The design, manufacturing and use of economically friendly injection molds

Abstract

Much of the polymer manufacturing done today involves the process of injection molding. It can be difficult to gain experience in the art of designing and building tooling for this process outside of industry. The goal of this project is to simplify the process involved in the design of an injection mold to a level suitable for use by motivated undergraduate engineering students. Discussion is centered on the state of the art of mold building. A great deal of attention is also paid to the use of the Battenfeld Plus 250 injection molder and the use of Solidworks MoldTools as tools for the design and use of mold tooling. By following the design, manufacturing, and use of a mold, a great deal of insight into the process and work required to produce the plastic items that we use every day is provided.