Injection Molding Design Process
The success of your injection mold design could mean the difference between keeping and loosing customers. Because the design process is so crucial, there are many important guidelines to keep in mind.
What Are The Six P’s?
The six P’s are a series of criteria to help you to plan your injection molding design. Each represents a different aspect of the design process geared toward helping you make the right choices for your particular production run.
Get To Know The Six P’s:
Purpose
What is the purpose of your part? How will the part ultimately be used? This is the most essential question you should ask, because it guides all of the other considerations in this process.
The questions above aren’t as straightforward as you think. There is a large margin of error, so using the checklist below helps to clarify the purpose and use of the part you’re producing.
Ask Yourself And Your Team:
Properties
What properties does your part need to perform properly? Whether you’re in British Columbia, Quebec or Ontario, your injection mold design will require different properties based on location and purpose.
Here Are Some Properties That You May Want To Consider:
Place
What place is your part destined for? What climate and where will your part be used? Environment plays a key role in the injection mold design process. Exposure to the elements, as well as chemicals, water, sunlight, fire and corrosive materials are all considerations you should include in your injection mold design process.
Here Are Some Conditions To Consider When You’re Designing Your Mold:
Pretty
Well, most often we wouldn’t consider parts to be “pretty”, but the aesthetics of a part plays a role in its overall design. The look of a part can either add or detract from its overall function and popularity. Looks can also play a part in the success of your production run. A part with jagged edges, uneven thicknesses, and unnecessarily protruding areas can potentially stick to the mold and ultimately slow the production run.
To Avoid This, Here Are Some Important Questions To Ask:
Permissions/Pre-Certifications
Your part may need to pass certain requirements to be used or sold. You may need to pre-certify the design before your part is produced and formally certified. Depending on the part’s purpose and destination, you may need private, federal or international permissions or certifications.
Oftentimes parts must pass certain requirements in order to go to market. These may be private, governmental, national or international regulations.
Here Are Some Examples Of Organizations Your Part May Need To Be Compliant With:
Product
Which resin product you use is the second most important aspect to consider and it’s dependent upon all of the previous guidelines we discussed. The wrong resin product can mean the difference between success and failure. Whether that failure is during the extrusion process or, worse yet, while the part is in use. Make sure you use the criteria above to determine which resin is right for the job.
Baytech Understands The Importance Of The Six P’s
Baytech Plastics, Ontario’s injection molding design specialist for over 60 years. Contact Baytech for more information on how we can walk you through the six P’s and ultimately to success.
