Methods to reduce cycle times come in many forms. Often improvements may be focused on mold performance, part design or automation, but molders may be overlooking a significant opportunity.

Implementing an intelligent process cooling system can optimize water temperature, flow and control, all which improves part cooling in the mold and decreases cycle times by up to 20 percent.

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Once molten plastic has been injected into the mold cavity, it takes time before the molding has cooled and become sufficiently rigid to allow it to be demolded. This period is called the cooling time and often forms a significant part of the injection molding cycle. There are two important reasons why we need the cooling time:

1. To help us design the mold’s cooling system
We need to know how efficient the cooling system should be in order to remove a certain quantity of heat energy from the molten polymer in a given time.

2. To determine the cost of each molding
The cooling time is part of the overall cycle time, on which the molding-cost calculation is based. In the following, a simple method of calculating cooling times will be described. Since the calculation produces only a rough estimate, it is important to understand what assumptions and simplifications are made in order to be able to interpret the results properly.

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Join Andy Routsis, founder and president of A. Routsis Associates, as he discusses effective ways to reduce cycle time and process efficiency through part design. Andy will share a few of his approaches to part design with respect to cooling line layout, part removal, and part thickness.

This seminar can benefit mold designers, part designers, processors, and anyone involved in the part and mold procurement process. All attendees will also receive follow-up materials relevant to the discussion.

Reserve your seat today!

In case you missed our most popular webinar to date, you can view it here.

Designing with Plastics is an indispensable tool for every engineer and designer working with plastic materials. It will assist in the development of plastic parts that are not only functional and esthetically pleasing but also manufacturable while meeting ever increasing end-use requirements.

The short but concise introduction into the specific properties of this material class focuses on the practical needs of the designer and lays the foundation for the following in-depth discussion of part design suitable for production and the intended end-use application. Numerous detailed examples highlight practical tips and rules of thumb for successful part design.

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