Designing parts for injection moulding
31 October 2022
A collaborative strategic partnership approach to DFM when designing plastic injection moulded products.
How can you guarantee perfect moulded parts
Product design evolves through many phases of development before all the elements are ultimately documented and ready for injection moulding production. The last step in the development process is the most critical, as once the tooling is commissioned design changes and corrections significantly add cost and cause project delays. Even with sophisticated mould flow simulation, 3D CAD interference checks, rapid prototyping and numerous other development tools, it is impossible to predict every potential problem for an injection moulded part.
It starts with understanding the key objectives
Tex Plastics have a customer centred approach from the start of every project. Our plastic injection moulding development team, strive to create lasting partnerships with our customers. This often starts with a concept design for manufacture process – but could be a cost down review of an existing component or product. Understanding your key objectives, your business model and the market help us to help you to develop better products.
The complexities of engineering moulded plastic parts
Volume injection moulded plastic parts means understanding the methodologies essential for creating a highly efficient production process. Which is why the Tex Plastics ‘design for manufacture’ team of qualified product designers guide you through every step of the design process. Helping you transform your product design concepts into design for manufacture in any material. The team has considerable knowledge and experience, designing and manufacturing complex technical plastic moulded products and components that are used across a broad range of high-reliability and safety critical industries. Design for manufacture is actively employed and applied during Tex Plastics design and manufacturing processes.
10 point checklist for injection moulding development
Plastic part design optimisation is complex as it involves working directly and collaboratively with customers’ design and quality engineers. Understanding the products design needs, through mould making to production as well as secondary operations such as printing, welding and heat staking.
- Material options and consequences
- Critical tolerances
- Sink marks and cosmetic surface
- Steel safe - areas for snap fits, interlocking parts, etc
- Gate location - part geometry based on gate design
- Shut-off angles
- Draft angle orientation
- Texturing and draft
- Scheduling of critical start-up phases
- Secondary operations and fixtures
Add in the consideration of functionality, assembly and sustainability
Design for Manufacturing (DFM) describes the process of designing or engineering a product to reduce its manufacturing costs, allowing potential problems to be fixed in the design phase which is the least expensive place to address them. However, this is in reality a four step approach to plastic part design optimisation. Using and integrating technologies supporting the plastic injection moulding DFM process is challenging. It involves communication and collaboration between moulder, OEM and customer, across many different disciplines.
Design for Manufacturing > Functionality > Assembly > Sustainability
When you involve your injection moulder early in the development cycle, your objectives can be understood and the development process more often results in a better finished product. Avoiding delays and reducing risks for costly design changes can mean that your product gets to market faster than your competitors. If you are looking for an injection moulding partner who can provide expert consultation from design to production completion then get in touch.