TOP TEN DESIGN TIPS
By Jürgen Hasenauer, Dieter Küper, Jost E. Laumeyer and Ian Welsh
1. Comparison of materials 6. Cost-saving designs
2. Material selection 7. General assembly technology
3. Wall thickness 8. Welding technology
4. Ribbing 9. Tolerances
5. Gate positioning 10. Check list
10. Check list
Some Guidelines
Design check list – The aim of new product development or further development of an
existing product is to achieve a technically good design that can be produced at an
economic cost. The main design tasks involved here are material selection, choice of
a suitable production process, strength calculation and moulding design.
A high-quality, commercially viable moulding can be produced only by giving full consideration
to each of these design steps and following them through systematically. Design departments often
seek only a functional solution. It has to be stressed, however, that the functionality and cost-
effectiveness of a plastic component cannot be taken for granted unless designers pay proper
attention to developing the right solutions for the material and the production process.
A plastic’s properties are not immutable material constants
The property profiles of plastics can be influenced by the service environment, production process,
moulding design and operating conditions (Fig. 1). Plastics properties are determined in tests under
laboratory conditions. Test bars are produced in highly polished moulds with optimized parameters
and tested under standardized conditions with precisely defined stresses. In practice, however, plastic
components are never produced exactly under such conditions and are not exposed to precisely the
same stresses in service. For these reasons, when setting out on any plastics design project, the
exact requirements and boundary conditions must be carefully analysed and listed. A design check
list can provide useful assistance here (Fig. 2).
Effect of temperature Effect of time
T1 v1
T1<T2<T3 v1>v2>v3
σ
σ
Stress
Stress
T2 v2
T3 v3
Strain ε Strain ε
Effect of time and temperature
on deformation behaviour
Fig. 1 33
TOP TEN DESIGN TIPS
By Jürgen Hasenauer, Dieter Küper, Jost E. Laumeyer and Ian Welsh
Production of prototypes
To develop a component from the design phase to market-readiness, it is generally necessary to
prepare prototypes for trials and modification. Care should be taken to ensure that the method used
to prepare the prototype is broadly similar to the intended full-scale production method. Prototypes
for parts that are to be produced by injection moulding should also be prepared by injection moulding.
If no mould is available, it is sometimes necessary to resort to machined trial components.
However, this is not always without its problems, for the following reasons:
– the effect of weld lines in the injection moulded part cannot be studied
– the grooves produced by machining can sometimes considerably reduce strength properties
compared with those of an injection moulded part
– the strength and rigidity of extruded bars and sheets can be higher than those of an injection
moulded part on account of higher crystallinity
– the effect of fibre orientation cannot be studied.
A. General
1. Function of the component
2. Possibilities for modification and integration
(increase in functionality)
B. Service conditions
1. Stresses: type, duration, level
- static, dynamic
- short-term, long-term, intermittent
- maximum and minimum values
2. Service temperature
- maximum and minimum values
- duration of exposure
3. Service environment
- air – water – humidity
- chemicals
- UV stress
- ...
C. Design requirements
1. Tolerances
2. Maximum permissible moulded-part deformation
3. Assembly – dismantling (joining techniques)
4. Specifications and approvals
- official regulations
- company's internal guidelines
5. Surface quality
- permissible markings
D. Test conditions
All test methods that can be used to determine
the performance and assess the quality
of the plastic part should be listed in detail.
E. Cost efficiency
1. System or part costs for the old component assembly
2. Production quantity
F. Other
1. Environmental regulations
2. Safety factors
3. All additional information permitting a complete understanding
of part functions and the service conditions, mechanical
and environmental stresses and possible misuse
that the part will have to withstand.
Design check list
Fig. 2
34
TOP TEN DESIGN TIPS
By Jürgen Hasenauer, Dieter Küper, Jost E. Laumeyer and Ian Welsh
Light switch spring
made of POM
Spring Spring
machined from injection moulded
extruded material
Fig. 3
The machined prototype for a spring in a light switch, produced from an extruded material, withstood
180 000 stress cycles without fatigue. The same part, when injection moulded, showed fatigue
fracture after 80 000 stress cycles. The reason for the failure was the different crystalline structure
of the injection moulding (Fig. 3).
Prototype moulds
To produce prototypes, existing pressure-diecast moulds or prototype moulds made from easily
machinable or low-cost materials such as aluminium or brass are used. It should be kept in mind,
however, that important injection-moulding parameters such as temperature and pressure cannot be
reproduced with these moulds. In addition, their different cooling characteristics lead to different
shrinkage and warpage behaviour. Preliminary production moulds made from hardened steel are
recommended. These can be single-cavity moulds or a single mould cavity in a multi-cavity mould.
Testing plastics designs
With modern computer simulation techniques, such as strength analysis and flow analysis, potential
weak points in the design or in processing can sometimes be identified at a very early stage.
However, it is not possible to give a 100 per cent guarantee for the quality of the end product and its
behaviour under real-life operating conditions. The most reliable information is always obtained by
testing prototypes under real operating conditions. This type of testing should never be omitted with
engineering parts that have to meet high functional and quality requirements.
If it proves difficult to test under the actual operating conditions, tests under simulated service
conditions may also be used. The value of such tests, however, depends very much on how
accurately the operating conditions can be simulated.
Time-consuming series of tests to assess long-term behaviour under the effects of mechanical stress
or heat are sometimes impracticable or not commercially justifiable. On the other hand, predictions
as to long-term behaviour on the basis of accelerated tests under harsher conditions are not always
clear-cut and should be treated with extreme caution. The behaviour of a plastic under stress in a
long-term test may be completely different from that determined in a short-term, accelerated test.
35
TOP TEN DESIGN TIPS
By Jürgen Hasenauer, Dieter Küper, Jost E. Laumeyer and Ian Welsh
Innovating with plastics
Many different applications from all industrial sectors demonstrate that the future belongs to plastics.
If the material properties of polymers are intelligently exploited, then multi-functional components
can be produced that are commercially and functionally superior to previous designs.
Today’s designs require increasingly complex geometries and materials. Plastics can and will solve
many different types of problem. It is important, however, to match the plastic to the application
very carefully. Raw material (resin) manufacturers have extensive experience of this. Full use must
be made of their expertise to translate new plastics design ideas into reality.
Avoid material accumulations
Aim for uniform wall thickness
Design wall thicknesses as thin as possible
and only as thick as necessary
Use ribbing instead of greater wall thickness
Provide radiusing
Avoid flat areas
Provide demoulding tapers
Avoid undercuts
Do not design to greater precision than required
Design multi-functional components
Use economic assembly techniques
Gate mouldings on the thickest wall
When replacing metals,
redesign is always necessary.
Rules for designers
of plastics parts
Fig. 4
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