Table of Contents
Injection Mold Trial
Injection mold manufacturers have to do the injection mold trial to test a new mold to make sure it produces high-quality parts that meet the required standards.
injection mold trial benefits
- Identifying and resolving issues in the part design, mold design, and tooling manufacturing process.
- Optimizing the molding process to produce high-quality parts in shorter cycles.
- Reducing costs by avoiding defective parts and scrap.
- Reducing lead times.
injection molding parameters
Injection mold trial is a complex process that involves several key parameters. Below are the main parameters in detail:
- Injection Pressure: The pressure at which the molten plastic material is injected into the mold.
- Injection Speed: The rate at which the plastic material is injected into the mold.
- Injection Time: The length of time that the plastic material is injected into the mold.
- Melt Temperature: The temperature of the plastic material as it is melted and injected into the mold.
- Mold Temperature: The temperature of the mold during the injection molding process.
- Holding Pressure: The pressure is applied to the mold after the plastic material has been injected to ensure that the material is packed and solidified correctly.
- Cooling Time: The time that the mold is cooled before the parts are ejected.
- Ejection Time: The length of time it takes to eject the parts from the mold.
Injection mold trial checklist
Stebro Mold has the Injection Mold Trial report format in Excel. We can send it to you by email if you need it.
Tools Trials & Sample Production Process:
- Material and color Preparation. The plastic material and master color to be used during the trial should be prepared. This includes drying the material, if necessary, and ensuring that it is compatible with the mold and injection mold trial process.
- Mold Checking. Checking the nozzle radius, locating ring size and ejector knock thread nuts match the machine’s requirements. Check the cooling, ejectors, and other components before uploading
- Injection Molding Equipment Preparation. Select the proper injection molding machine based on mold size, part size, shot weight, and plastic material properties. Check the nozzle radius and clean the barrel, and make sure the auxiliary equipment is ready for connection.
- Mold Upload: Upload the mold on the machine. Checking the ejector system, cooling system, and mold movement. Connect with the auxiliary equipment.
- Plastic Tooling Trial Run. Setting up the molding parameters. Measuring the actual mold and barrel temperature. Running a small number of parts to verify that the mold is working as intended. Adjust the injection molding parameters to optimize the process. After the process is stable, run 10 to 20 parts to check.
- Inspection and Analysis of the injection molded parts. Check the part size, part weight, and surface according to the 2D drawing. If there are any defects or issues, analysis and find the root cause.
- Optimize the parameters. For some of the defects or issues, we can fix them by adjusting the molding parameters. For some of them, we have to improve the mold.
- Final Approval. If the parts meet the quality standards, run the mold for 1 to 2 hours to check the mold performance. Fill in the injection mold test report. Send the parts, injection mold sampling protocol, and samples inspection report to customers for approval.
Defects and Troubleshoot
Common defects in injection molding include sink marks, burn marks, flow lines, welding lines, warpage, short shots, flash, air traps, and silver streaks. Click here for more information about the troubleshooting.
Injection Mold Trial Costs
Injection mold trial cost = injection mould trial setup costs + plastic raw material cost + auxiliary equipment cost (if needed) + any overtime fees (if applicable).
The setup costs for injection mold tryouts can vary depending on several factors as below:
- Mold Size: The larger the mold, the larger the machine is needed, which increases the setup costs.
- Mold Complexity: The more complex the mold, the more time and effort are required.
- Shot Weight: The heavier the shot weight, the larger the machine is needed, which increases the setup costs.
- Injection Molding Machine Type: Testing a 2K mold is typically more expensive than a 1K mold.
Plastic Material: Testing with certain materials, such as those with high glass fiber, fire-resistant material, transparency, or corrosive properties (e.g., PVC), can increase the cost of the trial. Additionally, testing with high-temperature materials (e.g., PPS, PPO, PPA, PPSU, PEEK, and PEI) can also be more expensive.
Auxiliary equipment such as a nitrogen generator, dehumidifying dryer, mold temperature controller, chiller, robot, and rapid cooling & heating high gloss steam machine, can also increase the setup costs of the tooling trial.
There are lots of professional plastic mold trial testing factories in China. Differing from other testing factories, Stebro Mold has the ability to help you do the audit of the mold, process validation, and optimize the injection molding process. We also can help you to run the small pre-production, do the PPAP document, and run high-volume mass production in China.