Injection Mold Design

To register, fill out the registration form and fax it to (978) 934-2028. For more information about registering, click here.

3 DAY LECTURE/WORKSHOP
OFFERED TWICE:
June 11-13, 2012 (CRS# 00.726-011)
August 6-8, 2012 (CRS# 00.726-021)
8:30am-5:00pm

TUITION: $1195

OVERVIEW
Injection Mold Designers are faced with the difficult task of designing a tool that will produce quality thermoplastic products at acceptable production rates. In addition, the tool must operate consistently over the long term with minimum maintenance requirements. Unfortunately, the injection mold is generally a complex piece of tooling, as it must incorporate many necessary functions.

This three-day seminar on Injection Mold Design should give those involved in the thermoplastics injection molding industry a strong fundamental understanding of tooling technology and the underlying engineering principles in the areas of melt flow, cooling, part ejection and mold structure.

In addition, the important topic of injection mold instrumentation is given special consideration as the use of mold pressure and temperature instrumentation is increasing rapidly. These variables have been shown to be extremely useful as a measure of process stability and part quality.

Laboratory workshops will provide participants with an opportunity to study the injection molding process using instrumented tooling. Students will also be exposed to some of the latest computer-aided mold design tools and techniques.

CONTENT

Plastic Materials Behavior

• Flow properties of plastic melts; thermal behavior/properties; material shrinkage; test methods; filled/reinforced materials; use of material data in mold design

Review of the Injection Molding Process

• Materials handling; plastication/melting; injection phase; packing and holding phases; cooling phase; part ejection; machine/mold interactions; machine controls

Fundamentals of Plastic Product Design

Basic Functions and Types of Injection Molds

• Two-plate molds; three-plate molds; insulated/modified molds; hot runner molds; specialty molds

Sprue Bushings and Nozzles

• Mold location; cold sprue designs; hot/insulated sprues; mounting and cooling of bushings

Gate Location and Type

• Orientation effects/shrinkage; number of gates; weld lines; core deflection; types of gates

Cold Runner Systems

• Cavity layout; balanced systems; pressure drops; runner balancing for family molds; runner cooling

Computer-Aided Mold Design

• Mold filling; mold shrinkage

Structural Design of Injection Molds

• Deflection of cores and cavities; mold support system; clamp surface area

Venting of Injection Molds

Cavity/Core Insert Mounting

Part Ejection

• Ejection techniques; engineering design of ejection systems; ejection of undercuts

Mold Cooling and Heating

• Cooling methods; cooling time calculations; fluid flow/heat transfer considerations

Mold Clamping Systems

Injection Mold Instrumentation

• Mold pressure measurement; mold temperature measurement; parting line sensors

INSTRUCTOR
Steve Thibeault