Feed system design

Runners, gates and ventig

Isometric section of two-plate mold
Two-cavity molding with runners and sprue
Eight-cavity molding with runners and sprue
Isometric section of three-plate mold
Animation three-plate mold
To summarize, the feed system should:

• impose a minimal pressure drop, typically no greater than 50% of the

pressure required to fill the mold cavities or 50 MPa;
• consume a minimum amount of material, typically no greater than
30% of the volume of the mold cavities for cold runner molds;
• not extend the mold cooling time
 Diameter ratios

Example: Consider the feed system layout provided in

Figure. If the diameter of the base of the sprue is 6 mm,
suggest the diameter of the primary runners to maintain a
uniform melt front velocity. −6
𝑚3
50 𝑐𝑐 = 50 ∙ 10
𝑠

To validate
𝑄 𝑄 Divide by n
𝑣𝑠𝑝𝑟𝑢𝑒 = = 𝑣𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟 =
𝑆𝑠𝑝𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑆𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟
Feed system selection. Guidelines
Series layout of runner system

The series layout of runner systems is not

frequently used in precision applications.
 Branched layout of runner system
‘’Melt Flipper”
Naturally balanced systems melt temperature imbalances associated with the
turning of the melt across multiple branches
 Radial layout of runner system

Longer primary runners and more waste is

Flow rates and melt pressures are naturally balanced necessary as the size of the cavities increases.
with only a moderate amount of runner volume
Hybrid (branched-radial) layout of runner system
Custom layout of runner system
General guidelines

• The total length of the feed system should be as short as possible to minimize material
consumption;
• The total length of the feed system should be as short as possible to minimize pressure drop
through the feed system;
• Naturally balanced feed systems provide greater cavity to cavity consistency with respect to melt
flow, melt pressure, and molded part quality than artificially balanced designs;
• The total number of branches in a feed system should be minimized to avoid excessive runner
volume and potential melt temperature imbalances;
• To minimize pressure drop for a given feed system volume, the diameters of the feed system are
generally largest with the sprue and subsequently become smaller with the primary, secondary,
and other runners with decreasing flow rates;
• Economic analysis is vital to determine the correct number of mold cavities, the layout of the
mold cavities, and the type of feed system; and
• Hot runner and three-plate molds should be considered when cavities in a two-plate mold
obstruct the desired layout of the feed system.
Estimate Pressure Drops

To verify laminar flow, the Reynolds number, Re, should be less than 2300

ሶ 𝑚3
𝑉𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑡 = 50 ∙ 10−6
𝑠
𝑘𝑔
𝜌𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑡 = 1000
𝑚3

𝜇𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑡 = 100 𝑃𝑎 𝑠

𝐷 = 0.01 𝑚
Estimate Pressure Drops

Hagen Poiseuille law

Power law
k the reference viscosity
n power law index of the polymer melt at the melt temperature
Example
Example
Example

This pressure drop is significant but reasonable compared to typical injection pressures of 150 MPa
Sprue bushing dimensions
Runner block
Comparing round and trapezoid runner cross section
Typical runner cross section
Modified trapezoid runner sizes
Hydraulic diameter for different runner sections
Runner diameters for commun materials
Measuring runner length Increasing runner diameter by 20%

Sweeping radius runner path