Optimize Your Design for Manufacturing

Bosses

A boss is a stressed point of engagement, shaped like a post or pillar. It’s usually the place where a fastener like a screw will connect one piece to another.

Bosses can represent significant additional thermal mass in an injection molding so good design practices are needed to prevent sink marks and other defects.

• The boss should be radiused at the base, with a radius between 25-50% of the wall thickness;
• A boss should be attached to an adjacent external wall via a rib;
• Bosses can also be strengthened at the base with gussets for high-stress applications;
• The boss should be no taller than 3 times the outside diameter;
• A minimum draft angle on the outside should be 1/2°. A smaller draft is possible on the inside, if the tool and core have been well-polished;
• Two or more bosses should be located no closer than twice the adjacent wall thickness

Draft Angle

This is a relief angle between the face of a part feature and the corresponding wall of the core/cavity, usually in parallel to the direction of the mold opening. We may recommend different angles dependent on the part’s geometry. A draft angle is needed to ensure that these features don’t scrape or seize against the tool wall as it is opened.

Ejector Pin Position

Ejector pins are simply metal rods placed at strategic locations inside a mold tool. When an injection cycle is done and the tool opens, the pins protrude from the mold cavity and help to push the now completed part free.

They are a necessary part of many mold tool designs but they will leave a corresponding shallow, circular mark on the part. Therefore, the pin location must be carefully chosen to avoid adversely affecting the fit and finish of the part.

Gate Witness Marks

The gate is the nozzle from which liquid plastic is injected into a mold tool cavity. This area will leave a corresponding mark upon the finished part. It’s always best practice to therefore locate this mark in a place where it won’t affect the fit and finish, but this must be agreed upon before designing the mold tool.

Parting Lines

This is the line where the two halves of a mold tool separate to release the part from a single large cavity. A mark will be left behind on the part which may be unavoidable. Care should be taken to hide this line if possible or work it into the overall part geometry or final design. This line can also be hidden via post-processing, such as with painting, sanding or bead blasting. Rough surface textures will tend to hide parting lines more than glossy ones.

Ribs

Ribs act as supports to stiffen wall sections without adding much additional mass. They do have an effect on distribution of thermal stress so good design rules should be employed with their use.

• Where a rib meets a wall, the rib should be no thicker than 50% of the wall thickness;
• The base of the rib where it meets the wall should be radiused, between 25-50% of wall thickness;
• Rib height should be no more than three times wall thickness;
• Draft angles on ribs should be increased to allow for easier release than adjacent walls.

Gussets are similar to ribs but are smaller and are used for strengthening the base of a feature. The same design rules apply for gussets as for ribs.

Sink Marks

Pits or depressions can be caused in the surface of a part because of the unequal rates of cooling between areas of greater and lesser thermal mass. Sink marks can be reduced to an acceptable level by following good design practice, as per the recommendations in our technical white paper.

Texture

Heavily textured or coarse surfaces on the interior walls of mold cavities may cause them to grip the surface of the plastic part firmly after it cools. This can cause scratching or binding when the part is ejected. The best way to avoid this problem is by designing in a larger than normal relief angle, dependent on the degree of texturing.

Wall Thickness

Designing uniform wall thickness is essential to controlling the distribution of heat within the part during molding.

To get the best results, follow these design tips for wall thickness.  Be careful to note the type of plastic being molded, which may effect the rate of shrinkage in the mold.

• Adjacent walls should be equal in thickness wherever possible, but should in no case differ more than ~50%
• Long wall sections should be supported with ribs or gussets, instead of making them thicker for strength
• There should be a draft angle of 1 degree for every 2 cm in wall height
• Walls should have a slight radius at their base to relieve stress which can cause cracking or deformation

Weld Lines

A weld line is an area where two separate channels of flowing liquid plastic meet and solidify within a mold cavity. The opposing fronts will partially cool as they meet and they may trap gas, creating a characteristic mark on the finished part surface.

Weld lines may be unavoidable in many cases. They can be minimized to an acceptable degree by using conformal cooling channels where possible, by improving venting at the point of contact, or adjusting melt temperatures. Rough surface textures and/or painting will help to disguise weld lines.