Precautions for Plastic Mold Design and Processing

Plastic Mold is a tool used in the plastic processing industry to match plastic molding machines, giving plastic products a complete configuration and accurate size. Due to the wide variety of plastic varieties and processing methods, as well as the complex and simple structures of plastic molding machines and plastic products, the types and structures of plastic molds are also diverse. So, what issues should be paid attention to in the design of plastic mold processing?

1、 Don't just focus on product design and ignore plastic mold manufacturing.

Some users often focus only on product research and development in the early stages of product development or trial production of new products, neglecting communication with plastic mold making units. After the preliminary determination of the product design plan, there are two benefits to contacting the mold manufacturer in advance:

1. It can ensure that the designed product has good forming technology and will not be modified due to difficulty in processing parts.

2. Mold makers can make design preparations in advance to prevent hasty and inadequate consideration, which may affect the project schedule.

3. To produce high-quality plastic molds, only through close cooperation between supply and demand can costs be reduced and cycles be shortened.

2、 Don't just focus on price, consider all aspects including quality, cycle time, and service.

1. There are many types of plastic molds, which can be roughly divided into ten categories. Select different types of molds for forming based on different requirements such as part materials, physical and chemical properties, mechanical strength, dimensional accuracy, surface smoothness, service life, and economy.

2. Plastic molds with high precision requirements require the use of high-precision CNC machine tools for processing, and there are strict requirements for mold materials and forming processes. CAD/CAE/CAM mold technology is also needed for design and analysis.

3. Some parts have special requirements during molding, and advanced processes such as hot runner, gas assisted molding, and nitrogen cylinder are required for the mold.

4. Manufacturers should have CNC, EDM, wire cutting machine tools and CNC imitation milling equipment, high-precision grinding machines, high-precision coordinate measuring instruments, computer design and related software, etc.

5. Generally, for large stamping molds (such as automotive cover molds), it is necessary to consider whether the machine tool has an edge pressing mechanism, even edge lubricants, and multi station advancement. In addition to stamping tonnage, consideration should also be given to punching times, feeding devices, machine tools, and mold protection devices.

6. The manufacturing methods and processes of the above-mentioned molds are not possessed and mastered by every enterprise. When choosing a collaborative manufacturer, it is necessary to understand its processing capabilities, not only in terms of hardware equipment, but also in combination with management level, processing experience, and technical strength.

7. There may be significant differences in quotes from different manufacturers for the same set of molds. You should not pay more than the value of the mold, nor should you pay less than the cost of the mold. Mold manufacturers, like you, need to achieve reasonable profits in their business. Customizing a much lower priced mold would be a troublesome start. Users must start from their own requirements and measure comprehensively.

3、 Avoid multi head collaboration and try to integrate plastic mold production and product processing as much as possible.

1. With qualified plastic molds (with qualified specimens), it is not necessarily possible to produce batches of qualified products. This is mainly related to the selection of machining machines for parts, forming processes (forming temperature, forming time, etc.), and the technical quality of operators.

2. With good plastic molds, there also needs to be good forming and processing. The best way is to have a one-stop cooperation and try to avoid multi head cooperation. If the conditions are not met, one party must be fully responsible and it must be clearly stated when signing the contract