Instructors: Amanda Nicholson, Erik Foltz, Brian Pruitt
Course Prerequisite: None
 

Course Description:

The goal of this free, half-day seminar is to help you optimize the cooling of your injection molds to improve part quality and reduce cycle time. The seminar will include three classroom-style presentations and a Q&A session.

Presentation 1:

How your Cooling Line Layout and Mold Design is Influencing your Part Cost and Part Performance Cycle time optimization is often one of the main objectives when designing and constructing the mold. However, the majority of a molding cycle is often dictated by the cooling time. Therefore, it is strange that in the mold design process the integration and design of the cooling line layout and high conductivity inserts is often left toward the end of the design process where the design envelope has been drastically reduced. It is also commonly believed that the placement of the cooling lines is the only driver for properly cooling the part, and its design only influences the manufacturability of the part. This presentation will highlight the importance of all aspects of the mold cooling design on molding efficiency, and will also highlight how decisions on this design aspect of your mold actually influences the end performance of your plastic part. These points will be illustrated through practical engineering calculations, and validated through case studies.

Presentation 2:

Cooling Analysis Strategies to Optimize Your Mold Design Using Injection Molding Simulation As an industry, injection molding places a great deal of importance on achieving fast cycle times without sacrificing part quality. Projects can be won or lost based on how accurate an assessment can be given for how long it will take to make a quality part. While traditionally molders have focused on using back of the envelope calculations or previous experience, many have now turned to injection molding simulation to help provide more accurate cycle times. This presentation will highlight, through case studies, how injection molding simulation can be integrated into any part of the product or mold design process to help optimize the part quality, reduce cycle time, and ensure dimensional stability without requiring longer lead times.

Presentation 3:

Benefits of Using High Temperature Pressurized Water for Mold Temperature Control This presentation will show how High Temperature Pressurized Water can be used as an alternative and better solution to other traditional methods of achieving higher mold temperatures. You will learn different methods of achieving higher temperatures with water along with the advantages and disadvantages of each. By the end of the presentation, you will know what is needed before introducing High Temperature Water Units into your facility and process. Other topics will include other technologies available in Temperature Control.

 
How high temperature pressurized water can be used to achieve high mold temperatures, which are needed to process high-performance engineering resins.

To get the most out of the event, schedule a meeting time with Erik and Amanda the morning of September 20, or the morning of September 21, to discuss your problematic parts and ask questions on maximizing part quality, optimizing cycle time, and reducing part warpage.

This is the second of three free, half-day seminars that will be offered by The Madison Group at the Polymers Center in 2023. The final event will be a Failure Analysis Seminar on November 8. We hope to see you there!