Product Design
Product Design
Department - Engineering and Business Development Version Date - 00 - 1st June 2006
The inside radius should be at least half the part wall thickness The outside radius should equal the inside radius plus the part thickness (i.e. 0.100 wall and inside radius of 0.050 equals outside radius of 0.150)
This is why it is recommended that inside radiuses be a minimum of 1x thickness. In addition to reducing stresses, fillet radiuses provide streamlined flow path for the molten plastic resulting in easier fills.
Ribs
Ribs
Many times the stiffness of a part must increase because of the load applied to the part design. Without ribs, the thickness has to be increased to increase the bending stiffness One of the easiest ways to cure this problem is change the part geometry by adding ribs. The use of ribs is a practical way and economical means of increasing the bending stiffness i.e. the structural strength of a part. But there are guidelines that govern adding ribs without causing sink marks or surface blemishes to your parts. 1) Rib thickness should be less than wall thickness. A rib thickness of 60% to 80% of nominal wall thickness is recommended .Rib should be attached to the base with generous radiusing at the corners
Ribs
4) For thick ribs "core out" the rib from the back. This creates a hollow space underneath the part and maintains a uniform wall thickness.
5) At rib intersections, the resulting thickness will be more than the thickness of each individual rib. Coring or some other means of removing material should be used to thin down the walls to avoid excessive sinking on the opposite side.
Ribs
2) To increase stiffness increase the number of ribs or "gusset plates", another feature designed to strengthen the plastic part.
3) For a given stiffness, it is better to increase the number of ribs, not the height.
Ribs
6) The height of the rib should be limited to less than 3 x thickness.
7) The rib orientation is based on providing maximum bending stiffness. Depending on orientation of the bending load, with respect to the part geometry, ribs oriented one way increase stiffness. If oriented the wrong way there is no increase in stiffness.
Ribs
8) Draft angles for ribs should be minimum of 0.25 to 0.5 degree of draft per side. If the surface is textured, additional 1.0 degree draft per 0.025 mm (0.001 inch) depth of texture should be provided.
Bosses
Rule of thumb: the wall thickness around a boss design feature (t) should be 60% of the nominal part thickness (T) if that thickness is less than 1/8". If the nominal part thickness is greater than 1/8" the boss wall thickness should be 40% of the nominal wall. Height of the boss should be no more than 2&1/2 times the diameter of the hole in the boss to avoid surface imperfections like sink marks and voids:
Bosses Strengthening
The boss can be strengthened by gussets at the base, and by attaching it to nearby walls with connecting ribs
Boss Strengthening Technique Knit lines -these are cold lines of flow meeting at the boss from opposite sides ,causing weak bonds. These can split easily when stress is applied Knit lines should be relocated away from the boss, if possible. If not possible, then a supporting gusset should be added near the knit line.
Whenever possible bosses should be free standing, gusseted, or attached to sidewalls using ribs in order to minimize the potential for sink marks and shrinkage voids
Gusset plates are used to improve the torsional stiffness of free standing bosses
The depth of the pilot hole in the receiving boss should be greater than the screw engagement length (turns of penetration). The increase in depth removes excess plastic material resulting in a more uniform wall thickness. Excessively thick or thin sections at the base of the blind boss should be avoided. The radii values used for the fillet must be large enough to minimize stress concentration, yet must be small enough to limit shrinkage related problems such as shrinkage stress, sinks and voids.
*Pilot holes --- A molded or drilled hole in the boss that accepts the screw.
Holes
Holes
Holes are easy to produce in molded parts. Core pins that protrude into the mold cavity make the holes when the part is molded. Through holes in the molded parts are easier to produce than blind holes, which do not go all the way through a part. Blind holes are made by core pins supported on one end only. A good rule of thumb: the depth of the blind hole should be about twice the diameter of core pins up to 3/16",and up to four times the diameter of core pins over3/16". The guidelines for blind and through holes are seen below. Blind Hole (shown with draft): L= 2D for Diameters Less than 3/16" dia. core pins L= 4D for Diameters More than 3/16" dia. core pins
Holes
Through Hole (shown with draft) L= 4D for D <3/16" dia. core pins L= 6D for D >3/16" dia. core pins As shown below the distance from the edge of a hole to a vertical surface (i.e. rib) or the edge of a part should be twice the part thickness (or more), or at least one diameter of the hole. This same rule applies between holes - at least two part thicknesses or one hole diameter should be specified.
Holes
For every cored or molded hole there will be a weld line. The weld lines are caused by the flow of the melted plastic around the core pins. These weld lines are not as strong as the surrounding plastic material, and also may detract from the overall appearance of the molded part. The part designer should consider these points when designing holes in a molded part. when holes and other features run perpendicular to the parting line then retractable cores (or cams) are required. whenever possible all design features should be incorporated in the same direction of the mold opening so that cam action can be avoided. if in case the side cores are needed the designer should be aware of problem of side action core and the added expenses.
Snaps
Snaps allow an easy method of assembly and disassembly of plastic parts. Snaps consist of a cantilever beam with a bump that deflects and snaps into a groove or a slot in the mating part.
Snaps
Snaps can have a uniform cross-section or a tapered cross section (with decreasing section height). The tapered cross-section results in a smaller strain compared to the uniform cross-section. Here we consider the general case of a beam tapering in both directions.
Snaps
When Rh=1 and Rb=1 , the above formula does not apply, L'Hospital's rule applies and the formula is simplified to the following:
Disassembly force. The disassembly force is a function of the coefficient of friction, which ranges from 0.3 to 0.6 for most plastics. The coefficient of friction also varies with the surface roughness. The rougher the surface, the higher the coefficient of friction.
Snaps
There is an angle at which the mating parts cannot be pulled apart. This is known as the self-locking angle. If the angle of the snap is less than this angle, then the assembly can be disassembled by a certain force given by the above formula.
The self-locking angle a = tan-1(1/) where is the coefficient of friction which ranges from 0.3 to 0.6 for most plastics. This computes to angles ranging from 73 for low coefficient of friction plastics to 59 for high coefficient of friction plastics. If this angle is exceeded then the snaps will not pull apart unless the snap beam is deflected by some other means such as a release tool.
Snaps
If the snaps are to be used in the factory for assembly only (never to be disassembled by the end user), then the ramp angle the self-locking angle should be exceeded. If the user is expected to disassemble (to change batteries in a toy for example), then the angle should not be exceeded. Tooling for snaps is often expensive and long lead time due to The iterations required achieving the proper fit in terms of over travel. The amount of over travel is a design issue. This will control how easy it is to assemble, and how much the mated parts can rattle in assembly. This rattle can be minimized by reducing the over travel or designing in a preload to use the plastic's elastic properties. However, plastics tend to creep under load, so preloading is to be avoided unless there is no other option.
Snaps
Often, side action tooling (cam actuated) is required. This increases the mold costs and lead times. Cam actuated tooling can be avoided if bypass coring can be used that results in an opening in the part to allow the coring to form the step.
Design the latch taking into account the maximum strain encountered at maximum deflection In general, long latches are more forgiving of design errors than short latches for the same amount of deflection, because of the reduced bending strain.
There also must be sufficient space beneath the blind insert to facilitate material flow, avoid weld line formation and provide additional strength. Open Inserts: Open inserts should have shoulders on each end or can be slightly longer,0.001 to 0.002 inch than the cavity gap to provide positive shut off. Inserts in the direction of the mold are most easily molded and they are supported by core pins.
Drafts
It is best to allow for as much draft as possible for easy release from the mold. As a nominal recommendation, it is best to allow 1 to 2 degrees of draft, with an additional 1.5 min. per 0.025 mm (0.001 inch) depth of texture. See below. The mold parting line can be relocated to split the draft in order to minimize it. If no draft is acceptable due to design considerations, then a sideaction mold (cam-actuated) may be required at a greater expense in tooling
? ?