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Learn what makes a part a good candidate for injection molding, so you can determine if the process is good for your part.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
6 min.
Transcript
00:04
Injection molding simulation will fundamentally help you determine
00:07
if your part design is injection Moldable.
00:11
Ideally,
00:12
injection molded parts are relatively thin walled
00:15
with a uniform nominal wall thickness.
00:17
Following the simple guideline will help reduce the risk
00:20
of cosmetic or structural defects and also part distortion,
00:25
otherwise known as warpage.
00:28
It is also beneficial if the part design
00:31
has an easily definable cavity outside or core
00:35
inside half for ease of mold construction
00:40
part geometries especially side walls perpendicular to the mold
00:44
opening direction should also contain consistent draft angles.
00:48
So the plastic part can easily be released from the mold during ejection
00:53
without scrape or drag marks,
00:57
sharp corners should be avoided.
00:60
The use of radii
01:01
or filets for plastic part design is important to avoid manufacturing
01:05
issues and stress concentrations which could lead to premature failure.
01:10
Unfortunately,
01:11
the complex functional or aesthetic requirements of a part often lead
01:15
to designers breaking many of these rules with detrimental consequences.
01:19
Downstream in bold design and production,
01:23
the use of simulation can be very valuable
01:26
in reducing or potentially eliminating these risks.
01:30
Injection molded plastic parts are nearly everywhere in our modern
01:34
daily lives and used in a vast array of industries.
01:38
However,
01:39
so are plastic parts that are made by
01:41
other manufacturing processes or deviations of injection molding
01:45
that are currently not supported with infusion.
01:49
Although we cannot show every part that can be injection molded.
01:53
Let's take a look at several examples to review good
01:56
and not so good candidates.
01:59
Let's start with plastic buckets, storage bins and lids
02:03
are these good candidates for injection molding simulation.
02:09
Yes,
02:09
these are thin walled applications with an easily
02:12
definable core and cavity for injection molding.
02:15
If you turn a bucket or storage bin around and look at the bottom,
02:19
you often notice a tiny pointy stub
02:22
in the center as evidence of the injection location.
02:28
Next, we have a plastic handle housing.
02:30
Is this suitable for injection molding simulation?
02:36
Yes.
02:37
The thin shell like nature of housings is easily injection Moldable
02:41
even if the design requires assembly or stiffening features such as bosses or ribs.
02:49
All right, you're getting good at this.
02:51
How about plastic bottles? Think laundry detergent or shampoo bottles?
02:56
Are these injection molding suitable or not?
03:00
The walls are thin and uniform but no
03:04
bottles are typically not injection molded but manufactured
03:07
using a related technology called blow molding.
03:11
This manufacturing process is not currently supported for simulation.
03:16
Interestingly enough,
03:17
the bottle caps are typically injection molded and
03:20
are indeed suitable for injection molding simulation.
03:25
How about long profiles such as tubes, pipes or siding?
03:31
Again,
03:32
the walls are thin and uniform but not suitable for injection molding simulation.
03:37
Long profiles with a constant cross section are usually manufactured using
03:41
the extrusion process which is currently not supported in fusion 360
03:48
mm cookies.
03:50
Sorry, I got distracted.
03:52
We are supposed to be looking at the plastic packaging,
03:55
holding those delicious cookies.
03:56
What are your thoughts on this plastic packaging
03:59
in terms of suitability for injection molding simulation.
04:04
This one is also a no
04:07
the manufacturing of simple plastic shells without any features like ribs
04:12
and bosses are often manufactured with a process called vacuum forming,
04:17
otherwise known as thermo
04:18
forming.
04:20
This process can be used for creating very
04:22
thin but simple structures like you find inside packaging
04:26
or single use plastic cups.
04:30
Although there are many other plastic manufacturing processes,
04:34
injection molding is estimated to be used for
Video transcript
00:04
Injection molding simulation will fundamentally help you determine
00:07
if your part design is injection Moldable.
00:11
Ideally,
00:12
injection molded parts are relatively thin walled
00:15
with a uniform nominal wall thickness.
00:17
Following the simple guideline will help reduce the risk
00:20
of cosmetic or structural defects and also part distortion,
00:25
otherwise known as warpage.
00:28
It is also beneficial if the part design
00:31
has an easily definable cavity outside or core
00:35
inside half for ease of mold construction
00:40
part geometries especially side walls perpendicular to the mold
00:44
opening direction should also contain consistent draft angles.
00:48
So the plastic part can easily be released from the mold during ejection
00:53
without scrape or drag marks,
00:57
sharp corners should be avoided.
00:60
The use of radii
01:01
or filets for plastic part design is important to avoid manufacturing
01:05
issues and stress concentrations which could lead to premature failure.
01:10
Unfortunately,
01:11
the complex functional or aesthetic requirements of a part often lead
01:15
to designers breaking many of these rules with detrimental consequences.
01:19
Downstream in bold design and production,
01:23
the use of simulation can be very valuable
01:26
in reducing or potentially eliminating these risks.
01:30
Injection molded plastic parts are nearly everywhere in our modern
01:34
daily lives and used in a vast array of industries.
01:38
However,
01:39
so are plastic parts that are made by
01:41
other manufacturing processes or deviations of injection molding
01:45
that are currently not supported with infusion.
01:49
Although we cannot show every part that can be injection molded.
01:53
Let's take a look at several examples to review good
01:56
and not so good candidates.
01:59
Let's start with plastic buckets, storage bins and lids
02:03
are these good candidates for injection molding simulation.
02:09
Yes,
02:09
these are thin walled applications with an easily
02:12
definable core and cavity for injection molding.
02:15
If you turn a bucket or storage bin around and look at the bottom,
02:19
you often notice a tiny pointy stub
02:22
in the center as evidence of the injection location.
02:28
Next, we have a plastic handle housing.
02:30
Is this suitable for injection molding simulation?
02:36
Yes.
02:37
The thin shell like nature of housings is easily injection Moldable
02:41
even if the design requires assembly or stiffening features such as bosses or ribs.
02:49
All right, you're getting good at this.
02:51
How about plastic bottles? Think laundry detergent or shampoo bottles?
02:56
Are these injection molding suitable or not?
03:00
The walls are thin and uniform but no
03:04
bottles are typically not injection molded but manufactured
03:07
using a related technology called blow molding.
03:11
This manufacturing process is not currently supported for simulation.
03:16
Interestingly enough,
03:17
the bottle caps are typically injection molded and
03:20
are indeed suitable for injection molding simulation.
03:25
How about long profiles such as tubes, pipes or siding?
03:31
Again,
03:32
the walls are thin and uniform but not suitable for injection molding simulation.
03:37
Long profiles with a constant cross section are usually manufactured using
03:41
the extrusion process which is currently not supported in fusion 360
03:48
mm cookies.
03:50
Sorry, I got distracted.
03:52
We are supposed to be looking at the plastic packaging,
03:55
holding those delicious cookies.
03:56
What are your thoughts on this plastic packaging
03:59
in terms of suitability for injection molding simulation.
04:04
This one is also a no
04:07
the manufacturing of simple plastic shells without any features like ribs
04:12
and bosses are often manufactured with a process called vacuum forming,
04:17
otherwise known as thermo
04:18
forming.
04:20
This process can be used for creating very
04:22
thin but simple structures like you find inside packaging
04:26
or single use plastic cups.
04:30
Although there are many other plastic manufacturing processes,
04:34
injection molding is estimated to be used for
For more, see Injection molding simulation.
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