When engaged in the production of plastic products, it turns out that it is difficult to predict in advance exactly what the result will be in production, that is, it is difficult to predict what the dimensions and deformations of the product will be.This is due to the fact that a plastic injection molded product shrinks in the mold after it is injected into it.The shrinkage is not precise, and it may also cause distortions in the product.To reduce this uncertainty, and to prevent making costly mistakes in the construction of the mold, a computerized analysis can be performed, which will give us a forecast of the production process
How is the analysis performed?The analysis is carried out using dedicated software such as MOLFLOW or MOLDEX.The operator enters the software in a three-dimensional file of the product,and supplementary data such as:- The plastic raw material of the product - each material has a different shrinkage, and for fiber-reinforced materials, for example, the percentage of shrinkage along the fibers is different from the shrinkage across the fibers, which complicates the analysis even more.- The mold temperature.- the temperature of the injected material.- Location of material inputs.- and so'The software analyzes the data, and produces a lot of data on 4 main topics:How to fill the material in the mold.The distribution of pressures in the injection cavity inside the mold.product shrinkage.Deformations in the product.
What can be learned from the analysis?
From the analysis it is possible to learn, among other things:
- What will be the expected dimensions of the product, and the expected deformations considering the structure of the mold and the type of raw material.- Is the product manufacturable (for example, is it possible to flow raw material in areas with a thin wall thickness).- What is the recommended number of entrances for the product, and what is the ideal location for them.- Where air may be trapped in the mold while filling the product, and accordingly plan the release of air in the mold.- Where are the material connection lines expected to be in the product and what is their severity. Is the connection line for the entire depth of the product or only superficially?- What will be the density of the plastic raw material in different areas of the product, a non-dense area of the product may be weak.- What is the estimated cooling time, an important figure for pricing the product, and also helps in choosing the location and size of the injectors (those that extract the product from the mold).
In summary
The analysis is an important tool in the planning of the product and the pattern, it shortens the development process, saves costs and time of repairs and changes in the pattern, so it is recommended to perform it before making patterns.
What are we doing in the field?
The company CoreTech System, which markets the Moldex3D software that performs analyzes for injection molded plastic products, received approval for an American patent for a development that allows predicting the direction of the fibers in a product manufactured with fiber-reinforced material.for further reading:http://app.getresponse.com/click.html?x=a62b&lc=XQQPq&mc=Ci&s=VNO4Ut&u=Be1e&y=q&
To perform an analysis for a plastic product, you are welcome to send a message with your contact information to the following address:
Email: info@plastomold .com
Tel: 1-800-350232
