Designing for Injection

Molding
A COMPLETE GUIDE TO DESIGNING YOUR PART FOR INJECTION
MOLDING

By:

Basilius Inc.
Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Understanding the Injection Molding Process ..................................................................................................... 4
The Mold ............................................................................................................................................................... 5
Material Choice ..................................................................................................................................................... 9
Design: Must-Haves ............................................................................................................................................ 11
Design: Best Practices ......................................................................................................................................... 14
Surface Finish ...................................................................................................................................................... 17
Warp ................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Insert and Overmolding ...................................................................................................................................... 23
Hinges and Clips .................................................................................................................................................. 24
Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................... 27
About Basilius ..................................................................................................................................................... 28
Introduction
Just over 100 years ago, the first Injection Molding press was created. The machine was simple but
effective, and it started an industry that will forever change manufacturing. Although the fundamentals of
this process haven't changed, the technology deployed by the industry has advanced significantly. From the
machines themselves to other tools like CAD systems, FEA analysis, and simulation software, we have gone
from the age of limited knowledge to what can be borderline overwhelming.

This guide is for the designers, the creators, and the engineers that are building the products we use every
day. Starting with those century-old fundamentals and ending with advanced parts designs, this guide will
give you the knowledge you need to design your part around the injection molding process. You will learn
how to optimize key characteristics like strength, functionality, and cost by focusing on design.
Understanding the Injection Molding Process
The injection molding process starts with the plastic material in the form of small pellets. These plastic pellets
are heated until molten, injected into a mold, and then cooled in the mold to form the finished product. This
process is carried out by an injection molding machine and consists of a few stages represented in the
diagram below.

Mold Close

Mold Open
Injection
/ Ejection

Cooling /
Charging

1) Mold Close / Clamping

a. Molds consist of two halves that are opened and closed by the molding machine.
2) Injection
a. Molten plastic gets injected into the mold under high pressure. The injection stage involves
several processing parameters, each of which can have a significant impact on part quality.
3) Cooling & Charging
a. The part begins to cool inside the mold to solidify the molten plastic. At the same time, the
molding machine begins preparing for the next cycle by melting a specific amount of
plastic.
4) Mold Open / Ejection
a. Once the part is cooled enough to hold its shape, the mold opens, and the molding machine
actuates the ejection system of the mold. The ejection system removes the
finished part from the mold and allows for the cycle to start over.

The entire process could happen in as little as a few seconds or as long as a few minutes. The longer the
process takes, the higher the cost of the plastic part. The design of the part controls the cycle time, so you
can imagine the cost implications of not designing for injection molding!
The Mold
Each mold is unique to the part it makes and can become quite complex. Complexity aside, all molds serve
the same function. Each mold has a part form called the cavity; a feed system for getting molten plastic
to the cavity; a cooling system, which cools the part; and an ejection system, which removes the part from
the mold.

A mold will have two halves referred to as an "A" and "B" side or “front half” and “back half,” respectively.
For most components, the A-side is the show side of the part. For example, if the part needs to look nice on
one side, it will be on the A-side of the mold. There are exceptions, but this is the most common application.

Where the A-side and the B-side meet is where the mold separates to eject the part. The meeting point of
the two halves is also the parting line and may have several implications for part design (covered later). The
direction that these two halves move relative to the part is the "line of draw." In the image below, you can
see an open mold. The front half of the mold creates the A-side of the part, and the back half creates the B-
side of the part. You can also see the line of draw shown by the arrow on the left.
For many parts, some features will not be in the line of draw (undercuts). In this case, the part will be
impossible to eject off the mold; that is, unless we add some components (such as cam actions or lifters) that
move with the mold open/close. Although they add cost to the mold, these components are simple and
effective ways of producing undercuts. In the image below, you can see an example of a part requiring an
action. There are two holes perpendicular to the line of draw of the mold. The next two images show a cam
action that moves forward when the mold closes to mold the part (left image), and as the mold opens,
retracts to allow ejection (right image).
With the mold closed, the A and B halves (and actions if in use) seal around the parting line. We now need a
feed system to get molten plastic to that empty area (cavity). This feed system will consist of a sprue, runner,
and gate. In the image below, the sprue is green, the runner is red, and the parts are blue. The transition
point from the runner to the parts (red-blue) is the gate. Note that the terms “sprue” and “runner” are
often used interchangeably because the two components are one piece after molding.

The sprue is the first section of the feed system, where plastic first enters the mold from the molding
machine. From there, the sprue goes into a series of runner channels, through gates, and into the cavities.
Depending on the application, some or all these sections of the feed system will keep the plastic molten at
all times. If the feed system remains molten, it is a Hot Runner system. A traditional feed system where the
sprue and runner cool on each cycle is a Cold Runner system. There are also hybrids of the two where
a Hot Runner system will feed a shorter Cold Runner.

Note on Hot Runners: The sprue and runner will be ground and recycled back into the process. If
the amount of recycled material (regrind) creates a high concentration of regrind to virgin material,
the excess could be waste. The hot runner system prevents that by either shortening the amount of
cold runner or eliminating it. The hot runner system also yields better process control and
potentially faster cycle times. They are more common in high volume applications, larger parts,
where there is no regrind allowance, or if a manufacturer does not want to process regrind.

We now have molten plastic inside the mold and in the cavities. The mold surfaces in contact with the molten
plastic need to cool the plastic as fast as possible. During this cooling time, the mold is transferring heat out
of the plastic and into a cooling system. The cooling system consists of a series of water (sometimes oil)
channels. Water or oil circulates through the cooling channels to both maintain mold temperature and
remove heat from the plastic.

Each of these basic aspects of the mold can become quite complex. From a part design perspective, consider
the position of the part in the mold, the parting line, and the line of draw. Although a good mold
designer will help you with this, it's good to keep these things in mind as you get started. Later chapters cover
this in more detail.
Material Choice
With dozens of manufacturers, hybrid materials, additives, and fillers available on the market, there are
thousands of material options. This can be overwhelming. However, in reality, there are only a handful of
materials that make up the bulk of the market. It's easier to understand if you start with some core material
characteristics.

Plastics (in this context) are nothing more than groups of polymer chains. These are microscopic groups
of repeating atoms (think of it like DNA). The composition of these polymer chains varies between different
types of plastics. That variation has a significant impact on the properties of the plastic and your part. Two
plastics could look the same but exhibit drastic differences in performance.

Getting into the details here is far beyond the scope of this ebook. For the sake of design, we just want to
understand the general characteristics of plastics. We will look at the major characteristics of plastics
and some design considerations. There are two major categories of plastics—Thermosets and
Thermoplastics

Thermosets
When processed, a thermoset plastic goes through a chemical reaction. This reaction creates bonds in the
polymer chains. The chemical reaction is not reversible and can only happen once, so the use of regrind is
impossible. The tradeoff is the potential for high-strength and high-temperature resistance. Common types
of thermoset plastics are epoxy, silicone, polyurethane, and phenolic.

Thermoplastics
Thermoplastics become soft with heat and are easy to injection mold. They do not go through a chemical
change like thermosets. Because of this, reprocessing after the initial manufacturing process is
possible. There are two different types of Thermoplastics—Semi-Crystalline and Amorphous.

Amorphous
Amorphous plastics have polymer chains with a random, entangled orientation. They are stronger and more
suited for structural applications. Although they are strong, they are susceptible to stress fractures. They also
do not work as well as Semi-Crystalline plastics for bearing surfaces. Here are some of the most common
types:

• ABS
• Acrylic
• Polycarbonate
• PVC

Semi-Crystalline
Semi-Crystalline plastics have random sections of crystalline structures. In other words, they are a hybrid of
amorphous and a completely crystalline structure. They make great bearing surfaces, living hinges, and
provide good chemical resistance. The downside is that they shrink and warp more than Amorphous plastics.
Here are some of the most common types:
 • Acetal
• Nylon
• PBT
• HDPE
• LDPE
• PET
• Polypropylene

Additives and Fillers

It's common to have variations of the material listed above using additives and fillers. In the most
simple applications, the injection molder can change the color of the material by using color additives. Color
can be changed at the molding machine or from the material manufacturer. More advanced materials
or "engineered materials" are created by material manufacturers. For example, polycarbonate can have
varying levels of fiber-glass added by the manufacturer. The material will still come in the form of pellets to
the injection molder but can yield significantly higher strength with the added glass fibers. Other fillers like
talc and carbon fiber are also common.

Fillers and additives can change other material properties. These can include UV protectants,
antioxidants, antistatics, antimicrobials, lubricants, and so on. Keep in mind that they are application specific.
Instead of trying to understand everything about materials, start with what your part requires and focus on
that. You can also leverage the knowledge of an injection molder, like Basilius, who has a network for
material suppliers. Not only are these suppliers developing new materials constantly, but they also have a
deep understanding of applications.
Design: Must-Haves
Draft
An injection molded part needs to come out of the mold without damage or too much resistance. To avoid
these issues, you want to angle the walls of the part from the parting line (drafting). Generally speaking,
there should not be any surface of the part that is exactly 90 degrees to the line of draw on the mold. Not
drafting a part can cause defects like drag marks and create difficult ejection. In the image below, the A-side
tooling is colored blue, the B-side is red, and the part is yellow. Notice the small amount of draft (referenced
by the angled lines) that allows the part (yellow) to break free from the tooling block (red).
The amount of draft you should apply to the part depends on the application. The general rule is to have at
least one degree for every inch of depth. Below is a list of different design considerations where you want to
add to the amount of draft.

• Features on the A-side of the Tooling

o The mold opening process should remove the part from these features, allowing the part to
stay on the B-side. Putting more draft on the A-side features vs. the B-side promotes proper
transfer to the B-side during mold open.
• Amount of Texture
o The more aggressive the texture, the more draft you need. Think of the texture as
microscopic undercuts on the part. The higher draft angle will make sure the texture
releases on ejection and doesn't drag as it moves off the molding surfaces.
• Deep or Thin Ribs
o Small and deep ribs can be tough to injection mold and even tougher to eject.
Adding more draft to these features ensures that they come out clean every time.
• Why not?
o Add more draft if it does not affect the function or aesthetics of the part. Keep in mind
though that draft has diminishing returns in terms of mold functionality. If 3 degrees makes
the part release well, going to 10 will not make a large difference.
• Small Features
o Small features like holes can make a part stick during ejection or cause cracking. Even the
smallest features should have some draft applied.

Design Note: Since we want to part to stay on the B-side of the tooling for ejection, we can use
draft to our advantage. Drafting the A-side of the part more than the B-side can promote the
proper transfer of the part.

Design Note: It's uncommon but possible to have no draft on a particular feature. In these cases, it's
usually one area of the part that needs to mate with another component and cannot have draft.
Having no draft is not recommended. Even ¼ degree can make a difference.

Parting Lines
One of the first considerations when designing a mold is selecting the parting line. For some
applications, there's an obvious choice; but in others, the best option may not be so clear. The first step is
deciding which direction the line of draw will be for the mold. At this point, you should be looking at how to
make a simple but effective mold—a mold that generates the part the way you want it but avoids adding cam
actions and lifters if they are not necessary. We only want to use those features if they are necessary because
they add cost and complication to the mold. For many parts, having cam actions and other features is
unavoidable. For those parts, we want to determine what is best made by cams vs. the tooling in the line of
draw.

When selecting a parting line, you also want to decide on the A and B sides of the part. It's common to
have show surfaces (the side that will be seen) on the A-side of the tooling; but there is a second
consideration. As the mold opens, the parts need to stay on the B-side or ejection side of the mold. Making
sure the part transfers to the B-side ensures consistent functionality of the mold during production.
Luckily, we can use some material characteristics to our advantage.

Since plastic shrinks as it cools, it will shrink onto surfaces. You can use the shrinking to make sure the part
stays on one side of the mold as it opens. The B-side of the mold will often have more complicated and
protruding features. These features allow the plastic to cool onto that side and away from the A-side. At the
same time, allowing the plastic to stick and shrink too hard will make the part eject forcefully or get stuck in
the mold.
Design: Best Practices
Avoiding Thick Areas
The thickest area of the molded part will determine the amount of cooling time. Cooling time often
represents the longest part of the injection molding process. Longer cooling time makes a longer cycle time,
which increases costs. Excessive wall thickness can also create part defects like sink marks and voids.

For most applications, excessive wall thickness is larger than .125 - .1875 inches. Thick wall sections are
moldable, but they open up the potential for part defects and long cycle times. Although there are certain
materials and additives to achieve thick wall sections, it's best to start thin. Doing so reduces cycle time and
saves on material usage, both of which save on the ongoing piece price.

Design note: Having to "add plastic" to a molded part means removing steel from the mold.
Machining away material in the mold is much cheaper and easier than welding and machining. We
call this being "steel safe." It's common to stay steel safe on critical dimensions, test run the mold,
check dimensions, and then remove steel to finalize that dimension.

Coring and Ribbing

To avoid thick sections of a part, you can add coring and ribbing. These features reduce cycle time, reduce
part weight, and could make the part stronger. Designing these features into the B-side of the part is
common and is the best practice. These features can help pull the part to the B-side or ejection side of the
mold; they would then be on the non-show side of the part. However, it's possible to have them on the A-
side of the tooling as well.

The image above shows a perfect example of coring a part. Since this part required one large wall section,
you can remove large sections of material without sacrificing strength. Think of this in terms of other
common structural components like tubing and I-beams. Because of the way forces are applied to these
components, removing the material doesn't change its structural integrity. The image on the left is cored out,
and the image on the right is not. Using simulation software, we were able to predict that the part
without coring required double the cooling time. The added time in the molding machine increases the cost
of the parts, and over time, those numbers can be huge.

From the images above, you can see that the coring is not just a large section of removed material. Instead,
it’s more a webbing of wall sections (known as ribs). Adding ribs is a great way to add significant strength to
a part without affecting cycle time. Ribs can also reduce the amount of material that is used in
the part. The image below shows a boss before and after adding support ribs. Since these ribs are thin, they
do not increase cooling time, but they do add strength. Notice that the ribbing towards the corner of the part
is also creating coring (right). It’s common to have bosses like this on the corner of a part. When possible, it’s
best to allow enough room to have coring completely surrounding the boss. This helps to avoid thick wall
sections that could show through in the form of part defects (like sink marks from the material shrinking
more in thick areas) on the outside show surface of a part.

Uniform Wall Thickness

Keeping all major wall sections throughout a part as consistent as possible is key to injection molding. Doing
so keeps material flow in the cavity consistent and makes for even cooling. The previous images from the
coring and ribbing section are good examples of this. Most injection molding materials do not react well to
flowing through large differences in thickness. Inconsistent wall thickness can cause pressure spikes, material
degradation, too high of differential pressure across the part, and poor process control. The
plastic also cools at different rates when you have varying wall thickness.

The mold surface is cooling the part from the outside surfaces inward. This means that the middle area of a
wall section will cool last. Having areas of the part cooling at different rates can cause warping
issues (covered later).

Exceptions
Adding ribbing to a part can generate a thicker wall section in a small area where the rib meets the base. As
discussed above, thick wall sections can cause sink issues because the material is shrinking as it cools. To
avoid sinking, design ribs slightly smaller to reduce the wall section at the connection point. Taking the same
part from above, you can see the thick areas that could create sink marks on the show side of
the part (shown on the left image). In the right image, you can see that the ribbing is thinner than the main
wall section. The radii are also slightly smaller to reduce the potential for a section that is too thick.

Another exception to the rule of having uniform wall thickness is living hinges. Living hinges are used to
create a base part with a closing lid in one piece. They are common in injection molding but create a
significant difference in the wall thickness. Living hinges will be discussed in a later chapter.

Adding Radii
Not only are radii more visually appealing, they also help plastic flow more smoothly and reduce the
likelihood of fractures. When designing radii, keep in mind the uniform wall thickness best practice. The
images below shows a simplified and sectioned cover. Adding radii helps make sure plastic flows through the
part consistently, keeps the wall sections even makes the part more visually appealing, and avoids potential
cracking/fracture points.
Surface Finish
Building injection molds requires several different pieces of equipment. To create molding surfaces, they may
be CNC machined, ground, EDM'd, turned, and so on. Each of these manufacturing processes will generate
different surface textures. These textures (tooling marks) may be acceptable for non-show surfaces, but in
many cases, tooling marks need to be smoothed out or textured. Creating a texture not only makes the
surface of the molded part consistent, but it also has implications on part design.

Basic Surface Finishes

The surface of the plastic part is a direct translation of the surface of the mold. For example, to mold a clear
lens, the mold will have a highly polished or mirrored surface. In these cases, even a fingerprint or a hairline
scratch can show through on the molded part. Below is a surface finish guide created by the Plastic Industry
Association.

AR-106 Mold Finish Guide

A-1 Grade #3 Diamond Buff

A-2 Grade #6 Diamond Buff

A-3 Grade #15 Diamond Buff

B-1 600 Grit Paper

B-2 400 Grit Paper

B-3 320 Grit Paper

C-1 600 Stone

C-2 400 Stone

C-3 320 Stone

D-1 Dry Blast Glass Bead #11

D-2 Dry Blast #240 Oxide

D-3 Dry Blast #240 Oxide

As you can imagine, going up the scale to the "A" surface finish gets more time
consuming, and therefore, raises tooling cost. Starting at C-3, each stage on this scale builds on the one
before it. That is, you would not start with diamond polish on a surface with tooling marks. You would work
your way up the scale through the different finishes.

Design note: It's common two have two different surfaces finished on a part. The show side of the part
may have a specific texture, and the B-side may have just enough polish to ensure smooth mold
operation and consistent finish. Having a “rougher” surface finish on the B-side of the tooling can also
help transfer the part to the B-side during mold open.

EDM Texture
Sinker EDMs create sandpaper-like texture as a normal part of their operation. In other words, the finish
resembles sandpaper, not the finish created by sandpaper. Since EDMs use electricity to remove
material, the roughness of the texture is directly related to the intensity of the settings on the EDM.

Surface roughness, in general, can be a complicated subject with several different standards. For the sake of
understanding an EDM finish, we’ve put together a basic guide referencing the equivalent sandpaper—
meaning the roughness of the sandpaper itself and not the finish the sandpaper would leave.

ISO Standard Sandpaper Grit

N1
N2
N3 500
N4 390
N5 280
N6 170
N7 100
N8 70
N9 60
N10 40
N11
N12

Note that this is a general guideline and is for reference only. The point here is to
help you understand the look and feel of an EDM finish, not to establish an accurate means of
specifying a surface finish.

Other Textures
There are also more textures available through acid etching, laser engraving, or CNC machining designs right
onto the surfaces. Some of the specialized surface finishes like acid etching are common in other industries;
therefore, most molders outsource that aspect of the tool build. The mold builder will usually prepare the
surface to a specified polish level before sending the components out for the texturing process.
Design Considerations
When textures are more aggressive (in terms of the height of the microscopic peaks and valleys), the part
design should include a larger amount of draft to avoid drag marks during ejection. It's also important to
consider the location of parting lines. If two components (like cams) come together when the mold closes, it
should be textured while in place to minimize the appearance of the parting line. Some surface finishes are
expensive to produce and may be difficult to “blend” if the part/mold requires adjustments. For new molds,
it's common to produce the first set of molded parts, check dimensions on the plastic part, and then do the
texturing as a final step.
Warp
When polymers are heated, formed, and cooled, several things are happening on a molecular level. The
molecules loosen up as they are heated, and during injection, they tend to align in the direction of
flow. Depending on the type of material, additives, and process conditions, the amount of shrink will vary
throughout the part as it cools. The differences in shrink throughout the part can cause it to warp. As it turns
out, this is hard to predict. Here are some common causes of part warp.

Materials
Amorphous polymers have tangled and completely unorganized molecules through heating and cooling. The
flow of molten plastic during processing will cause the orientation of molecules to align somewhat in the
direction of flow, but they mostly maintain the random orientation. During cooling, the random molecule
orientation will freeze. Since the molecules are disorganized and do not cool into any pattern, these materials
tend to shrink less than semi-crystalline polymers.

Semi-crystalline polymers have a hybrid of tightly packed crystalline structures, as well as some random
orientation of molecules (hence the name semi-crystalline). As the polymer is heated, the crystalline
structures begin to resemble the amorphous material where the molecules become more random. As the
polymer begins to cool, the crystalline structures begin to reform. Since the molecules become more tightly
packed, semi-crystalline materials will shrink more than amorphous materials.

As discussed earlier, there are thousands of materials available. A particular material will be lab tested
for the amount of shrink. The shrink factor is taken into consideration when designing the mold. The
challenge here is that the part is not going to shrink perfectly according to the lab results. The part will
shrink differently because of the varying features of the part, flow direction, processing conditions,
temperatures, and so on.

Fiber / Molecular Orientation

As material flows into a mold cavity, the molecules and fibers align to the direction of flow. Depending on the
material, this can cause a significant difference in shrink in the direction of flow compared to the
direction perpendicular to it. Depending on part requirements, the gate location can be changed to change
the direction of the material flow.

You can see in the images below how the predicted orientation of the molecules changes as the gate location
changes (indicated by the small yellow cone on the outside of the part). Depending on the material, it could
shrink more with or against the orientation of the molecules. Fiber/molecule orientation can also affect the
strength of the part. For glass/carbon-filled materials, the part will be stronger in the direction of flow verses
perpendicular to it. If your part requires more strength in one direction than the other, consider how the
material will flow into the part and where the gate location should be.
Varying Wall Thickness
As previously discussed, having varying wall thickness contributes to differential cooling where areas of the
part are cooling faster or slower compared to the others. Differential cooling will cause a difference in shrink
and possibly bad warping conditions. Attempting to have a uniform wall thickness is your best shot at
avoiding this.

The Mold
As a part is cooling in the mold, the mold surfaces restrict the plastic from shrinking. However, it can shrink
away from surfaces and will continue to shrink after it's ejected from the mold. The image below shows
how a part (blue) would shrink onto or away from the tooling (gray). Notice that the part shrinks inward onto
the tooling but is restricted. The part will also shrink from top to bottom (outside arrows). Since the top of
the tooling is holding the top of the part, the shrink will pull the bottom lip of this part away from the
tooling as it cools. With the mold closed, shrink in that direction will be limited. However, the restricted
shrink will create internal stresses that could relieve further as the part cools.

While the part is cooling in the mold, mold surfaces resisting shrink create internal stresses in the
plastic. Since parts continue to cool after being removed from the mold, the stresses may relax and cause
warping conditions.

Gate Location and Processing

There is a high level of control when it comes to processing a molded part in a molding machine. We can
change temperatures, flow rates, and times in an attempt to combat warp. At the same time, these process
changes can make warping worse. The part is filled from the gate outward; therefore, the end of the part
may end up less dense than the area around the gate, yielding different shrink rates from the beginning
to the end of fill. Since part designs vary so much, it may or may not be possible to combat these issues by
changing the process or optimizing gate location.
Insert and Overmolding
Insert Molding
Insert molding is a common way to achieve a rigid thread or other feature in a plastic part. It can help
you avoid complicated molds, unscrewing mechanisms, heat staking, and other secondary
operations. Common materials for inserts are brass, stainless steel, or coated ferrous metals.

If you‘re planning on using inserts in

injection molded parts, there are a few
design considerations. First, you want to
understand what the feature does. For
example, an over-molded nut needs to
resist the torque of the matting bolt and not
tear out of the plastic. To resist the torque,
inserts (like the ones in the picture) have
knurled features and undercuts.

In cost consideration, you also need to think

about how the insert is loaded. For low volume applications, a full-time operator at the molding machine may
be feasible. However, in higher volume applications, automated systems could be more cost-effective in the
long run. For automated systems, there could be some additional upfront costs associated with
equipment, like robotic tooling or orientation equipment, like bowl feeders.

Overmolding Plastic Substrates

Overmolding is typically molding a soft plastic over a rigid one (known as a substrate). The softer
material may be for aesthetics, ergonomics, vibration resistance, or mechanical features. Unlike insert
molding, where we're using a purchased component, with overmolding we need to manufacture
the substrate. The substrate may be molded in the same mold, or it could require an additional
mold depending on the application/volume.

Material choice is an important design consideration. The most common "rubber-like" material for over-
molding plastic substrates is TPE. There are many manufacturers and several variations. Each of the
variations will show which substrate materials will adhere properly to the TPE.

The process of molding a material like TPE over a substrate is not much different than a standard injection
molding process. The mold will have a feed system to get the over-mold material to the correct area of the
substrate. An important design consideration for overmolding is thinking about how the plastic will get to the
required area. For parts with cosmetic considerations, you may need to design in an area for plastic to flow
through the substrate.
Hinges and Clips
Plastics have extremely diverse capabilities—from complex assemblies to dynamic functional
movements. For applications like hinge and clip mechanisms, correct design principles and material choice
are critical to the longevity of the molded part.

Living Hinges
Living hinges are common for molding components like container caps. Since the cap consists of a base and a
lid, a living hinge is the connection point between the two. Not only does this make the cap easy to use for
the consumer, but it also saves on manufacturing costs and assembly time. Making a long-lasting living hinge
comes down to proper design and material choice.

Living hinges are weak points in the part where the two halves of a part come together. This weak area needs
to be thin enough to be flexible but thick enough to handle hundreds or thousands of movements. Below are
a few cut-away images of living hinges. As discussed earlier, it's best to start with the design steel safe
and then make adjustments after molding.
Since the hinge may need to bend hundreds or thousands of times without fatigue, material choice
important. Polypropylene and Polyethylene are good choices here. They have the elasticity and memory to
withstand the movements of the hinge. They're also cheap and capable of handling the changes in the wall
section created by molding a hinge.

Because the plastic is flowing through a thin wall section and into a larger section, the gate location is
important. It's best to have the material flowing evenly and perpendicular to hinge. Making sure the flow is
perpendicular to the hinge helps ensure the polymer molecules are perpendicular to the hinge. This, in
turn, promotes strength.

It's also critical to avoid any weld lines in the hinge area. Weld lines are anywhere molten plastic comes
together inside the mold. Weld lines can create weak points because of the two flow fronts of plastic coming
together. For example, it would not be wise to have two gates to fill the larger areas of the part and also have
the plastic flow meet at the hinge.

Clips
Like hinges, clip actions require careful attention to design and material selection. Design starts with
understanding the function of the clip action. For clips that require repeated function, it’s important to make
sure the clip (or surrounding areas) don’t fatigue over time. A good example of this is a lid for a
container. The clip action needs to hold the lid closed, release with ease when needed, but also
last through hundreds or thousands of releases. On the other hand, one-time-use clips can be designed with
more rigid and interlocking features. A good example is a case for a consumer product. Once assembled, the
parts need to stay permanently together or even resist impact without coming apart. In this scenario, it’s
better to have the clip action interlock hard, making the assembly slightly harder but nearly impossible
to break apart. Here are a few considerations when designing a clip action.

Clip Movement
Since a clip action needs to flex and return into a locked position, the amount of movement required to
complete the clip action is important. Below are a few cut-aways of parts that snap into sheet metal holes.
Notice the length of the arm and the depth of the clip action. The arm is long enough to allow flexing without
permanent distortion. The clip area is deep enough to lock into the mating part, but not so big that it
overextends the arm and causes permanent distortion. As with other features, staying steel safe, testing, and
modifying the mold with steel removal is the best practice.
Mold Design Concerns
The examples above have the benefit of being molded directly in the line of draw of the mold. In other cases,
like the images below, the clip action may need to be in the middle of the part, generating an undercut. If the
design allows, you can avoid the added complication of actions by designing a hole through the part. The
hole allows one half of the tooling to protrude through the part to produce the undercut.
Conclusion
Whether you have a new part, are updating an existing one, or changing the manufacturing process, it’s
important to design for manufacturing. The short- and long-term cost/timing implications can be large if
you’re not designing a component with the manufacturing process in mind. In this guide, you’ve learned
about everything from the injection molding process, to design tips for various part details.

We hope that you are better informed and can use this knowledge to optimize your components for injection
molding. If you're designing a plastic part, we highly recommend getting an
injection molder like Basilius involved as early as possible. With Basilius, you can leverage years of
experience, a network of suppliers, in-house design, mold building, and injection molding to make your
product come to life quickly and efficiently.
About Basilius
It's Personal
Basilius Inc. is a family-owned business that has been in operation since 1952. You’ll find hands-on ownership
in every key operation and process. We work as an extension of your team to ensure
absolute quality and efficiency; We are driven by a commitment to customer satisfaction rooted in
accountability, responsiveness, and service excellence.

Quality Reassurance
Basilius, Inc. meets international standards for quality and performance. In-house validation processes
ensure that the tooling and parts will meet or exceed your quality standards.

A Simple Source. A Simple Solution

Our centralized facility makes it possible for us to handle every step of the process under one roof,
ensuring consistent quality, continuity, and conformity to your part specifications. Our integrated approach
streamslines solutions to get your parts to market faster.

From Specialized Assistance to Turn-Key Solutions

Basilius, inc. is a full-service plastics part supplier, which can support as much or as little of your project
development as you choose. If you need technical assistance for part design, we have the equipment and
expertise to assist you from step one through project completion. If your design is complete, we can build
molds directly from your part design. If you need machine time for short term production runs or are looking
for a permanent home for your existing tools, we will meet your injection molding needs. Basilius, Inc. is truly
a one-stop-shop.

Basilius Inc.
4338 South Ave
Toledo Ohio, 43615
419-536-5810
Contact@basilius.com
https://www.basilius.com/contact