Automotive Plastic Injection Mold

In this project, developed for automotive interior and under-hood applications, we designed and built the injection mold for a plastic cover with reinforcing ribs and clip fastening. The key requirements were that the part snaps into place in a single motion on the assembly line, that the clip tabs can flex without breaking, and that no visible sink marks appear in the rib areas.

We carried out a moldability analysis on the customer's 3D model and proposed improvements for wall thicknesses, draft angles and rib ratios; once the model was approved, we moved on to mold construction.

• CAD-CAM 3D mold design and part moldability analysis
• Gate location, filling and warpage checks with mold flow analysis
• Mechanical core (slider) movements for the clip tabs
• Cooling channels positioned close to the rib areas

The mold plates, cores and sliders were machined on our CNC vertical machining centers with roughing and precision finishing operations. Fine finishing with small-diameter tools was used for the delicate details that form the clip tabs; all machining programs were prepared by simulating them in the CAD-CAM environment.

Trial shots were run with the assembled mold. Dimensions, clip insertion and removal, and visible surfaces were checked on the first samples; after the necessary fine adjustments, the samples were submitted for customer approval. [PLACEHOLDER] Add the number of trials and the corrections made.

The approved mold was delivered for series production; it produces clipped covers that fit without problems on the assembly line and show no sink marks in the rib areas. [PLACEHOLDER] Add measurable results such as cycle time, annual quantity and lead time.