CAEDSInjectionCastingDesign

Overallprocessofdesigningaplasticconsumerproduct
TampereUniversityofTechnologySannaNyknen

Plastic as a material gives exceptional possibilities for product design. When de Plasticasa
signing a plastic product, should be remembered that plastics are viscoelastic material
materials. This means that under loading there happens deformation and their
properties are depended on both short and longtime using temperatures. Also
differentkindsofchemicalshaveastrongeffectonthem.
Plastic product design does not difference strongly on designing products from Designinga
other materials. However there are many things that can make plastic product plasticproduct
design much easier. Especially at the beginning of the process plastic product
designshouldbetakenseriouslybecauseitisthemostbeneficialpartforthewhole
process.
Theaimofatechnicaldesignistoconnectrightkindofmaterial,designandrightly Technicaldesign
designedmould.Plasticproductshouldbeefficientandfunctional.Productshould
also have the required properties and material use should be minimized by way
thatdoesnotaffecttoproductsfunctionalityandquality.
Usuallyfunctionofproductdesignistodevelopabettersolutionforsomealready
existingsolution.Howeverthebestprobabilityforproducttosucceedisachieved
bydesigningatotallynewproduct.
Dependingonproductapplicationdifferentkindofthingsshouldbenoticed.Ifthe Aconsumer
productisanormalconsumerproductfollowingthingsshouldberemembered: product

Consumersabilitytoestimateproductislimited
Productshouldfillsetrequirements
Usability,serviceability
Integration
Attractiveness

Therecanbeseparateddifferentareasonproductdesign.Theseareascanbe Differentareasof
aproductdesign
Choosingrawmaterial

Designanddimensioning
Manufacturingmethodandmanufacturingparameters
Designingofmould
Environment
Legislationandmarket

Itisimportantthatrawmaterialsuppliers,toolmanufacturersandproductmanu
facturersworktogetherfromthebeginningofthedesigningprocess.Bythisway
manyproblemscanbesolvedmuchmoreeasilyoravoidedtotally.

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Somerequirementsforplasticproduct: Requirementsfor
aplasticproduct
Usabilityrequirements

Processingrequirements

Storagerequirements

Transportrequirements

Usagerequirements

Recyclingrequirements

Disposalrequirements

Officialrequirements

Standardrequirements




Designprocess


There are some basic things that should be taken into account when designing

plasticproduct.Someofthegeneralthingstoconcernarethingslikeminimization

ofstressconcentrationsandthermalstresses,useofribstostiffenaplatestructure

anddesigningforuniformspeedflowfrontsinmeltprocessing.

A.Startingpoint

1.Thesizeandshapeoftheproduct
Theenduseandrequirementsrelatedforusage
o Productsfunction
o Sizerequirements
o Designrequirementsprovidedbyfunctionality
o Serviceabilityandrepairability
Modificationrequirements
Standardization,officialrequirements
Aestheticrequirements
Transportationoperations
Weight

2.Structuralrequirements
Productslifespan
Structuralweightloads
o Loadsgeneratedfromproductsownmassandacceleration
o Loadsgeneratedfromattachedmassandtheiracceleration
Othermassloads
o Fromchangingmassresultedloads
Pressureloads
o Innerpressureload
o Outerpressureload(e.g.windloads)
Otherloads
o Impacts
o Vibrations

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3.Factorsaffectingloadsandtheircarryingcapacity
Temperatures
o Outerandinneroperatingtemperatures
o Temperaturegradientonperpendiculardirection
o Temperaturecycles,typesandincidence
Moisture
Chemicals
Erosiveeffectofrainandsolidparticles(e.g.sand)
UVlighteffectandotheraging

4.Othertechnicalrequirements
Surfacesmoothnessandfrictionproperties
Tightnessrequirements
Combustibilityandformationofpoisonousgases
Electricalconductivity
Thermalconductivity
Lighttransmission


5.Factorsrelatedtoproduction

Presumableoutputs(min/max)

Limitationsdirectedonproductsprice

Availabletechnologyandcapacity

Buyabletechnologyandcapacity


6.Targetadjustment
Weight
Price
o Sellingprice
o Lifecyclecost
Timeofdelivery
Targetsrelatedonusage
o Serviceability
o Repairability
o Convertibility
Othertargets

B.Preliminarydesign

1.Generalconfiguration
Designingofpartdivision
Preliminarymaterialandprocessingmethodchoosing
Preliminarydesignofjointing
Criterions
o Requirements
o Targets
o Processability

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2.Designinganddimensioningofparts
Specificationofcriticalloads
Specificationofmaterialsandmaterialcombinationsstrengthvaluesby
takenintoaccount:
o Operatingconditions
o Selectedprocessingmethods
Designingofparts
Partspreliminarydimensioning
o Fibredirections
o Structurethickness
Preliminarydesignanddimensioningjoints

3.Testparts
Designinganddimensioning
Strengthandfunctionaltests


C.Checkingresultsofpreliminarydesign
Doespreliminarydesignfillsetrequirements
Aresettargetsattained
Isresultfunctionallyoreconomicallytreatableby
o Changingpartdivision
o Changingmaterials
o Changingprocessingmethods

D.Finaldesign

1.Workingoutmaterialandprocessingspecifications
Requirementsrelatedtomaterialsandtheirquality
Requirementsrelatedtomanufacturing
o Specificationofmanufacturingprocess
o Requirementsofqualitycontrol
o Permittedtoleranceandmaterialdefects
Requirementsrelatedtohandlinganddelivery
Installationrequirements

2.Specificationofmaterialdesigningparameters
Dimensioningstrengthsandstiffnessbytakenintoaccount:
o Operatingconditions(loading,temperature,moisture)
o Chosenprocessingandqualitycontrolmethods(reinforcement
concentration,uniformityofquality,residualstresses)

3.Structureanalysis
Calculationofstrength,deformations,stabilityandvibrationalproperties
Checkingfunctionalityanddurabilityofstructure,neededmodifications
andfinalconfigurations

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4.Detaileddesigning
Designinganddimensioningofstructuraldetails
Workingdrawingsofparts
Assemblydrawings




Injectionmoulding

Itissmarttouseinjectionmouldingasaplasticproductsmanufacturingmethod
when products production output is over 1000 pieces. Mould manufacturing is
quite expensive and production output has to be this why large. Other reasons
wheninjectionmouldingisusedare:

productsaestheticrequirementsarehigh
productisanassemblywhichincludeslotsofconnectablepieces
productisasmallsizepiece
productgeometryisdifficultandhase.g.difficult3Dshapes



Design(concentratingmainlyonappearance)

Theaimofdesignistohaveaconsumertobuyaproductbecauseofitsappearance.
Another important function of design is products usability. Cost of processing
method should always be remembered to taken into account when designing a
plasticproduct.
With plastics there are some certain design features that have to be kept in mind Technical design
when designing injection moulded plastic part. These features can be listed as features
follows:
partthicknessdifferences partinglines
wallthickness placinggates
structuralstiffness placingejections
ribs threads
edgestiffening tolerances
bosses shrinkage
drafts assembly
undercuts surfacefinish.
radiiandfillets
holes

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Thickmaterialsectionshavetobeavoidedbecausetheycausesinkmarks,surface Thickmaterial
flaws, shrinkage hollows and they also lengthen cycletime. Sharp crosssection sectionsand
changescanleadtotensionsandthepartcangetbroken. designing
materialchanges
rightly






Figure1: Designingmaterialchangesrightly.

Wallthicknessisoneofthemostimportantthingstonotifywhendesigninginjec Wallthickness
tion moulded plastic part. Wall thickness should be as constant and thin as
possible.Typicalwallthicknessforinjectionmouldedplasticpartsisfrom0.8to4.8
mm, depending on parts size and used material and prosessing method. If the
structureneedsstiffening,itisrecommendedtotrytomakeitstifferbydesigning
andbalancingtensions.Ifthisisnotpossiblethendifferentkindofstiffenings,like
ribs,canbeusedandafterthatwallthicknesscanbemadeheavier.
Ribsmakeplasticproductstiffer,especiallywhentheyareusedonlarge,flatsur Ribs
faces.Thethicknessoftheribshouldbetopshalfofthepartswallthickness.The
heightoftheribsshouldnotexceedmorethanthreetimestheadjoiningwallthick
ness.Ifbetterstrengthisneeded,itisrecommendedinsteadofincreasingtheribs
height,toaddmoreribsonspecifiedproportions.Thespacingoftheribsshouldbe
at least twice the nominal wall thickness. Because sharp corners act as stress con
centrators,minimum25%oftheadjoiningwallthicknessshouldbeincorporatedat
thebaseoftheribs.Enablingpartsreleasefromthemould,atleast0.5draftangle
shouldbeincorporatedoneachsideofrib




t=basethickness,t0.5T
h=height,h=3T
r=cornerradius,r0.250.4T
S=spacing,S2T
Draftangle0.5


Figure2: Guidelinesfordimensioningribs.BasedonGEPlastics:DesignGuide

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T=wallthickness

D=reinforcingedgethickness

A=lengthofribfaceattachedtocomponentA,

A2T

B= distance between successive rib faces, B

2T

C=ribthickness,0.7TC0.5T

Figure3: Guidelinesfordimensioningribs.BasedonGEPlastics:DesignGuide

Likeinribdesign,itisimportanttoavoidthickwallsectionsinbossdesign.
Draft angles are use to ease parts ejection from the mould. The amount of draft Drafts
angledepende.g.onsurfacequalityandtextureofsurface.Usuallyatleastadraft
angleof0.5isrequired,butnormallytherecommendedamountofdraftangleis
from1.5to3.







Figure4: Usingdrafts.Basedon
Rosato:Injectionmoldinghandbook,page
603.

Sharpcornersandshapesshouldbeavoidedininjectionmouldedplasticpart.Itis Sharpcorner
important to use radius. Using radius is very important especially with notch
sensitivematerials.
Holesshouldbemadegoingthroughthepart.Thiswaytheycanbesupportedon Holes
bothsides.
Thegateareashouldbekeptawayfromtheloadbearingsurfaces.Thegateposi Gatepositioning
tioning should be such that there is a constant melt flow in the impression. The
gatesizeshouldbetwothirdsofpartsthicknessormore.
Somemosttypicalmoulddesigningerrorswhichcanusuallybeeliminatedare: Typicalerrors
Thick/thinsections,transitions,warpandstress whendesigning
Multiplegatesandweldlines injectionmoulded
Wronggatelocations parts
Partstoothinorthicktomouldproperly
Plasticflowpathtoolong
Runnersandgatestoosmall
Inadequatetemperaturecontrol
Runnertoolong
Partsymmetryvs.gatesymmetry
Hidinggatestubs
Livinghinges
Threadinserts
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References:

Plasticmaterials and their technical applications, Course material, Tampere Uni

versityoftechnology;Plasticsandelastomerslaboratory.
Rosatoetal.,InjectionMoldingHandbook,3rded.,Kluwer,2000.
Malloy,PlasticPartDesignforInjectionMolding,HanserPublishers,1994.
Pye,InjectionMouldDesign,LongmanSingaporePublishers,1989.
Dym,Injectionmoldsandmolding,VanNostrandReinholdComp.,1987.

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