designed,
­constructed, and maintained will have a life expectancy (useful life) well beyond
the time where the product itself becomes obsolete. This differentiates it from a
“one-time use” mold such as a sand-casting mold, as used in metal foundries. A
mold can be used to make products in a virtually infinite variety of shapes, made
from injectable plastics. Common to all molds is the condition that it must be pos-
sible to remove the product after molding, without the need to destroy the mold
(as is the case in sand-castings).

There is an exception to this, the so-called “lost-core molding”: There are

­injection molds for intricate products, such as intake manifolds for internal
combustion engines, previously made from cast iron, which have an outside
shape that can be molded with conventional (permanent “open and close”)
molds, but where the intricate inside shape is made from a molded, low-melt-
ing-point metal composite, which is inserted into the mold before injection,
and then ejected together with the molded product. The metal is then ­removed
by heat at a temperature above the melting point of the insert, but of course
below the melting point of the plastic used for this product. The molded metal
insert is thereby destroyed, but the metal will be reused.


A basic mold consists of two mold halves, with at least one cavity in one mold half,
and a matching core in the other mold half. These two halves meet at a parting
plane (parting line). Once the injected plastic is sufficiently cooled, the mold opens
and the product can be removed by hand or be automatically ejected.
8 1 Introduction

Because injection molding machines are mostly built with the injection on the sta-
tionary platen side, there is typically no built-in ejection mechanism on this side.
If ejection from the injection side should be required – which is always the case in
stack molds, and occasionally so in single-level molds – any required mechanism
must be added to the mold, and occasionally to the machine; in either case, this
adds complexity and increases costs. Only molds designed for using only air
­ejection do not require any external ejection mechanism.
Most products are removed (ejected) from the core. There are also many molds that
need special provisions to allow the products to be removed from either the cavity
or the core. This is the case for products with severe undercuts or recesses on the
inside and/or the outside of the product, such as screw threads, holes, ribs or open-
ings in the sides of the product, etc., or molds for insert molding.
Some of these design features of the product may require moving side cores, which
are either inserts or whole sections of the cavity that move at an angle which is
90° to the “natural opening path” of the mold. Others may require special un-
screwing mechanisms, either in the core or in the cavity side. The mold may re-
quire split cavities (or “splits”), i. e., the cavity consists of two or more sections,
which are mechanically or hydraulically moved in and out of position, and then
clamped together during injection. In some cases, the mold may require collaps-
ible cores, or retractable inserts, which are all quite complicated (and expensive)
methods.
Any of the above special features can add considerably to the mold cost when com-
pared to a simple “up and down” mold where the products can be readily ejected
with the machine ejectors during the mold opening stroke or after the mold is
open, without the need for any of these complicated mold features.
Note that in this book, the term (simple) “up and down” molding is used, which
comes from the earlier vertical molding machines, even though, today, most
­general-purpose injection molding machines are horizontal, and the mold opens
and closes in a horizontal motion.

Example:
To illustrate how different mold features affect the mold cost, let a single-face
mold with air ejection of the products cost X dollars. A similar mold, but with
mechanical ejection, costs about 1.2X. A similar, air-ejected two-level stack
mold will be about 1.8X. An unscrewing mold for a similar-size mold and
­product will cost about 2X.

 1.3 What Is an Injection Mold? 9

1.3.1 Elements of an Injection Mold

There are books that show designs of numerous specific molds, but it is virtually
impossible to show every possible configuration that may be required. It is more
important for the designer, and any person requesting a new mold, to understand
that a mold consists essentially of a number of elements, from which the most
­appropriate for the purpose is chosen.
The reader is encouraged to read one of the following books for more a more de-
tailed understanding of the engineering of an injection mold:
ƒ Gastrow Injection Molds [1]
ƒ Injection Mold Design Engineering [2].

Figure 1.4 Parts of an injection mold (Courtesy of Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd.)

P. Unger (ed.), Gastrow Injection Molds (4th edn), Hanser Publishing, 2006.
[1]

D. Kazmer, Injection Mold Design Engineering, (2nd edn) Hanser Publishing, 2016.
[2]
10 1 Introduction

Every injection mold consists of the following basic elements (see Figure 1.4 and
Figure 1.5):
1. One or more matching cavities and cores, defining the cavity space(s) (today,
there are molds with anywhere between one and 256 cavities).
2. A method, or element, to duct the (hot) plastic from the machine nozzle to the
cavity spaces. There is a choice between:
ƒ Cold runners (two-plate or three-plate systems)
ƒ Hot runners (various systems)
ƒ Insulated runners
ƒ Sprue gating (cold or hot).
3. Provision to evacuate air from the mold (venting). There is a choice between:
ƒ Natural venting
ƒ Vacuum venting.
4. Provision to cool the injected hot plastic sufficiently to allow ejection of the
molded product.
5. Provision to eject the molded product. There is a choice between:
ƒ Manual product removal
ƒ Ejector pins and sleeves
ƒ Strippers (stripper rings or bars)
ƒ Air ejection
ƒ Free-drop ejection onto a conveyer
ƒ Various methods for in-mold product removal
ƒ Robotic product removal.
6. Provision to attach (interface) the mold to the molding machine. There are
­several methods to consider:
ƒ The mold is for one machine only. In this case the mold may be mounted
with bolts to the platen
ƒ The mold is to be used on several, different machines. In this case, clamps
and clamp slots on the mold may be used to bolt the mold to the platen
ƒ Quick mold-change methods (various designs). This could involve mag-
netic mounting.
7. Method of alignments of cavities and cores. There are several methods to con-
sider:
ƒ No alignment feature provided in the mold. Also called flat parting line
ƒ Leader pins and bushings (2, 3, or 4)
 1.3 What Is an Injection Mold? 11

ƒ Leader pins and bushings between individual cavities and cores

ƒ Taper fits between individual cavities and cores
ƒ Taper fits between plates. These are also called side locks
ƒ Any combination of the above.
8. Any number of (mold) plates to provide the necessary means for carrying and
providing rigid back-up for the above elements.
In addition to the above parts, molds can have additional features, which will also
be discussed in the following chapters. Each of these features can add (often con-
siderable) costs to the mold, but in many cases they increase the productivity of
the mold and reduce the cost of the product. Not all may be necessary, and each
must be carefully considered when deciding on the type of mold that is most suit-
able (and most economical) for the job on hand.

Easy serviceability of the mold is important but often overlooked. It

adds some mold cost, but saves much more in future servicing costs
and downtime.


Ease of serviceability of the mold may affect the mold cost up front, but will ulti-
mately reduce the lifecycle cost of the plastic part by reducing the need to remove
the mold for service or repair. One example is the access to the hot runner for
cleaning plugged gates or making minor repairs, such as changing a nozzle, a
burned-out heater, or a faulty thermocouple at a hot runner drop. Building in
­functionality to conduct these repairs in the molding machine will cost more in the
initial mold, but this will be easily recouped by reducing the downtime necessary
to accomplish such repairs. By designing easy access to these components in the
machine (without the need to remove the whole mold, or part of it, to the bench),
such repairs can be made in less than an hour, instead of taking several hours. This
work can also be done by the mold setup staff rather than getting the (expensive)
mold makers involved.
Another area where valuable maintenance time can be saved is to design and pro-
vide easy access from the parting line to screws holding modular molding surface
parts to their mounting plates, while the mold is in the machine. Since damage to
the molding surfaces or parting lines can occur, it is advantageous to have the
molding surfaces serviceable in the press. This is particularly valuable in high-­
cavitation molds.

Even minor changes to the part can dramatically lower or increase mold
costs.

12 1 Introduction

Defining what is really required considering the shape and complexity of the prod-
uct and the required production quantities will enhance mold productivity. Alter-
natives and options should ALWAYS be considered and reviewed with all person-
nel before the mold design is finalized. Each department that interfaces with the
mold will look at the design with a different set of eyes for their needs. It is of the
utmost importance to include them in design reviews to ensure that the mold will
have all the necessary features and functions.
Figure 1.5 shows a schematic of a basic injection mold with the key elements of
the mold labelled with conventional terminology. It should be noted that the termi-
nology used in the figure is used by the author, but there could be other names
used for these components as well.

Mold Shut Height

Core half Cavity Half

Parting Line

Back plate Guide bushing

Guide Bushing Leader pin

Cavity plate
Return pin
Ejector Plate Locating Ring
Ejector pin retainer plate Sprue bushing
Machine
Ejector Core
Ejector pin Cooling channel

Ejector box Cavity

Core backing plate Core plate

Back plate

Figure 1.5 Mold terminology
Figure 1.5
 1.4 Classification of Molds 13

„ 1.4 Classification of Molds
SPI has developed a set of standards to classify molds by their design and intended
usage. Table 1.1 explains the different standards.

Table 1.1 SPI Mold Specifications [a]

Class Cycles Description Mold base Inserts Other
101 > 1,000,000 Built for extremely high Pre-hardened All hardened Guided ejection
production. This is the 28Rc steel > 48Rc steel Wear plates on
highest-priced mold and Stainless steel Cooled inserts slides
is made with only the plates
highest-quality materials.
102 < 1,000,000 Medium to high produc- 28Rc steel Hardened Some guided
tion mold, good for steels ­components
­abrasive materials and/or Cooled inserts Some corrosion
parts requiring close protection
­tolerances.
103 < 500,000 Medium production mold. 8Rc steel > 28Rc steel Guiding optional
This is a very popular
mold for low to medium
production needs.
104 < 100,000 Low production mold. Mild steel or Al Mild steel or Al None
Used only for limited pro-
duction preferably with
non-abrasive materials.
105 < 500 Prototype only. This mold Mild steel or Al Mild steel or Al None
will be constructed in the
least expensive manner
possible to produce a
very limited quantity of
prototype parts. It may be
constructed from cast
metal or epoxy or any
other material offering
sufficient strength to pro-
duce minimum prototype
pieces.
[a] For more details on mold materials and the use of the Rockwell hardness scale (Rc), please refer to Section 15.2.
14 1 Introduction

„ 1.5 Continued Innovation in Molds and

Hot Runners
While the use of molds dates back thousands of years, innovation continues in
mold and hot runner design. There are thousands of patents on injection molding,
and thousands more just on hot runners. The industry continues to innovate to
provide customers with ever better ways to mold plastic products. The reader is
encouraged to keep aware of the emerging trends in injection molding and to learn
about how these new ideas could help to create a better injection mold. Some of the
most recent trends are:
ƒ Conformal cooling of inserts using metal 3D printing: Allows mold designers a
additional level of design freedom in creating the cooling circuit, compared to
drilling and milling multiple complex inserts and materials.
ƒ Direct 3D printing of plastic parts versus injection molding: A potential threat to
injection molding itself, it allows for customized creation of parts for joint re-
placements, running shoes, and other items that require high levels of custom-
ization.
ƒ Electrification of molding functions using servo motors and drives: Functions
such as rotations and stroking of pistons are now being electrified.
ƒ Internet connection of devices to make them “smarter”, called the industrial
­internet of things (IIoT or Industry 4.0).
ƒ Multi-material molding: The creation of a part with multiple materials in a
s­ ingle process, e. g. toothbrushes, parts with integrated sealing, or parts with
multiple colors.
ƒ Co-injection molding: The creation of a part with multiple layers for extending
shelf life, using recycled materials, and creating new aesthetics.
ƒ Use of gasses and liquids in the process to core-out thick parts or to add/embed
the gasses in the part for light-weighting.
ƒ Continued development of new resins and fillers to create better plastics.

„ 1.6 The Injection Molding Machine

The accuracy of molding, and especially when molding products that are difficult
to produce, is very dependent on the quality of the molding machine, its mechani-
cal rigidity, accuracy of alignment, parallelism of platens, the quality of its con-
trols, and the state of maintenance. As mentioned previously, the equipment in a
 1.6 The Injection Molding Machine 15

molding work cell works together in unison, and the system is only as good as its
weakest link. So a high-quality mold installed in a molding machine that is poorly
set up or engineered will not make a good part. The machine must be able to meet
the requirements of the mold that is being installed. A good machine, poorly
aligned and maintained, can destroy a new mold in a matter of months. It is
­imperative that the molder’s machine is in good shape to ensure that the mold will
perform as intended, for the lifetime intended. If this is not the case, the mold may
suffer from continuous problems and issues that cannot be rectified.

There is no point in buying a premium-priced mold only to run it in an

out-dated machine.


Every good injection molding machine consists of the following basic elements
(see Figure 1.6):
1. A rigid base that is welded (not bolted) together using stiff box steel members.
2. A rigid clamping unit, consisting of two cast or machined platens, for the
mounting of the mold halves and provisions for guiding the platens (tie bars or
linear ways). The thickness of the platens is a good indicator of the rigidity and
quality of the machine.
3. Provision for moving the platens, preferably fast relative to each other, for
opening and closing the mold in an adjustable fashion using a fast micropro-
cessor. Toggle-style machines tend to be the quickest machines, and fully hy-
draulic machines the slowest.
4. Provision for clamping, i. e., holding the mold shut against the force of the
­injection pressures within the mold (in some machines, provisions 3 and 4 are
combined). Clamp force can be built up using hydraulic fluids or electric mo-
tors.
5. Provision for ejecting the molded product(s) from the mold. The provision can
be within the mold or, more commonly, using an ejection means on the ma-
chine such as an ejector plate behind the moving platen.
6. Provision to transform the raw plastic pellets into an injectable melt. This part
of the machine is called the plasticizing unit or extruder. This is almost always
done using a barrel and rotating screw. The melting of the plastic is done using
a combination of shear from the rotating screw and heat from the barrel
­heaters.
7. Provision for injecting the melt into the mold (in most machines, provisions 6
and 7 are combined in one unit). Sometimes the creation of the melt and injec-
tion of the melt are split into two separate elements. In this case the injection
unit is normally called a two-stage injection unit. The injection stage is then
16 1 Introduction

normally an injection or shooting pot. The injectable melt is transferred to the

pot by the extruder, and a separate means then injects the melt into the mold
for the shooting pot. The advantage of this more expensive approach is that the
injection is more accurate and the extruder can be creating more melt while
the shooting pot is injecting plastic. This can result in significantly lower cycle
times.
 8. Cycle controls (sequencing logic, timers, etc.) and an interface for the operator
to make adjustments to the process and to operate the machine in manual or
semi-automatic modes.
 9. Heat controls for all heaters in machines and molds. Some machines have a
limited number of heat controls, and additional controls could be required for
the molds, especially with larger hot runner systems. This point must be con-
sidered when estimating the mold cost.
10. Safety gates to protect operators and bystanders from all hazards when operat-
ing the machine.
11. Mechanical safety elements to prevent closing the machine when gates are
open, in case of failures of the other (electric and hydraulic) safety measures.
12. Provision for cooling water distribution to the mold.
13. Provision for compressed air, for auxiliary actions required in the mold.
There are other features available, for example, for the convenience of quick mold
installation, automation, set-up and operation of the mold and machine. These fea-
tures are often offered as options that can be bought with the machine or added on
later.

Figure 1.6 Schematic of an injection molding machine (side view) (Courtesy of Moldex3D)

 Index

Symbols alignment elements  247, 453

alignment method  456
3D finite-element modeling software  400
ambient air  163
3D printing  14
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
(ASME) standard Y14.5  591
A amorphous  19
abrasion-resistant  544 amorphous plastics  21, 389, 398
acceptable hoop stress  283 angled guide pin  374
accumulator  224, 225 angled horn pin  658
– package  224 angled moving core  369
accumulator system  148 angled pin  371, 372
actuator  255 angled pins  374
additives  23 angled surfaces  238
air actuators  378, 384, 648 angle of attack  374
air assist  194, 348 angle pins  270
air blast  359 angles  587
air circuits  639 angular tolerances  588
air cylinder  255, 336 annual operating hour  229
air eject  637, 642 annual requirements  153
air-eject  467 annular  531
air ejection  8, 222, 293, 348, 361, 638 annular gates  532
air entrapment  725 antifreeze  393
air insulation  521 antistats  23
air leak  732 appearance  483
air lines  440 application of GD&T  603
air only  194 APQP  722
air-operated actuators  225 arched bottom  97
air operators  378 “artificially” balance  507, 512
air pistons  535 artwork  90
air poppet  626 ASME Y14.5  591, 596, 603, 612
air poppets  352 assembly  427
air pressure and volume  224 assembly drawing  231, 234, 579
air springs  336 atmospheric pressure  403
air streaks  725 automatic ejection  379
air supply  350 automatic product removal  191
align cores and cavities  465 automotive  662, 682, 685, 689
aligning mold halves  712 auxiliary actuators  233
alignment  247, 298, 343, 411, 455, 471, 477, auxiliary controls  222
506, 618, 621, 644, 656, 664, 712 auxiliary datum  609, 610
– features  234
770 Index

B blow-off vent  645

blow slot  356
back-fill  106 blow slots  355
backing plate  435 bluing  43, 710
backing up  270 bluing compound  710
backing up a taper  466 bolts  565
back-pressure  133 bosses  49, 182, 307, 321, 363, 613, 658
back-up  466 boundary layer  389
backup  278 box shape  38
back-up insulator  517, 519 Bozzelli, John  723
back-up insulators  518, 521 branched polymer  18
back-up support  521 brazed  512
baffle  440 brazing  510
baffle cooling  655, 682, 684 breakers  226
baffles  417, 431, 433, 435, 437, 614, 616, 642 bridge manifolds  513
baffles and rods  417 British standard pipe threads  417
balance  668 brittle  300
balanced air channels  350 brittleness  727
balanced layout  507 BSP  417
balanced runner layout  496 bubbler  353, 355, 440, 442, 448, 676,
balanced runners  506 689
balancing melt channels  507 bubblers  441, 448, 623
ballooning  235 bubbles in part  728
barrel heaters  714 bucket  652
barrels  489 buckle  321
beam deflection calculation  251 burning  287, 725
bearings  376 burning in manifold  731
Beaumont, John P.  501, 723 bushing  254, 457
BeCu  544, 639, 642, 643, 655 bushings  247, 455, 456
bending  550
bending moment  698
beryllium–copper  175, 388, 446
C
beryllium–copper alloys  448 CAE analysis  22, 57
beryllium-copper tip insert  444 CAE cooling analysis  449
beverage crates  272 CAE flow analysis  39, 53
bill of materials  231, 235 CAE molding simulation  449
blade ejector  318 CAE molding simulation software  39
blade ejectors  293, 315, 613 CAE simulation  400
blades  411 CAE simulation software  199
blisters  727 CAE software  248
blockage  717 calories  396
block copolymer  19 cam  376, 677
blow-down  347, 360 cam ejection  363
blow-down air  642 cam followers  384
blow-down nozzles  640 cam profile  668
blow-downs  225 cams  364, 378, 380
blower  225 cam system  364
blow jet  359 cap  687
blow off  638 carriage forward  715
blow-off  351 cartridge heaters  523
blow-off air  642 cascade  442
blow-off jet  350 cavitation  456, 459
blow-off jets  359 cavitation trends  154
 Index 771

cavity  265, 278, 626, 629, 644, 666 cold slug  352, 530, 533
– construction  276 collapsible core  369, 687
– space  121, 224 collapsible cores  64, 275, 367
– spacing  503 colorants  23
– walls  550 color changes  481, 483, 503
cavity air  347, 350 color changing  718
cavity cooling  433, 642 color concentrate  718
cavity expansion  279 commodity molded part  207
cavity inserts  434 composite cavities  277
cavity lock  639 compressed  424
cavity lock alignment  467, 637 compressed air  288
cavity space  265, 288 compressibility  20
cavity surface  540 compressibility of plastic  424
CBW Automation  644 compressibility of steel  281
center back-up insulator  516 compression  280, 282, 550, 574
center ejector  325 compression of the plastic  305
center-gated  234, 483 compression sealing nozzle  528
center support  519 compressive strength  555
chamfers  240 compressive stress  320
channels  403 computer  409
Charpy V-notch test  554 concentric cooling  431
chase  278 concept  267
checking ball  239 conduction  391, 395
chiller  391, 393, 406 conductivity  388, 389, 430
chiller sizing  167 confirmation of order  751
chrome  552 conformal cooling  14, 688
chrome-plated  556 container  349
chroming  638 containers  235, 298
circuit breakers  227 contaminants  166
circular gate  531 contamination  225, 393, 481
circular grooves  431, 438 control algorithms  538
circular pattern  621 control datum features  593
clamp force  248, 473 controlled removal  295
clamping  15 controlling patterns  598
clamping force  222, 268, 279, 281, 574 control of the datum features  604
clamp slots  256, 679 controls  378
clamp speed  392 convection  395
clamp stroke  222 convective heat transfer  401
clamp tonnage  280 conventional dimensioning  584, 586
closure  649 conventional dimensioning and tolerancing  595
coarse thread  569 conventional plus-minus tolerancing  581
coarse threads  566 conventional tolerances  583
co-injection  14 conventional tolerancing  587
cold and hot runner molds  226, 544 conversion cost  208
cold clearance  517 conversion factors  735
cold runner  195, 223, 314, 480, 481, 614, 658, coolant  403
700 coolant connection  233, 234
cold runner ejection  311, 499 coolant flow  401
cold runner gate  484 coolant requirements  391
cold runner gate placement  491 coolant supply  392, 403, 435
cold runner molds  169, 311 coolant temperature  165
cold runner pullers  311 cooling  387, 422, 668
cold runners  10 – channels  556
772 Index

– line layout  234 counter-bore  247, 577

– water supply  226 counter-bores  113, 241, 242
cooling calculations  420 counter-boring  572
cooling channel layouts  409 crinkle bag  663
cooling channels  411, 430 critical dimensions  459
cooling circuit  453, 618, 668 cross-drilling  438, 448, 543
cooling lines  314, 403, 540, 662 cross-hatching  235
cooling medium  393 cross-manifolds  513
cooling pattern  632 crystalline  19
cooling performance  392 crystalline materials  398
cooling process  398 crystalline plastics  21, 389
cooling small inserts  448 crystallinity  173
cooling system  393 cup shape  459
cooling temperatures  407 cup-shaped parts  304, 350
cooling time  393 cup-shaped product  272, 348
cooling tower  391, 393, 406 cup-shaped products  274, 433, 439
cooling water  406 current  523
cooling water supply  165 curved runner extension  489
copolymer  19 cutlery  618
copper alloys  556, 559 cut threads  569
core  265, 277, 278, 629, 644, 666 cycle time  153, 171, 195, 196, 295, 318, 391,
– backing plate  648 393, 394
– shift  506 cycle times  219
core air  347, 350 cyclic  475
core backing plate  254 cyclical load  429
core base  627 cyclical loads  249, 574
core cap  355, 445 cyclic loading  256, 283, 333
core cap air  642 cycling loads  577
core cap vent  642 cylindrical shut-off  535
core–cavity alignment  650
core cooling  439, 642, 645
D
core cooling circuits  440
core insert  445, 614, 626, 676 dark spots  726
core inserts  664 datum feature  606–608
core lock  643, 666 datum feature identifiers  592, 593
core lock alignment  467, 640 datum features  604
core pin  306 dead pocket  648
core plate  614 decompressed  530
core pull  365, 658 dedicated molders  229
core pull design  367 deep cup-shaped parts  305
core ring  358 deep-draw containers  222
cores floating  475 deep-draw lid  347
core shift  286, 654, 721, 729 deep-draw part  463, 721
core shift mapping  721 deep rib  291
core sidewall venting  292 deep ribs  305
core to cavity alignment  629 deep threads  674
corner radii  48 de-flashing  294
corners  48 deflection  249, 550, 571, 684
corrode  166 deflection temperature  755
corrosion  416, 552 degating  294, 543
corrosion resistance  556 degradation  30, 540
cost  3, 4 degrade  505
cost of direct labor per hour  206 degrading  515
 Index 773

delamination  727 E
deliberate mismatches  78
deli container  637 early ejector return  337
de-nest  76 ease of ejection  300
density  753 ease of polishing  556, 682
Designing Plastic Parts for Assembly  edge gate  485
34 edge-gated  623
detail drawings  231, 235 edge gates  485, 531, 533
detergent cap  674 EDM  91, 93, 319, 560
diaphragm gates  486 EDM finish  84, 85
Dicronite™  85 efficiency of cooling  408
dieseling  725 ejecting from the bottom  304
dieseling effect  287 ejecting from the rim  304
differential pressures  286 ejection  84, 182, 273, 293, 405, 654, 656, 668
difficult-to-cool  411 ejection forces  324, 379
difficult to fill  728 ejection from the injection side  361
diffusion-bonded  512 ejection mechanism  297
diffusion bonding  510 ejection of bosses  307
dimensioning  236, 581 ejection of shallow parts  308
dimple  61 ejection sequence  658, 670
DIN 912  574 ejection stroke  194
dirt  404, 503 ejection temperature  408
discoloration  727 ejection time  185
disposable cup  434 ejector backing plate  660
distance of waterlines  415 ejector bars  663
domed  644 ejector box  316, 329, 331, 359, 645
double-acting piston  352 ejector box cutout  331
double-helix spiral  442 ejector force  305
double-sided label  628 ejector mechanism  304, 431
double-spiral cooling  433 ejector pin  104, 311, 317, 664, 700
double-spiral layout  431 ejector pin clearance  317
double-V sealing  676 ejector pins  104, 247, 288, 293, 315, 613, 618,
double wall threaded-cap  687 660, 680, 682, 684
dovetail  682, 687 ejector pin sizing  320
dowels  254, 255 ejector plate  329, 338, 615, 651, 659, 680,
draft  47, 222, 271, 324 682, 684, 685
draft angle  272, 306 ejector plate return  293, 554
draft angles  302 ejector plates  104
drawings  231 ejector retainer plate  254, 310, 313, 326, 660
draw-stoning  84 ejector retainer plates  324
drill bits  416 ejector rod lengths  708
drill bushings  313 ejector sleeve  316
drilling  572 ejector sleeves  288, 308, 315, 613
drinking cups  97 ejector stroke  222
drool  731 eject the cold runner  312
drooling  530, 540 electric power  226
dry cycle  183 electric resistance heaters  523
dry-cycle  713 electrification  14
drying  392 electroless nickel plating  552
dull spots  727 electroless nickel process  252, 402
dull spots @ gate  726 elongation at yield  757
embedded geometric tolerances  600
energy  391, 396, 398
774 Index

engraving  90, 93, 109, 110, 323 fixed adjustable blow-off pin  638
engravings  86, 89, 91, 92, 94 fixed core air  355
ENP  562 fixed front mounted  643
entrainment effect  361 fixed stripper rings  343
equal cooling  654 flame retardants  24
equilibrium  394, 399 flank angle  66
equivalent length  403 flank of the thread  66
Euro  221 flash  268, 730
Exair™  361 flash chrome plate  163
excessive wear  728 flashing  102, 338, 356, 473
expanded  424 flash mark  486
expansion forces  520 flat  38
experimental mold  156 flat ejector pin  318
experimental molds  549 flatness  95
experimental setup  219 flat parting line  623
external latch lock  687, 690 flat product  424
externally threaded cap  690 flat products  431
external return springs  335 flexural modulus  757
extruder  391 flexural strength  24, 757
extruder screw  391 flip-top  670
extruder size  503 float  255, 470, 650
eye bolt  332 floating core  284, 341
floating cores  343
floating stripper rings  342, 344
F
flow  61, 313, 393, 540
facemask  615 flow analysis  694
fake vestige  105 flow analysis software  486
false bottom  648 flow capacity  410
false bottom cup  648 flow control  435
family molds  234 flow fronts  663
fan gates  486 flow imbalance  495
fast cooling  440 flow leaders  98
fast ejection  300 flow length  540
fasteners  565 flow lines  725, 726
fatigue  283, 429, 553 flow marks  107
fatigue strength  249, 283 flow of coolant  392, 404
fatigue stress  283 flow of grain  568
FDU  665 flow of heat  406
feather-edge  311 flow passages  479
feed throat  719 flow rate  403
fillers  23, 110, 173, 543 flow restrictors  107
fillets  48 folding crate  679
filling simulation  491 force calculation  279
filling volume  73 force required to eject  303
fine threads  566 forces  550
finish  324 Fourier's law  397
finish of ejector pins  322 Fourmark  654
first cycle  716 free fall  295
first shots  713 free-fall  328, 361
fit  318 freeze-up of gates  60
fit issues  51 freezing  532
fits-based tolerancing  601 freezing off  59
fittings  430 friction  507
 Index 775

frictional force  301 guiding ejector plates  331

friction angle  568 gun-drilled  511
front-mounted  639, 650 gun drilling  416
frozen  530 gussets  53

G H
gage blocks  237 Haidlmair  615, 662, 663, 679, 683
galling  728 handled products  55
gas springs  664 handle inserts  652
Gastrow Injection Molds  39 handling the mold  476
gate  438, 529 hanging up  297
– grain structure  552 hang up  304
– retainer plate  648 hang-up  511
– size  505 hard chrome plating  562
gate area  431 hardened steel  544
gate breaks cleanly  484 hardened wedges  456
gate damage  488 hardness  551, 555
gate freeze  530 harmonic linkage ejection  376
gate insert  104, 438, 543, 616, 626, 642, 666 haze  107
gate inserts  473, 543 heat  388, 394, 396, 398, 523
gate land  530, 543 – controllers  226
gate location  53, 111, 539 – loss  505
gate marks  105 – treatment  560, 561
gate pad  438, 543, 642, 644, 650 heat balance  395
gate pad cooling  438 heat conducting  174
gate pads  473, 543 heat conduction  399
gate pad split  642 heat conductivity  175, 399, 404
gate protrusion  61 heat content  398
gates  519 heat deflection temperature  24
gates freezing  724 heat energy  399
gate size  535, 539, 540 heater  524
gate stringing  724 heater capacity  525
GD&T  595, 598 heaters  226, 391, 522
GD&T integration  599 – cartridge  525
GD&T-Lite  599 – tubular  524
Geometrical Product Specifications (ISO-GPS)  heat exchanger  391
591 heat expansion  475, 516, 517
geometric dimensioning and tolerancing  581, heat flow  519
591 heating units  393
geometric tolerance determination  601 heat input required  404
geometric tolerances  582, 583 heat insulated  506
gibs  253 heat loss  505
glass fibers  543 heat losses  523, 526
good draft angle  307 heat sink  524
good venting  648, 710 heat stabilizers  24
graft copolymer  19 heat transfer  388, 393, 395
gravity  361 heavy cross-sections  431
grinding  84 heavy sections  411
grinding allowance  561 heavy-walled products  426
ground faults  538 helix  442
guide bushings  341 hierarchy of feature attributes  593
guide pins  256, 342, 648 high-heat screws  573
776 Index

highly viscous  507 hydraulic cylinders  684

high pressures  529 hydraulic diameter  497
high productivity  160 hydraulic ejection  347
high shear rates  529 hydraulic ejector force  324
high shrinkage  73 hydraulic machine ejectors  333
hinge  115 hydraulic operators  378
hinge pin  69 hydraulic pistons  535
hinges  114, 681 hydraulic pump  391
hobbing  92, 147, 727 hydraulic pumps  148
hoist hole  332 hydraulic supply  225
holding force  568
holes  113, 272, 553
I
hollow parts  533
homo-polymer  19 identification  109
hooks  107, 725 IIoT  14
hoop stress  279, 283 imbalanced filling  518
hopper  714 iMFLUX  618, 621, 623, 670, 687, 690, 694,
horn pin  371, 658, 694 699
horn pins  270, 700 iMFLUX process  700
hose connections  423 impact modifiers  24
hose lines  435 impact strength  554
hot and cold runner molds  544 implosion  307
hot-cold-runner  484 impurities  252
hot cores  728 infinite life  475
hot edge gate  618 initial mold start-up  713
hot gate area  438 inject against the core  55
hot half  501 injection forces  325
hot hardness  556 injection molding machine  161, 183
hot plastic  719 injection pressure  20, 149, 222, 224, 278, 325,
hot runner  195, 234, 438, 505, 541 550
– manifold  505 injection speed  172, 224
– molds  226 injection time  540
hot runner design  506 injection unit carriage  716
hot runner gates  60 in-mold labeled  628, 654
hot runner gate size  540, 542 in-mold labeling  86
hot runner heaters  526 insert  291
hot runner leakage  717 insert cooling  424, 431, 448
hot runner manifold  516, 525 inserted key  323
hot runner molds  169 inserted plug  447
hot runner plate cooling  420 inserts  288
hot runner plates  420 inserts cracking  728
hot runners  10, 54, 419, 500 inside center gate  55
hot runner system  391, 525 inside gating of caps  297
hot spots  199, 403 inside projections  367
hot sprue  652 insulated runner  480, 499, 500
hot-stamped  88 insulated runner molds  499
hot-tip  530 insulated runners  10
hub  306 insulating bubble  718
Husky Injection Molding Systems  626, insulators  518
639–641, 646 interchangeable inserts  679
hydraulic actuators  378 interface points  234
hydraulic circuit  682 internally gated  447
hydraulic cylinder  670, 677 internal radius  49
 Index 777

internal return springs  335 lid  97

internal spring  656 lid mold  632
internal springs  335 lids  95, 298
internal threads  274 lifter  659, 694
interrupted (spot) vent  350 lifter insert  659
intersections of rib  321 Lifter Link™  694
intersections of runners  314 lifters  369, 371, 373, 685, 689
inventory  514 light-weighting  34, 135
ion implantation  563 lime deposits  393
iron housing  697 links  383, 384
ISO 4762-2004  574 liquid colorant  718
Izod impact strength  24 live hinges  56
living hinge  670
living-hinge case  694
J
load-carrying pads  281
jacking  712 locating ring  220, 257
jacking holes  658 locating the manifold  516
jacking system  712 locational clearance fits  102
jetting  107, 726 location of ejector pins  320
jiggle pins  369 locking angle  471
Jo-blocks  237 locking taper  466
J-type  526 lock ring  468, 666
lock washers  578
Loctite®  577, 579, 580
K
logic controls  168
knockout pads  316 long ejection stroke  335
K-type  526 long heat up time  732
lost-core molding  7
lost motion  380, 383
L
low-cost mold  245
labels  86 lowest product cost  206
laminar  410, 540 L/t ratio  46, 56, 637
laminar flow  401, 408, 507 lubricants  23
land  287, 318, 550 lubrication  384, 551
land length guidelines  308
large ejector pins  310
M
large production  177
laser engraving  110 machinability  252
latches  233 machine dry cycle  172, 183
latch lock  700 machine ejector  221, 664
latch lock system  654 machine ejectors  325, 338
latch lock systems  381 machine hour cost  201, 230
layout of cooling lines  422 machine nozzle  479
lead angle  52, 568 machine opening stroke  297
leader pin  247, 457 machine platen  257, 325
leader pin bushings  341 machine platen layout  233
leader pins  253, 455, 477, 658 machinery steel  252
leader pins and bushings  626 machine specifications  220
lead test  712 machining  556
leakage  717 machinists  231
legal implications  233 magnet  719
length of land  317 maintain the orientation  191
levers  383, 384 male taper  467
778 Index

manifold  506, 520, 714 mold cooling  176, 387, 643

– heaters  227 mold cost  213
manifold backing plate  520, 535 mold cost per unit molded  204
manifold back-up support  519 Moldex3D  400
manifold heaters  538 mold halves  7, 15
manifold plate  520 molding cycle  158, 223, 481
manifold plate cooling  714 molding properties  753
manifold plate cutout  521 molding surface  428
manifold plate pocket  516 molding surface finish  84
manifold pocket  521 molding surfaces  82
manifold supports  518 mold insert  110
material hopper slide  715 mold installation  333
material-safe conditions  602 mold life  241
material selection  285 mold manual  745
mating parts mold materials  175
– hardness  563 Moldmax  654
mating tapers  711 mold-open  188
M/C nozzle  519 mold open time  172, 185
mechanical properties  757 mold plate  245
melt  223 mold protection  714
– temperatures  556 Mold Saver  552
melt channel size  541 mold shoe  245, 477
melt channel sizing  514 mold shut height  308
melt delivery system  501 mold start-up procedure  714
MeltFlipper  495 mold stroke  298
melt index  27 mold temperature  394
melt temperature  150, 168, 172, 526, 540 mold test  713
micro balls  238 mold tester  713
micro roller  238 mold test information  720
micro rollers  236 mold testing  707
mild steel  243 mold test troubleshooting guide  723
mild steels  175, 243, 552 mold tolerances  601
milled grooves  431 molecular weight (distribution)  18
milled slots  433 monomer  17
milling of the channels  511 mounting holes  256
minimum number of cavities  230 moving cavities  473
misalignment  453 moving cavity  68, 288, 384, 648
mismatch  78, 80 moving-cavity  648
model-based definition  582, 600 moving-cavity ejection  384
modular cavities  435 moving insert  373
modular molds  282 moving ring  358
module  279 moving vent  288
modulus of elasticity  249, 281, 324, 554, 570 multi-cavity mold  475
moisture streaks  726 multi-cavity molds  189, 227, 472, 477,
mold 545
– clamps  221 multi-material  14
– drawings  231 multiple ejection stroke  377
– hardware  247 multiple ejection strokes  191
– materials  389 multiple tunnel gating  489
– mounting  221, 235 multi-stage ejection  67, 381
– release agents  294
– shoes  243
– steels  549
 Index 779

N overcap  446, 447

overcap lid  626
nameplate  714 overcaps  484
naturally balanced  512 over-constrained alignment  476
naturally vented  660 overheads  202
natural vent  645 oversize ejector  317
neck ring  363, 666 oversize pins  104
neck splits  363 oxidizers  166
needle bearings  384 oxygen mask  692
negative draft  48
negative engraving  91
net shape part  5 P
Newtonian fluids  26 pails  343
nickel-plated  556 pallet  683
nickel plating  562 parallel  413
nitriding  556, 562 parallel cooling  412
noise  361 parallels  250, 329
non-datum features  605, 607 part cost  230
non-Newtonian fluids  27, 493 part dimensions too large  731
no pre-load  627 part dimensions too small  731
notches  553 parting line  7, 11, 41, 102, 147, 267, 280, 447,
notching  430 481, 618, 648, 682
notes on drawings  233 parting line vent  645, 658
nozzle  517 parting line venting  289
nozzle radius  220 parting line vents  291, 640
nozzles  527 parts do not stack  730
nozzle skirts  521 parts stick in cavity  729
nozzle support  519 parts stick to the core  729
nozzle tips  527, 538 path of least resistance  44, 106, 411, 441
NPT  417 permissible stress  570
nucleated polymers  19 perpendicularity tolerance  596
nucleating agents  24 PET bottles  179
number of cavities  129, 227 Petri dish  95
number of gates  222 physical vapor deposition  563
number of screws  571 PiD  538
Nylok™  579 PiD2  538
pieces per year  229
O pillars  660
pinch points  709
Ohm’s law  523 pin heads  326
one-piece cores  443 pinion  670, 677
open blow slots  355 pipe plugs  416
open gates  529 pipe threads  430
open nozzles  137 pitch spacing  522
operating window  395 pivots  384
orientation  587 P/L  41, 63, 267, 280, 483
origin of measurement  585 plant environment  162
O-ring  642 plant-wide machine hour cost  202
O-ring grooves  242 Plasdan  652, 682, 685, 689, 692, 697
O-rings  353, 426, 427, 435, 440, 575 plastic  17
O-rings pinching  728 plastic forks or spoons  43
out of alignment  712 plastic in tension  305
outside center gate  54 plastic inventory  505, 515
780 Index

plasticizers  23 preload of screws  569

plasticizing capacity  132, 223 preloads  286, 461
plastic leakage  732 preload stresses  475
Plastic Part Design for Injection Molding  34 premature hobbing  728
plastic part drawing  266 press-fit  255, 444
plate deflection  250, 325, 571 pressure differential  401
platens  14, 15 pressure drop  121, 403, 505, 507, 514,
platen size  220 540
plates  330 pre-wired  501
plate stiffness  327 primary datum  610
plate supports  234 primary parting line  268
plate thickness  571 product cost  207
plug gage  237 product hanging  305
plug lid  628 product identification  109
plugs  417, 435 production  219
pneumatic air piston  347 production mold  158
pocket  521 productivity  223, 293, 299, 431
polarity of engraving  91 product strength  110, 111
polishability  246 products with bosses  440
polishing  83, 556 profile of a surface  596
polymer orientation  20 projected area  222, 279
Poly-Ond™  85 projection  484
poppet  351, 353, 358 projections  272
poppet ejection  351 proper PPE  716
poppet stroke  352 protection of the cores  459
position tolerance  596 prototype molds  155
positive engraving  91 protruding gate mark  112
positive return  328 protrusion  61
post-mold cooling  179 proximity switches  682
post-molding operations  69 pry slots  246
potato chip  425, 644 pseudo-plastic behavior  26
potato-chipping  98 pulling force  313
power consumption  227 pull ring  42
power failure  226 purge guards  719
power supply  168 push-pull ejection  333, 684
power terminals  525
power tool housing  657
Q
PPAP  722
precedents  2 quality of materials  559
preferred number  227 quantity of cooling water  407
preferred numbers of cavities  230 quenching  561
preform  665 quick mold change  221
preforms  470
pre-hardened machinery steels  552
R
pre-hardened mold steels  561
pre-hardened plate steel  163 racetrack filling  48
pre-hardened steels  558 race-tracking  98
preload  234, 273, 278, 340, 470, 471, 474, 571, rack  375, 670, 677
698 rack and pinion  375
preload distance  470 radiation  391, 395
preloaded  338 radii  240
preload force  470 raised lettering  89
preloading  270 random copolymer  19
 Index 781

ratchets  677 Rohr retractable core  687

rate of heat  397 rolled threads  568
razor  55 roller  237
reaming  322 rollers  270
rear-mounted  642, 650 rotating core  670
recessed gate  61 rotation of the core  375
record grooves  107, 726 round taper pins  456
rectangular box  673 round tapers  462
rectangular container  654 runner  313, 479, 484
rectangular trays  98 – mold  234
re-entrant  648 Runner and Gating Design Handbook  501
re-entrant angle  312 runner extension  488
re-entrant bottom  648 runner puller  311
reference dimension  239 runners  479
regrinding  481 runner system  392
reinforcements  23
reliability  151
S
replaceable inserts  681
required clamp size  120 safe  5
required cooling  167 safe joint  579
required water flow  408 safety  295, 361, 380
requirements  219 safety clothing  719
residence time  294, 544 safety factor  553
resin  540 safety gate  294
resistance heaters  168, 523 sand-blasted  85
“resistance” wire  523 scratches  242
restoring preload  474 screw caps  367, 484
restrictors  415 screw design  136
retainer plate  331 screw drive  391
retract  270 screw engagement  576
retractable core  275 screw head  576
retractable core inserts  688 screw-in nozzle  528
return pin  323, 329 screw-in nozzles  528
return pins  328, 332, 380, 615, 618 screw-in nozzle sealing  518
return springs  333, 384 screw joint  572
Reynolds number  401, 402 screw pitch  566
rheological history  493 screw pull-back  530
rheology  25 screws  234, 247, 473, 565
rheometer  27 screw-sleeve arrangements  379
rib on the bottom  648 screw start  715
ribs  49, 68, 182, 274, 291, 305–307, 321, 363, screw temperature  573
658, 684 sealing  426
ribs and bosses  306 sealing force  519
rim  308, 425, 632 sealing nozzles  528
rims  321 secondary parting line  269
rim shapes  309 secondary parting lines  270
ring gage  237 section modulus  251
ring grooves  433 self-cleaning venting  315
ripples  107 self-cleaning vents  287, 304
ripples in the parts  729 self-degating  481, 485, 487
risers  435 self-locking  471
robot  295 self-lubricating bushings  627
robots  191, 378, 551 self-tapping screws  113
782 Index

semi-automatic ejection  294 side wall  272

separating force  279 sidewall windows  52, 53
sequence of operation  233 significant cross-section  232
sequential valve gate  681 significant undercuts  363
series cooling  412, 414 silica  524
servo motors  675 silicon spray  552
set screws  578 sine bar  670
setup sheet  715 single acting air poppet  352
shallow part  463 single-cavity molds  481
shallow parts  626 single-level molds  299
shank diameter  569 single-piece cores  443
sharp corner  50, 485 single-spiral layout  431
sharp corners  242 single-stage ejection  378
sharp edge  310, 645 sink  51
shear  304, 551 sink marks  411, 731
shear heat history  507 sink marks far from the gate  725
shear heating  540 sink marks near the gate  725
shear history  495, 508 sinks  51, 53, 99, 100, 287
shear-induced balance  495 skirt  629
shearing the plastic  310 sleeve  379, 660
shear rate  514 sleeve ejector  671
shear-sensitive  30, 668 sleeve ejectors  306, 308
shear-sensitive materials  493 sleeves  247, 411
shear stress  27, 321, 540 slender core pins  411
shear viscosity curve  27 slender cores  286, 555
shim  653 slide  658
shimming  463 slider  372, 682
shocks  579 sliders  371, 663
shooting pot  391 slides  253, 668
short lands  484 sliding fit  343
shorts  287 sliding nozzle sealing  517
short screws  580 slot gate  537
short shots  730 slots  274
shot size  128, 223, 716 slow color change  732
shoulder bolts  379 slug  488
shoulder screws  577 small cores  441
shrink  405 smaller strippers  345
shrinkage  20, 73, 266, 424 small gates  484
shrinkage factor  99 small production  177
shrinking  389, 540 small vestige  485
shut height  221, 249, 435, 503 Smith, Don  613, 657
shut-off  280 snap  273
shut-off area  280 snap feature  273
shut-off areas  280 snap-on lids  425
shut-off faces  710 snap rim  273
shut-off nozzles  139 snap ring  345, 353
side core retract  685 snap ring grooves  242
side core retractions  679 snaps  114
side cores  62, 63, 222, 270–272, 279 socket head cap screws  565
side draft  300 solid bosses  305
side forces  270 spacers  653
side interlocks  456, 459, 615, 623, 650, 662, spares  110
679 special fits  73
 Index 783

special mold shoes  245 standardizing  561

special screws  573 standard mold sets  330
specific density  401 standard mold shoes  243
specific viscosity  401 standard NPT  417
specific volume  753 standard pipe thread  416
specifying a hot runner  505 standard size  318
specks  726 standard sizes  330
speed control  378 standard wedge locks  456
SPI  221 start up  392
spigot  642 start-up  299
spigotted  465 star washers  578
spiral  433 static seals  426
spiral cooling  700 stationary platen  8
spiral grooves  433 stationary vent  288
splay  107, 726 stationary vents  287
split cavities  8, 272, 299, 664 steady state  394
split cavity  362, 664, 690, 699 steady-state  395
split-cavity  374 steady-state conductive heat transfer  399
SPLIT cavity  697 steady-state temperature  393
split lines  270, 272 steel part drawing  37, 266
splits  62, 270, 367 steels  549
spools  367 steel-safe dimensions  73
spring  654 steel sizes  219
spring loaded  658 steel structure  560
spring loaded insert  654 stepped P/L  269
springs  351, 554 stickiness  379
spring washers  578 stiffness  249
sprue  479 stop buttons  325, 332, 343, 659
sprue bar won’t heat  732 straight interlocks  658
sprue bushing  714 straight P/L  268
stack  243, 278 straight-walled product  300
– layout  267 strain-harden  665
– molds  552 streaks  725
stack alignment  455, 456 strength of material  551
stack compression  280, 281 strength of the screw joint  575
stack construction  286 strengths of materials  249
stack height  75 stress  250, 251
stacking clearances  77 stress concentration  240
stacking height  70, 75, 282 stress-cracking  240
stacking lugs  75, 93 stresses  249, 429
stacking of products  74 stress in the cavities  283
stacking shoulders  48 stress raisers  416
stack molds  8, 297, 299 stress whitening  726
stack parts  429 stringing  532
stack sizing  278 stripped ejection  64
StackTeck Systems  628, 649, 665, 674 stripper  379
stadium cup  640 stripper bar ejection  347
stagnant coolant  409 stripper bars  341, 346, 663
stagnation  508 stripper bolts  577
stainless steel  164, 244 stripper ejection  338
stainless steels  252, 556, 559 stripper guides  342
stainless steel screws  575 stripper inserts  343
standard geometrical tolerancing  102 stripper molds  377
784 Index

stripper plate  293, 313, 329, 338, 342, 376, taper locks  552
621, 632, 650, 654, 663, 670 taper pin  459
stripper plates  313 tapers  343, 473, 474
stripper retainer bolts  335 – external  237
stripper ring  309, 310, 340, 360, 447, 468, 621, – internal   237
626, 629, 645, 654, 676, 688, 700 taper wear  727
stripper ring ejection  643 T/C  526
stripper ring float  345 teeth  677
stripper rings  341, 343, 348, 473, 551, 644, temperature  396
650 temperature controls  538
strippers  338 temperature differences  411
stripper sleeve  671, 676, 690 temperature drop  392
stripper sticks  731 tensile (or compressive) strength  554
stripping  273 tensile strength  24, 324, 757
stripping force  343 tension  550
stroke  299 TEP  151, 201
stroke limiter  255, 256, 342 terminals  524
stroke limiters  256, 333, 342, 347, 386, 632, tertiary branches  494
708 tertiary datum  604, 606, 607, 609, 610
stroking core air  357 testing  707
stroking poppet  351 texturing  85
submarine gates  615 thermal conductivity  172, 389, 392, 399, 400,
submarine tunnel gating  489 556
sub-runners  494 thermal cycling  530
sucker pin  615 thermal expansion  453, 473, 517, 518, 556,
sucker pins  312, 313 603, 755
suckers  312 thermal properties  761
superstructure  670, 677 thermocouples  227, 520, 526
supplying water  452 thermodynamics  388, 395
support  518, 520, 521 thermolator  391
support pillars  250, 253, 329, 646, 681 thermoplastics  17
surface definition  149, 150, 506 thermosets  17
surface finish  81, 84, 553 thick cross-section  660
surface finish forces  301 thickness variations  455
surface roughness  301, 302 thick products  440
surface treatments  562 thick to thin  53
synchro plate  536 thick-walled products  178
thin-walled  286
thin-walled containers  281
T
thin-walled products  251, 426, 434
take-off  295 thin-wall molding  61
take-off plate  297 thread  670
take-offs  297 threaded shank  567
tamper-evident bands  69 thread engagement  575
tamper-evident skirt  654 thread pitch  64, 566
tap drill sizes  417 thread profile  64, 649
taper alignment  476 thread runouts  64
taper backing-up  375 threads  62, 64, 367
tapered extensions  488 three-plate gates  490
tapered plug  443 three-plate molds  483
tapered shut-off  340, 535 tie bar  233
taper fits  473 – clearances  220
taper lock  456, 472 timing  378
 Index 785

title block  235 universal mold shoes  160, 245

toe-in  426 unscrewed  274
toeing-in  425 unscrewing  64, 551, 574
toggle lock  338 unscrewing ejection  674
tolerance accumulation  589, 597 unscrewing mold  65, 67
tolerance build-up  710 unscrewing molds  369, 375
tolerances  2, 70, 72, 218, 219, 462, 475 up and down  8
tolerancing  581, 601 uptime  151
tonnage blocks  280, 682, 689 UV stabilizers  24
tons of refrigeration  406
tooling hole  239
V
tool steels  558
toothbrush  55 vacuum  291, 300, 384
torsion  551 vacuum in the cavity  347
total cost of the machine  202 valved gates  60
total stress  570 valve gate  616, 668
toughness  551, 555 valve-gated molds  715
transient mode  393 valve gate pistons  535
trapezoidal vent groove  289 valve gates  529, 533, 662
tray  98 valves  536
troubleshooting  723 vapor-honed  85
T-seals  353 variable shrinkage  22
tube  623 velocity  401
tubular bosses  307 vent  668, 683
tubular heaters  523, 524 vent channel  290, 291
tumbler  643 vent channels  289
tungsten-carbides  281 vent groove  290
tungsten disulfide  563 vent grooves  287, 289, 638
tunnel-gated  621 venting  60, 68, 182, 287, 291, 300, 307, 319,
tunnel gates  487 351, 439, 616
turbulent  410 venting inserts  681
turbulent flow  401, 408 vent pin  290, 447
two-piece core  444 vent pins  288, 291, 315, 440
two-plate cold runner system  479 vent pin vents  290
two-plate mold  481 vents  288, 308
two-plate molds  481, 487 vent sizing  289
two-stage ejection  68, 274, 288, 378, 654 vent slots  440
two-stage ejector pin system  379 vertical free fall  299
two-stage stripper ring  655 vertical split  272
types of runners  480 Vespel®  718
vestige  338, 484, 486, 488
vial  621
U
vials  489
ultimate and yield strength  554 vibrations  579
undercut  52, 63, 273, 362, 371, 687 views  231, 234
undercuts  62, 64, 68, 85, 272, 274, 297, 324, virgin plastics  503
363, 369, 374, 378, 649, 659, 663, 685 viscosity  26, 150, 401, 403, 493, 540
undercuts of the thread  364 viscous  540
undercuts on the core  274 voids  51, 53, 59, 60, 99–101, 727, 731
uneven fill  731 voltage  523
uneven shear history  497 volume of coolant  165
uniform shrinkage  266 volumetric shrinkage  491
uniform wall thickness  43, 174 VSM 51100  417
786 Index

W weld line  115, 694

weld lines  53, 58, 60, 105, 106, 287, 486, 663,
wall thickness  150, 174, 456, 540 726
warpage  53, 491, 731 where to eject  303
water absorption  753 wire channels  520
water lines  632 witness line  310, 438, 443, 444
water temperatures  393 witness lines  101, 316
wattage  420 working tapers  474
watts  523 wrenches  577
W drilling  664 wrench size  430
wear  438, 474, 551, 555
wear ring  467, 638
wedge  347, 473
Y
– action  551 yield  151
wedge lock  456, 459, 656 yield strength  24, 249, 553, 570, 573
wedge locks  463
wedges  455, 474, 552, 653, 698
wedging action  430
Z
welded in  444 zigzag lines  447
welding  557, 560