1) Injection molding is an important manufacturing process that is used to produce plastic parts in large quantities. It is important to design parts for injection molding considering manufacturing guidelines to ensure quality parts and reduce costs. 2) Traditional DFM reviews are time-consuming and inconsistent. A new software called DFMPro automates DFM checks for injection molded parts using predefined rules. 3) DFMPro includes rules for injection molded parts related to wall thickness, draft angles, ribs, bosses, and undercuts that help improve manufacturability and part quality. Users can customize rules and the software enforces checks.

1. DESIGN FOR INJECTION MOLDING Get your Designs Right the First Time!

2. Importance of Plastics Plastic materials or polymers have a great advantage that by using different combinations of elements, one can create almost any property desired for an end product. These new polymers have similar properties to existing conventional materials but they offer greater design freedom and cost incentives for manufacturing. Replacing metals with reinforced plastic materials of similar properties, it is possible not only to reduce weight and component costs but also operational costs. Companies striving to cut out manufacturing and assembly steps and to succeeded so by using thermoplastic processing, such as injection molding, thus producing multifunctional and readily assembled parts in a single pass. © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com

3. Design of Injection molded parts Injection molding is a major part of the plastics industry and is a big business worldwide, consuming approximately 32 % of all plastics It is particularly advantageous when intricate parts must be produced in large quantities Design for parts for injection molding is important not only to ensure that the part is molded without any defects but also to improve tool life and reduce cycle time and manufacturing cost Many plastic manufacturers provide design guidelines for injection molded parts Additionally DFM reviews are practiced world wide in many organizations © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com

4. DFM Reviews – Traditional Method Detection of manufacturing problems in the design stage Background Issues related to product design go undetected until manufacturing trials Later on, they are expensive and time consuming to correct Easy to correct during design phase, but are difficult to detect at this stage Existing Practices Maintaining DFM checklists, guidelines-handbooks Periodic training of designers Manual reviews of design (by self / peers / seniors) Consultations with manufacturing experts © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com DESIGN MANUFACTURING OVER-THE-WALL ENGINEERING

5. DFM Reviews – Problems with Traditional Method © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com Manual reviews are cumbersome, prone to errors (and boring!) Time Consuming Process Inconsistent Design Quality Need for Proximity (between design & manufacturing engineers) No tools to enforce the checks

6. DFMPro Product © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com

7. DFMPro: Functionalities Supported Modules Prismatic Machining Turning Sheet Metal More than 30 rules provided for these 3 modules as part of Standard Package Facility to customize and add new rules © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com

8. New Module -- DFMPro for Injection Molding © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com The new injection molding module in DFMPro will help designers in automatically validate the design of plastic parts Design checks include standard rules and guidelines which not only improve the moldability of the designs but also improve the life of the mold. Certain included guidelines can also increase the operational life of the part and reduce it’s manufacturing cost Additionally, using DFMPro customization capabilities, users can create and apply their own rules for design validation Organizations can protect their IP by adding new rules to DFMPro in-house

9. DFMPro : Injection Molding Rules Uniform wall thickness Rule The base wall thickness in the part should be within the user specified range. Explanation The wall plays a part both in design concept and embodiment. It must be thick enough to do its job; but it must also be thin enough to cool quickly and thick enough to allow efficient mould filling. Usage Users can provide the applicable range of allowable wall thickness for checking the design © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com

10. DFMPro: Injection Molding Rules Recommended Rib Parameters Rule Rib Parameters must be as per recommendations for ease of manufacturing and obtaining desired part quality. Explanation Ribs need to be designed in correct proportion to avoid defects such as short shots and avoid sink marks and filling problems. Usage Users can provide the desired rib parameters for checking the design © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com

11. DFMPro: Injection Molding Rules Mold Wall Thickness Rule The mold wall thickness should be greater than a particular user specified value. Explanation If features like ribs, bosses are placed close to each other or the walls of the parts, thin areas are created which can be hard to cool and can affect quality. If the mold wall is too thin, it is also difficult to manufacture and may result in a lower life for the mold due to problems like hot blade creation and differential cooling. Usage Users can provide the minimum allowable wall thickness for checking the design © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com

12. DFMPro: Injection Molding Rules Undercut Detection Rule Undercuts should be avoided for ease of manufacturing. Explanation Undercuts typically require additional mechanisms just adding to mold cost and complexity. In addition, the part must have room to flex and deform. Usage Users can choose whether to check the design for undercuts © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com

13. DFMPro: Injection Molding Rules Minimum Radius at Base/Tip of Boss Rule The minimum radius at the tip/base of a boss should be at least as per specified value. Explanation A fillet of a certain radius value should be provided at the base/tip of boss to reduce stress. Usage Users can specify the desired base fillet radius as a ratio of wall thickness and tip radius as a absolute value or a ratio © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com

14. DFMPro: Injection Molding Rules Minimum Draft Angle Rule Draft angles should be provided on the inside and outside of part walls in the direction of draw. Explanation A fillet of a certain radius value should be provided at the base/tip of boss to reduce stress. Usage Users can specify the desired base fillet radius as a ratio of wall thickness and tip radius as a absolute value or a ratio © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com

15. DFMPro: Injection Molding Rules Maximum Cutout Area Rule The ratio of cutout area to nominal wall thickness should be less than a particular user specified value. Explanation Large openings in injection molded parts can lower the strength of the part. Reduce the size of the opening or reinforce the opening using strengthening ribs in the cross section. Usage Users can specify the desired base fillet radius as a ratio of wall thickness and tip radius as a absolute value or a ratio © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com

16. THANK YOU © Geometric Limited | www.geometricglobal.com The copyrights/ trademarks of all products referenced herein, are held by their respective companies. http://dfmpro.geometricglobal.com For any queries: [email_address]