Component Design
Component Production | Troubleshooting | Far East Moulding
These pages provide design considerations and help with plastic moulding design to avoid common pitfalls caused by incorrect moulding design and save you both time and money. We're not advising what can or can't be achieved, as most moulding designs, features and materials can be accommodated - but there is always a cost.
1. Design the plastic moulding yourself, preferably using 3D CAD. Send us the CAD models in DXF, DWG, IGES, Parasolid, Pro-Engineer, SolidWorks format. We can, provide more accurate quotes, create tool drawing/s and manufacture mould tools.
Get a design company to create CAD models for you, but ensure you use one with experience of plastic moulding design. Alternatively, we could design the moulding for you, which has a number of advantages -
a) we understand your needs and can adapt the design, if necessary, to ensure that it can be injection moulded and
b) by getting C3 to design your plastic moulding, you can have greater confidence, save time and money. Once approved, we can also make the mould tool and plastic mouldings.
2. If you'd like to see what your plastic moulding will look like before having a tool made, we can use the CAD files to make solid models of your parts - SLA models are made by a machine which reads the 3D CAD data and then uses a laser and a resin to build up the model. You can use this to e.g. test the 'fit' in your assembly.
For functional models with snap fits, living hinges etc use SLS not SLA models.
Plastic Moulding Design Considerations
1. To help avoid sink marks (depressions) in the plastic mouldings and make them easier to manufacture, keep wall thickness' even and avoid thick areas by coring them out. As a guide, joining walls should be 50% of the thickness of the thickest section.
2. If possible, state generic plastic material types on drawings e.g. 10% Glass Filled Polycarbonate rather than trade names e.g. Lexan 500R - if you prefer, please state e.g. Lexan 500R or equivalent. Also, try to specify a plastic material that adequately deals with your needs, rather than one that greatly exceeds them.
This enables us to purchase the moulding material you need from more than one manufacturer and thus, keep lead times to a minimum and save you money by keeping our plastic moulding prices to you at the same level for longer. For help with choosing plastic materials, please view our plastic material guide.
3. Consider the environment that the plastic mouldings are going to be used in - will they need to have e.g. a certain mechanical strength, be clearly colour coded or protected from ultraviolet light or static damage ?
If so, ensure you state these requirements when asking for a plastic moulding quotation - without them, incorrect plastic materials could be suggested, inaccurate quotations given and even costly tool modifications incurred.
