Loose cavity inner undercut release method in injection Molding

one way to release the undercut is to loose cavity, the opposite of loose cores, loose inner cavity is used to remove the undercut in the cavity area, note the image below for more details,

1 = top plate
2 = runner stripper plate
3 = cavity plate
4 = core plate
5 = locking block for loose cavity
6 = angular pin for loose cavity system
7 = loose insert cavity

some designers also say that with the inner mold cavity slider, whatever his name is, in essence, functions and works the same way. when the first opening between the top runner stripper plate (2) with the cavity plate (3) top plate will pull locking block (5) together with the angular pin (6), aided by the spring on the insert cavity, this movement causes the loose insert cavity to move straight straight to the angular movement of the pin, as a result of friction between the angular pin with a hole in the loose insert cavity.

when construction is used, ie if your product has undercut formation on a position in the cavity region, angular corners and locking block commonly used ranged from 8 to 20 degrees, above the angle can cause angular cartilage pin was broken, because the force that fought too large.
Another thing to note is the stroke, you must ensure that the stroke of movement of loose cores must be secure, which is about the length undercut products coupled with the 5-10 mm.

Loose core for ejecting undercut at injection mold

Picture above shows the loose core, or often also called slope ejectors or inclined pin, loose cores is one method to overcome the undercut on the product, particularly undercut the core position facing into the bottom (towards the sprue bush-center of mold) that undercut it can not be made simply by using slider method, part of the loose core complete with mold base include:

1. Top clamping Plate
2. stripper plate
3. cavity plate
4. core plate
6. support plate
7. top ejector plate
8. bottom ejector plate
9. bottom clamping plate
10. loose core rod
11. loose slide unit
12. bushing

for more details look at the picture below, which shows the current position of loose cores prior to the occurrence of loose core ejecting position after ejecting process, shortly after the mold is closed and the injection process, loose cores in the closed position (note the closed mold), after the injection process is complete done, at the push of ejector rod, ejector plate both upper and lower parts helped push out through the ejector, while the loose-core because it has a certain slope (generally 8-15) when driven will move slowly into center with the aid of friction on inclined leader pin bushings, so the position Loose cores are separated from the undercut product (mold opened)

 

Slide the unit mounted on the ejector plate is always on the top or at the bottom, and the main mover of the loose core are ejector rod simultaneously with the process of ejecting, points to consider in designing the loose core is strokes and angles used, too little angle of it can reduce the occurrence of abrasion (wear) but required a long stroke.

If angle is too large can cause the inclined pin (loose core) broken because of the occurrence of high abrasion, but required a shorter stroke. The angle that is used is usually between 8-15 0, while the stroke must be exceeded 5 mm or more to keep the loose core is certain regardless of the undercut in the product.

using mold base become locking block of slider unit

moldbase sometimes can be used for the locking block on the slider unit, this is basedon several reasons, for example, to reduce cost, by reducing the insert locking block, the other reason is required surface area for the locking block.

illustration picture above shows the angular pins are bolted to the mold base and the mold base made pocket instead of locking block,

to keep the process easy to do maintenance, should be installed oil slide plate, so when it can wear easily replaced without the need to change their plate slider block.
This model is widely used for large parts and molds with a tonnage greater than 350 tons, other advantage is the size of the mold base to be more compact and small, so the cost for the mold base can also be reduced, and if the size is smaller base can mold into tonnase also smaller

runner components of injection mold

Runner components between the two mold plate and three plate mold because there are different functions of these components, but there are several components that can be used in general without looking at the type of mold construction.

1.Runner lock pin
The main function of the runner lock pin (RLP) is an pulling runner so
the gate can be disconnected/cut from the product, RLP fitted with a straight gate position, the head planted on the top plate, while in the body mounted on the cavity plate (3) up to the top
plate (1). RLP does not move during the injection process lasts, mold base plate
moves accordance with the mold opening sequence, the tip of the runner lock pin is the part that greatly affects the success or failure of the gate runner cutting process. Greater the undercut which is the stronger the ability of RLP to attract runners from the gate, the type of plastic material also influenced for selection of RLP.
2.RLP Lock
RLP lock have function to maintain RLP order not to loose from its position, there are various ways to lock them RLP
* closed with a locating ring or sprue bush or heat insulation board.
* using a plate
* use a screw plug
3. Bushing RLP
high cycle time mold or need durability are advised to use the bushing,the benefits include easy maintenance of RLP, more resistant to wear due to friction so it's can avoid direct contact between RLP and mold plate that can caused wears, this method will shorten maintenance time.
4. Ejector runner
Only used if the runners stuck on the stripper plate mold base or stuck on the cavity mold bases, the use of the runner ejector can help the runner release from the place that was not supposed to stick. Other components are collar to the head of RLP, and change flow components

Lifting bolts hole design in injection mold

Plate transfer process occurs during the machining and assembly of mold, both for the cavity and mold base plate, especially for the plate with a weight greater than 20 kg, threaded hole necessary to facilitate the transfer process. cause may be in a mold plate having a various of machining processes with different types of machines. Base on position of hole the type of lifting bolts can divided became two, perpendicular to face, and parallel with face of plate.

perpendicular to face

beside transfer process, lifting bolts also important for lift out cavity insert from mold base, flat wide plate usually use magnet to lift from one machine to another machine or station, but if shape of plate doesn’t flat it need bolts hole to attach eye bolts, then use crane that connected to eye bolts for lifting the mold base plate or cavity plate.

Parallel with mold face.

Especially for mold base, this hole must available because transfer mold base usually use eye bolt that connected to crane, for mold base plate that use horizontal machining also use this hole to connected with crane, picture below shown mold base with metric bolt hole and eye bolts ready for transfer with crane

Runner Design in Injection Mold,

in designing the runner, first-time we must consider items that affecting  runnersize, some of which
- Volume of part, the greater the volume takes a larger diameter runners anyway.
- Weight of part, the heavier parts, it takes a larger diameter runners.
- Plastic materials, plastic materials with low viscosity, aqueous requires a smallerdiameter runner.
- Wall thickness, the thicker the greater the diameter of the runner is needed.
- Length of flow path, the longer it takes the flow of large diameter runner.

picture above shown some factor that we must consider before choosing right diameter of runner, 

Cross Section Area

various cross section area use on the market, It depends on the heat loss, machining requirement, but the most popular cross section area are circular, parabolic and trapezoid section area, picture below shows three

Diameter

to determine the diameter, based on the type of material and wall thickness, the following chart can help, for similar materials PP, PA, POM, PC, PE can use the following graph, first select the appropriate thick wall thickness and look heavy parts, and then pull the line down, the approximate diameter required will be obtained

Injection Mould Venting System, a little part of design that have big effect on part quality

venting is a small part of the mold design, on the design process also requires a very short time, perhaps only 10% or less of the total time required in designing.sometimes is frequently neglected until molding trials indicate mold inadequacies related to venting. if we understand the purpose and function of vents, it's can assists mold designer to design where clearly additional vents required.

when the cavity space injected by plastic material, automatically empty space on the cavity will be filled with plastic material, the air in the cavity will be shifted to another place, what would happen if the air can not move, the air will experience a high pressure , so the temperature rises even higher, resulting in plastic that fills the cavity will be burning, the defect is called a burn, because of the importance of venting a lot of products that fail due to not properly inject the gas vent, especially for products that have a rib that thin and tall, as compared to thick products.

source : Plastic Today


The main function of the venting is
A. compressed air release
when compressed air is not expelled from the cavity, the plastic flow is inhibited, the result will be formed on a short shot of the product
2. compressed air will produce a gas with high temperature and burn the plastic around it, resulting in a defect burn marks, the product looks like a burn, this will greatly affect the look of the product.
3. when the gas mixed with plastic, the plastic will generate an uneven structure, which will reduce the strength of the product / mold parts produced, stress concentration also common in this region, which occurs due to the plastic notch.

for more detail about effect of adequate of venting on injection mold, please see on picture below

part of venting, can divide on 2 section, land and groove, land is always contact with plastic melt, it's deep about 0.01 mm until 0.02 mm, depend on viscosity of material, relief of vent or gas land is about 1 mm until 2mm, but you must remember for rubber all the number above can't applied, gas vent on rubber material is very special, because rubber has low viscosity.
when designing the gas vent / venting on injection mould, make sure that all of the groove must have exhaust groove that connect to atsmosfer.

Cooling Layout and Cooling method between core/cavity and mold base

Cooling is most important parameter when talking about cycle time reduce, some of my friend who very interest in injection mould still confuse how to design cooling system in injection mould, before talking about optimal design, first we must be familiar with the term and design standard that will be used.

Basic Cooling Layout

in principle, the more uniform temperature in the cavity, the better the resulting product, the more uniform and rapid heat transfer processes during the process of solidification occurs, the faster the cooling process, and of course the faster the cycle time that happened.when designing, to keep the cooling process is rapid and uniform cooling channels should be sought closer to the wall of the product, especially for regions of high and thick walls. therefore the cavity cooling channels is essential.

in the image above, is an example of basic connections cooling layout, its parts are
A. cavity colored with blue
2. green is mold base
3. yellow is cooling joint plug
4. white is hose connection to connecting cooling joint plug

on the left side of mold in above picture, we see that two pcs of cooling joint plug (yellow color) in that side, is for input and output of cooling mold base and cooling channel from the machine.

Rectangle Like Layout
depend one cooling layout is a favorite around the product, because the drilling process should be straight, then the shape is rectangle, except in the form of circular gear will be retained.

collapsible core for demolding/ejection system of internal screw undercut

one common way used in the ejection system for an internal screw is used collabsible undercut core, which requires collabsible core product generally has the undercut on the inside, for example an internal screw, pipe fittings, elbow pipe, use collabsibe core is not only on the core course , undercut the slider is also often used collabsible cores.
video below gives a simple explanation of how Collapsible cores working

http://www.die-moldtool.com/

Main Component
The three units are a Collapsible Core, center pin, and a positive collapse sleeve.

cenTer pin
The Center Pin serves to expand the segments of the Collapsible Core to their molding position and holds them at this diameter. A hole is provided inside the pin for cooling. The center pin is manufactured of a high alloy Type D-6 steel hardened to 60 to 65 Rockwell C or use SKH 51, SKD 11. Refer to the pin grinding instructions for machining directions. In use the pin must incorporate two design features. The pin must protrude beyond the face of the collapsing core segments by certain amounts. This protrusion keeps material from flowing under the face of the collapsing segments to ensure they properly collapse. A radius must be applied to the outside corner at the front of the center pin. The sharp edge resulting from cutting the pin to length will gall and subsequently destroy the inside surfaces of the collapsing core segments
collapsible core
The Collapsible Core is manufactured from A.I.S.I. Type A-2 steel hardened to 51 to 57 Rockwell C. It is designed to collapse independently when the center pin is withdrawn. The fit between segments is controlled to permit flash free molding. The location of the core on its pin is critical. The distance between the back of the core flange and the front of the center pin flange (Head Space) is critical and must be maintained.
If the Head Space (1.938 ±.005 on a CC 202 PC) is not maintained, unsatisfactory operation will result, or the core may be permanently damaged.
posiTive collapse sleeve
The Positive Collapse Sleeve (PC sleeve) is designed to function when the Collapsible Core fails to collapse independently upon withdrawal of the center pin. In normal operation, the PC sleeve is not functioning. It is essential to have such a unit for maximum safety and reliability in automatic and semi-automatic operation. Under no circumstances should a mold be placed into automatic operation without the use of the PC sleeve.

picture above shown collapsible core and the component, detail explanation about CC we can find it in DME standard part http://www.dme.net/dme/resources/FAQs/collapse_cores.html