Injection Molding - Design Your Product for Manufacturing

[@PredictableDesigns]

Get your free Ultimate Guide - How to Develop and Prototype a New Electronic Hardware Product in 2023: predictabledesigns.com/guide And get your other free guides: From Prototype to Production with the ESP32: predictabledesigns.com/esp32 From Arduino Prototype to Mass Production: predictabledesigns.com/from-a... From Raspberry Pi Prototype to Mass Production: predictabledesigns.com/rpi Prevent mistakes by downloading your FREE DESIGN REVIEW CHECKLISTS for the schematic circuit, PCB layout, and enclosure 3D model design: predictabledesigns.com/design... Want my personal help on your project? If so, check out my Hardware Academy program: predictabledesigns.com/Academy

[@ThatTalkingDogGuy]

Pure gold at 7:39, "...when you're designing a plastic part, you have to really keep in mind what you're really designing is the mold for that part". Brilliant

[@PredictableDesigns]

Wow, thanks! Glad it was insightful!

[@PolymerDynamics]

Thank you for taking the time to make a quality video like this to openly educate the interested on injection molding!

[@PredictableDesigns]

You're most welcome! Thanks for commenting.

[@cesarruizamador3120]

I am fortunate to have found your channel. I am currently drafting a provisional patent application in which I am including the manufacturing method. Understanding the relationship between the design of a component and its possibilities of being produced by injection molding has saved me from making a mistake that would have made me look like a beginner. Thank you very much.

[@PredictableDesigns]

Great to hear, thank you!

[@mikejaques4702]

Best tech Chanel period for tech startups.

[@PredictableDesigns]

Wow! Thank you Mike!

[@jojoflyfffan]

I dont understand how you only have 5k subscribers. This video was so usefull for me. Thanks! Subbed.

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thank you so much for saying that! Cheers!

[@C-M-E]

I've done various molding projects, mostly composite work, and more than a fair share of MSLA printing, but you're spot on with regards to transferring a design from printable to moldable. As I've learned from experimenting on my current project, adapting composite molds with inserts and cores to injection has been, in a word, interesting. What I ended up doing was designing and building a screw-based injection machine for injection molding via ceramic molds with inserts to facilitate a low-volume run of GF-nylon parts. It's a bit of a round-about way of getting what I need done, but being a self-funded project for the time being, it's the most direct way I can operate a relatively modest budget.

[@PredictableDesigns]

Interesting you mentioned ceramic molds which is something I discovered recently.

[@savannahroos2314]

Hello CME. Is there any chance you could create a custom mould that I could send to manufacturers over seas? I have a picture of the design. Would you be willing to do that for a cost?

[@C-M-E]

@@savannahroos2314 Normally I don't conduct business via youtube, but I can certainly help evaluate a better course of action to see if/what you need done needs that route. What are you trying to achieve? Me personally, I do short run molds for composite work that typically result in a dozen or so copies with very specific use cases. Again, depending on what you're trying to do, there's a decent chance you can get something made domestically if not in your own home for pennies compared to what a manufacturer is going to charge. Sending something overseas typically goes with just a design, and your chosen manufacturer will charge for the mold, do the production run, then charge you a separate fee if you want the mold shipped with your parts.

[@jordantaylor9165]

Thank you for explaining this is such a simple, understandeable way. You are great!

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thank you!!

[@jacquelinesears1770]

That was AWSOME top mold and bottom mold The top mold is the A plate and or Cavity of the Mold and the bottom mold is the B plate and or Core but great try

[@toddmurphy407]

Great video. We're working on a small hardware project and started with FDM material but recently changed to a nice Resin printer to get more detail and a little stronger. I wanted to get your opinion if using resin for a small enclosure is good for a prototype or for our first 5 to 10 customers to test and get usage?

[@PredictableDesigns]

SLA prototypes can be a better choice for getting customer feedback. But it still has a different feel and performance than injected plastic. But I always encourage getting prototypes in the hands of customers sooner than you think. My first prototypes for my product I presented to customers were SLA printed.

[@MAYERMAKES]

I suspect it might be cheaper to have an additional cosmetic cover piece for some holes if it avoids having side action/multiparty molds.

[@PredictableDesigns]

The problem is then you need a separate mold for the cover which adds a lot more cost. Most designs can be done without need for side actions, you just have to sometimes get creative. Thanks for commenting!

[@jacquelinesears1770]

lifters or slides are very costly@@PredictableDesigns

[@graceryan6807]

Thank you for the video. Are there any exceptions to the wall thickness rule? I'm designing a silicone product that has thinker walls on the corners for structural support and I'm wondering if I need to change the design.

[@PredictableDesigns]

You're welcome! Most of my experience is with molding rigid plastics versus flexible silicone. But the uniform wall thickness rules prevents warping during cooling which should be critical to silicone too. Inside my Hardware Academy we have a great mechanical engineer who could answer this better than I can since I'm an electrical engineer.

[@graceryan6807]

@@PredictableDesigns Good to know! Thanks for your reply.

[@printlife9016]

Thanks John. If a product were sold online and its enclosure needed injection molding, however, the product has little sales in the beginning, which means small orders cannot meet MOQ of the injection molding manufacturers, so I wonder what you would think about rapid tooling to produce the products with low quantity? I'm not sure if this is a recommended way to reduce financial risk for product's production?

[@PredictableDesigns]

Well it depends on the number of units and the acceptable quality. If you are looking for a moderate number of units (let's say a thousand or more), then using aluminum molds is your best option. These are much cheaper than steel molds and typically cost around $2k for each mold. The total cost though depends on how many custom pieces of plastic you need since each will likely require it's own separate mold. However, you do have the option of what is called a "family mold" which is a single mold with multiple cavities each for a different part. They do have limitations such as the fact that all of the pieces have to use similar amounts of plastic. If you can get all of your parts into a single family mold you will save a lot of money. Protolabs.com and ICOmold.com are two companies that do aluminum molds. If you are looking more at a couple hundred units, and the final production quality isn't quite as critical, then you could use what is called urethane casting which uses soft silicone molds instead of metal. These cost only a few hundred dollars, but they have to use urethane which won't match the final production plastic quality. Finally, if you can do so, using an off-the-shelf enclosure is the way to lower your risk the most and simplify your life. You can either buy standard box-like enclosures, or you could find a manufacturer making an existing product with a similar enclosure, and then approach them to see if you can buy just the enclosure. Hope this helps.

[@printlife9016]

@@PredictableDesigns Thanks John. That's very informative!

[@nicholaskorth1420]

great video, maybe tone down the sound effects in the future

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thank you Nicholas, always appreciate the feedback!

[@jacquelinesears1770]

Thicker and thinner section more impotently it has to do with what we call shrink it will distort the part

[@jacquelinesears1770]

I cant make a sharp corner I assure everyone mold makers can make sharp corners we minimize sharp corners because they create breaking points just so you know

[@georgen9755]

Grade II professor

[@mostwantedmes]

With sls tech you don't need mold

[@PredictableDesigns]

You do for production.

[@mostwantedmes]

@@PredictableDesigns now you can make part with better quality using sls tech and good materials like nylon or C p12 ' and the result is the same and better is depends on the materials you use .

[@UnexpectedBooks]

This was a great introduction. Thanks! Any thoughts about HP‘s high volume, low cost per part 3-D printing? kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpnRXmxolNFlo6M

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thank you! Although I think additive processes like 3D printing are the future of plastics manufacturing we're not quite there yet for most products. It is very challenging to compete with injection molding on per unit pricing especially as the production volumes get really high. You may enjoy this podcast interview I did with an expert where we discuss 3D printing for mass manufacturing: predictabledesigns.com/episode-14-additive-manufacturing-with-steve-szymeczek-of-penumbra-engineering/

[@jacquelinesears1770]

Over all it was ok its very difficult to try to explain Injection molds in 5 hours let alone 14 minutes