A proper mold design increases your chances of success in every way. Injection molding is difficult at best, a good 3D design will give you the edge.
Your moldmaker will be confident that the components will all fit, the dimensions all work together, and the mold will ultimately function as it should.
The molder will have confidence in the mold design, and the operation of the mold itself. You molder won’t be second guessing the design and it will help him process the parts.
Most of all, you customer will be delighted with a clean, flash-free, dimensionally correct plastic part.
What is important in good mold design?
- A good design must be practical. The moldmaker must be able to produce the components in a logical, orderly manner to make money.Often, close tolerance dimensions are specified when a much looser tolerance could’ve easily done the job.Take an ejector pin plate, for example. Everyone knows that the thickness is basically irrelevant, but usually the dimension given is a close tolerance size. An experienced toolmaker will just ignore the tolerance and proceed, but nowadays, with the specialization of tasks in the shop, a less skilled operator would waste precious time holding an unreasonable tolerance.
- The 3D geometry must be clean. The fast pace of moldmaking today makes it essential to have efficient, reliable software. The days of vague sketches, or toolmakers making up the design as they go are long gone. There are many excellent companies supplying very usable software programs for designing molds, as well as other things.CNC machines need clean geometry to run properly. If the design is sloppy and the translation of different software messy, the end result will show it. Plus, the operator will have a much easier time running the programs.
- The design must be clear in it’s function. It is maddening for a toolmaker to spend hours deciphering what the designer means. Information that is assumed or omitted can delay the construction by days and cause unecessary errors.It is always much easier to include notes or details that show what is required than to search it out later on. Once the design is in process, and the information is available, why not simply give the moldmaker the same information? For example, a 3D drawing can visually clarify many questions.
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Here are some established mold designers
Best Mold Design Small firm in the Chicago area with vast experience in mold design, as well as product design, 3D modeling, and invention development. They understand industry and the need for efficient and well planned designs that work. They serve the automotive, appliance, medical and consumer markets.
This is a good source to develop an idea, design a part, and design the mold or other tools required. Software includes Pro/Engineer, SolidWorks, and AutoCad.