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PLASTICS PART DESIGN and MOLDABILITY

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PLASTICS PART DESIGN and MOULDABILITY
Injection moulding is popular manufacturing method because of its high-speed production capability.
Performance of plastics part is limited by its properties which is not as strong (as good) as metal. There
are applications where the available properties of the plastics can be useful. The strength of plastics can
be improved with reinforcement of glass fiber, mica, talk etc.
Plastics generally have following characteristics,
Light weight - low density,
Low conductivity of heat and electricity - insulating properties,
Low hardness,
Lower strength than metals,
Ductile,
Dimensional stability- not as good as metal,
WALL THICKNESS
Solid shape moulding is not desired in injection moulding due to following reasons.
Cooling time is proportional to square of wall thickness. Large cooling time for solid will defeat
the economy of mass production. (poor conductor of heat)
Thicker section shrink more than thinner section, thereby introduce differential shrinkage resulting
in warpage or sink mark etc. (shrinkage characteristics of plastics and pvT characteristics)
Therefore we have basic rule for plastic part design; as far as possible wall thickness should be
uniform or constant through out the part. This wall thickness is called nominal wall thickness.
If there is any solid section in the part, it should be made hollow by introducing core. This should ensure
uniform wall thickness around the core.

What are the considerations for deciding wall thickness?

It must be thick and stiff enough for the job. Wall thickness could be 0.5 to 5mm.
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It must also be thin enough to cool faster, resulting lower part weight and higher productivity.
Any variation in wall thickness should be kept as minimum as possible.
A plastic part with varying wall thickness will experience differing cooling rates and different shrinkage.
In such case achieving close tolerance becomes very difficult and many times impossible. Where wall
thickness variation is essential, the transition between the two should be gradual.
CORNERS
When two surfaces meet, it forms a corner. At corner, wall thickness increases to 1.4 times the nominal
wall thickness. This results in differential shrinkage and moulded-in stress and longer cooling time.
Therefore, risk of failure in service increases at sharp corners.

SINK MARK IS INEVITABLE.

Temperature dependent change in volume - 29% in crystalline and 8% in amorphous-.
Compressibility of melt under pressure is 10-15%.
On falling temperature of melt in the mould, decrease in volume is more than the increase in volume
on relaxation of pressure.
Therefore void can not be perfectly filled in. Hence sink mark is inevitable.
CHANGE IN VOLUME and DENSITY OF MATERIAL
Materials

HDPE
(crystalline)

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Specific volume
AT 20 degree C

Specific
volume AT 200
degree C

cubic-cm / g

cubic-cm / g

1.03

1.33

% age
change

29 %

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PS (amorphous)

0.97

1.05

8%

Density

Density

HDPE
(crystalline)

0.97

0.75

22.7%

PS (amorphous)

1.03

0.952

7.8%

To solve this problem, the corners should be smoothened with radius. Radius should be provided
externally as well as internally. Never have internal sharp corner as it promotes crack. Radius should be
such that they confirm to constant wall thickness rule. It is preferable to have radius of 0.6 to 0.75 times
wall thickness at the corners. Never have internal sharp corner as it promotes crack.

RIBS for stifness consideration

Ribs in plastic part improve stiffness (relationship between load and part deflection) of the part and
increases rigidity. It also enhances mouldability as they hasten melt flow in the direction of the rib.
Ribs are placed along the direction of maximum stress and deflection on non-appearance surfaces of
the part. Mould filling, shrinkage and ejection should also influence rib placement decisions.
Ribs that do not join with vertical wall should not end abruptly. Gradual transition to nominal wall
should reduce the risk for stress concentration.

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Ribs should have following dimensions.

Rib thickness should be between 0.5 to 0.6 times nominal wall thickness to avoid sink mark.
Rib height should be 2.5 to 3 times nominal wall thickness.
Rib should have 0.5 to 1.5-degree draft angle to facilitate ejection.
Rib base should have radius 0.25 to 0.4 times nominal wall thickness.
Distance between two ribs should be 2 to 3 times (or more) nominal wall thickness.
MOULDABILITY consideration
While designing plastic part, pitfalls in achieving quality, consistency and productivity must be
considered. It is wrong to assume that shapes can be moulded successfully with out any defects. All
shapes may not be 100% mouldable. To improve the mouldability injection moulding process has to be
understood in depth.
Part design obviously has to be influenced by the intricacies of the process.
Filling phase of the process is influenced by type of gate, location of gate, number of gates, size of gate
(also dependent on material viscosity). Gate should be located at such a position from where flow path
to thickness ratio (flow ratio)is constant in all direction. The difference in flow ratio could be as small as
possible. In some cases where thickness variation is unavoidable, melt must flow from thin section to
thick section for better mouldability. Melt flow from thin to thick results in poor moulding. The size of
gate should not result in excessive pressure drop across it. It should be adequate to handle flow rate
required.
Resistance to flow and viscosity determines the filling pressure. Filling pressure variation should be
gradual and not abrupt. It should be remembered that flow thinner section introduces shearing of melt,
resulting in lowering of melt viscosity. This is the shear thinning nature of thermoplastics melt.

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Filling phase is influenced by wall thickness variation as it introduces variation in resistance to flow in all
directions from the gate. Melt is held in cylindrical shape in plasticating cylinder before injection. When
the melt is injected through gate and runner system, melt streams move equally in all directions only
when resistance to flow is equal in all direction.

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It should be realised that variation in wall thickness, hole / slot, variation of mould surface temperature
introduces variation in resistance to flow. Therefore melt moves in number of streams with different
velocity in different direction and mould does not fill in balanced manner.
When melt streams reach boundary at the same time it can be called balanced filling. When some
stream reaches the boundary early and some other streams reach late - this time lag to complete the
filling of part results in induction of moulded-in stresses in the part.

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See various results of Moldflow Analysis.

Unbalancing flow can be corrected by using flow-leader / flow deflector and multiple gates so as to
form the melt stream shape very close to the projected shape of the part.

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Ideally all the melt streams should move with the same velocity till the mould is filled. Variation in cross
section area (due to changes in wall thickness or slot) introduces variation in melt stream velocity.
Hence the freezing of melt can not be uniform through out the part. It should be realised that while
freezing, cross section through which melt can flow reduces thereby introducing increasing resistance to
flow. When some stream freeze faster then other, faster freezing streams introduce increasing resistance
to flow. Therefore, balance in filling can not occure and moulded-in stresses are induced.

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WELD LINE IN MOULDING

Weld line ocures when two melt streams join. Melt stream gets divided at cutout (core) in the part and
they join at the other end of the cut out.
Normally weld line region is filled at the end of injection stroke or during pressure phase.
Strength of the weld line is weak when partially frozen melt front meet. The orientation at the joint
remains perpendicular to direction of flow -a sign of weakness.
Weld line can form by melt stream flowing in same direction or in opposite direction.
It is not possible to eliminate weld line, but it can be made sufficiently stronger or its position can be
altered.
MELT STREAM FROM OPPOSITE DIRECTION
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CHANGING WELD LINE POSITION

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Over cooled region can also freeze faster than lesser cooled region. When freezing is not uniform, melt
moves through narrowing cross section of slow freezing stream and overpacks the slow slow freezing
stream region. Hence uniform mould surface temperature distribution is very important. This has to be
achieved through proper design of cooling channels for turbulent water flow.
Melt temperature is highest near the gate. Hence freezing likely to be slower near the gate. This
happens near the gate during pressure phase of the process. Here over packing can be controlled
through proper profiling of pressure - reducing with time.
COOLING consideration
Volumetric changes associated with changes in temperature and pressure should be understood well.
Click here see pvT characteristics of thermoplastics.
Dimensional variation of mould cavity and core during moulding, moulded part before ejection and after
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ejection and thereafter sever hours later is described in this figure.

Balance in heat exchange during a cycle time ensures the consistency moulding.
EJECTION consideration.
Adequate draft angle, good surface finish, mechanism to handle undercut, stregic location of ejector
pins etc should be the consideration of part designer.

SUMMARY
Design Factors

To improve mouldability, understand the following;

Gate

Ideally at geometric center of the part.

Melt stream shape is similar to projected shape of the part by
multiple gate or suitable type and size of the gate.
Locate gate at thickess section so that melt flow from thick to
thin section.

Wall Thickness

No variation in wall thickness. Larger the variation means

poorer mouldability. Rib thickness 50 -60% of wall thickness.

Pressure drop in
runner system

Runner system should be designed for high pressure drop,

thus minimising material in runner, in order to give low runner
to part weight ratio.

Flow pattern

Distance (L/T ratio) from gate to boundary in all direction, if

not same, provide flow leaders or flow deflectors to balance
the flow to improve mouldability.
Lower the difference in L/T ratios in different direction, better
the mouldability.

Melt temperature
variation in side
mould

Variation of melt temperature should be with in 10 degree

centigrade. Shearing through narrow wall increases melt
temperature.

Filling Pressure

The good mouldability occur when pressure gradient i.e.

pressure drop per unit length, is constant along the flow path.

Maximum Shear
Stress

The shear stress during filling should be less than a critical

value. This critical value depends on material and
application.This data is available with Moldflow software.

Melt stream
velocity

Ideally, all melt streams move at same velocity.This can

ensure same cooling time for all melt streams.
Difference in velocities as less as possible for better
mouldability

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Avoid hesitation
effect

Melt flow from thick to thin section is better for mouldability.

Weld-lines

Weld-line distance from gate should be as less as possible for

better mouldability.
Weld line can be shifted by using frame of suitable thickness.

Hold-on pressure

Multi steps with reducing pressure with time to avoid

moulded-in stress near the gate.

(not desin factor but processing

factor)

Thermal shut off of

runners.

The runners must be sized for thermal shut off when the cavity
is just filled and sufficiently packed, to avoid overpack or
reverse flow, in and out of cavity, after the mould is filled.

Heat exchange

Consistent mould temperature can only be ensured when

there is balance between heat in and heat out during moulding
cycle time. Cooling channels must be designed with the help
of MoldFlow software.This should ensure uniform cooling
time to enhance mouldability.

Core and Cavity

dimensions

Core and cavity Dimensions computed taking into

consideration mould-makers tolerance, mould shrinkage and
post moulding shrinkage.

Easy ejection

Proper taper on the part and smooth polished mould surface

facilitate easy part ejection.

MECHANICAL consideration.
BOSSES
The boss is required for fixing or mounting some other part with screw. It is cylindrical in shape. The
boss may be linked at base with the mother part or it may be linked at side. Linking on side may results
in thick section of plastic, which is not desirable as it can cause sink mark and increase cooling time.
This problem can be solved by linking boss through a rib to the side wall as shown in the sketch. Boss
can be made rigid by providing buttress ribs as shown in the sketch.

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Screw is used on the boss to fasten some other part. There are thread forming type of screws and
tread cutting type of screws. Thread forming screws are used on thermoplastics and thread cutting
screws are used on inelastic thermoset plastic parts.
Thread forming screws produce female threads on internal wall of boss by cold flow - plastic is locally
deformed rather than cut.
Screw boss must proper dimensions to withstand screw insertion forces and the load placed on the
screw in service.
The size of the bore relative to the screw is critical for resistance to thread stripping and screw
pull out.
Boss outer diameter should be large enough to withstand hoop stresses due thread forming.
Bore has slightly larger diameter at entry recess for a short length. This helps in locating screw
before driving in. It also reduces stresses at the open end of the boss.
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Polymer manufacturers give guidelines for determining the dimension of boss for their materials.
Screw manufacturers also give guidelines for the right bore size for the screw.
Care should be taken to ensure strong weld joints around the screw bore in boss.
Care should be taken to avoid moulded-in stress in boss as it can fail under the aggressive
environment.
Bore in boss should be deeper than the thread depth.

Quality of screw connection in plastics

Screw connection would obviously be successful only if driving torque is less than the stripping torque.
Torque required to drive in the screw is driving torque. The torque required to tear away the internal
thread is called stripping torque. Boss should be designed with factor of safety higher than 2. The ratio
of stripping torque to driving torque should be more than 2 and preferably 5.
Stripping torque depends on
Thread size and
Boss material.
Stripping torque increases as screw penetrates and tends to level off when the screw engagement is
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about 2.5 times screw pitch.

Driving torque depends on
Friction and
Ratio of bore size to screw diameter.
When force required to hold something down exceeds the screw pull out force, the screw thread in the
plastics boss will shear off .
Pull out force depends on
Boss material,
Thread dimensions and
Length of screw engagement.
Click here to see Understanding QUALITY
Let us understand the factors influencing quality consistency in processing and quality in
performance
Let us understand moulding problems.
Let us see the analysis of plastic part failurs carried out by RAPRA.

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Things to know- Process

Things to know- Polymers

Things to know- Part Design

Things to knowMachine

Injection Moulding
Process

Screw Plasticating

Moulding

Key factors influencing proces Shear strain curve

pvt diagram

Thermal stability

Balancing melt Flow

Balancing Heat

Freezing

Q uality Problems

Three Balances

Moulded-in Stress

Shrinkage

Inconsistent Dimension

Sink-mark

Weld-lines

Moulding Problems

CYCLE TIME

Plastics Part Design

Flow Analysis

..

..

Engineering Basics in
Machine

Glossary of technical
terms- Physics

Glossary of technical termsPolymer process

Myth

Understanding Mould Cooling Ideal Moulding Shop

Channels

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Things to know- Mould

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