The demand for innovative, new plastic products that are lighter, faster, stronger and less expensive than metal ones has gained incredible traction in the last decade. Many Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have been moving toward the innovative possibilities that engineered resins offer. Proper material selection is a critical injection molded part design consideration to ensure the finished product survives its intended use, environment and compliance requirements.
Plastic Molded Concepts is one of few plastic injection molding companies in the world who specialize in molding engineering-grade resins. For over 45 years, Plastic Molded Concepts has helped customers successfully develop and launch over 10,000 injection molded parts and products. We can provide mold design consultations to help you through the process of bringing your preliminary plastic part design up to being capable of manufacturability to the properties necessary. Our injection mold design guide covers the essential considerations to ensure the success of your parts.
Quality Injection Molded Part Design
To prevent design and quality challenges before the molding process even begins, it is imperative to partner with an experienced plastic molding company early in the plastic injection mold design process. A seasoned plastic molder will be able to provide manufacturability feedback and provide solutions for the correction of improper mold design. By getting them involved early, you can expect fewer changes after the molding process commences which helps to lower material and labor costs. Furthermore, it will help you avoid dreadful end-use product failures and expedite time to market. Below are some important aspects to keep in mind.
Injection Mold Design Guide
Part Use & Purpose
One of the top considerations for injection molded part design is the purpose of your part and how it will be used. It is important to identify things such as the application your part will be used in and what function it serves, if it is a single component or part of an assembly, if it will be used continuously or periodically, the market it is intended for, and who will handle the end product.
Material Selection
A leading cause of failure in plastic injected molded parts is improper material selection. Strength requirements, operating requirements, and aesthetics all play a role in selecting the right material for your part.
Engineering grade resins are ideal for mission-critical parts that must withstand exceptional conditions often found in demanding markets such as medical, military and aerospace, industrial, and automotive markets for example. Demand for these higher performing materials is expected to increase.
PMC specializes in molding engineering-grade resins. If you are using a commodity molder but believe your application falls into the engineering-grade category, we can help. Contact us and we can help you select the right material for your part.
Molding Gate Design
Our Master Molders typically find issues with mold gate design which can lead to the part having too much molded-in stress to survive its intended environment. Gate design is critical to achieve quality molded parts. It is essential that gate material, size and location are optimized to prevent expensive and time consuming defects.
Considering these plastic injection mold design factors are critical to the success of your finished part. At PMC, Advanced Quality Planning (AQP) is used to launch new products with design and manufacturing processes that ensure all of your cost, quality and delivery expectations are met. We offer a variety of plastic injection molding services and solutions.
Take the first step and download our Design Considerations Checklist to begin the molding process with us.