Our engineers rely on their in-depth knowledge and training about material behavior and mold design to construct the highest-quality mold for the project.
Designing the mould and its various components (referred to as tooling) for complex, critical-use plastic parts
and products is a highly technical and often complex process. When the right tooling decisions are made,
production is optimized, costs are reduced, and quality and customer satisfaction are improved.
In general, complex injection-moulded products with tight tolerances require complex moulds. This is where
the rigor of the scientific moulding process comes into play— Our SAKSANTEK engineers rely on their indepth knowledge and training about material behaviour and mould design to construct the highest-quality
mould for the project.
The Importance of Material Selection in Your Tooling Design
An important tooling design consideration is selecting the proper grade of steel. The correct steel hardness
must be determined to maintain the proper balance between wear and toughness so tooling components
doesn’t wear out prematurely. The mould is one of the most expensive parts of the injection moulding
process—we engineer them with the proper design and materials so they have the longest possible life with
minimal maintenance. Some of the main factors to consider
are:
- the size of the production run
- the complexity of the part
- the finish quality needed
- the material to be molded (some plastics are
corrosive; others contain abrasive glass fibers)
The hardest metals, such as H13 steel, are best for highvolume, high-complexity parts. Softer metals, such as aluminium, can be sufficient for smaller runs and
simpler parts. In general, the softer the metal, the easier and less expensive it is to machine. This diagram
compares the expected tool life of aluminium, P20 carbon steel, and H13 hardened steel according to the size
of the production run.
Debugging the Mold and Refining Prior to Production
After considerable preparation regarding product design and process selection, the mould is constructed—a big step toward production. However, to ensure consistent and repeatable production of flawless moulded parts, the mold must be challenged completely before it’s called into action. This is one of the most important jobs of the process engineer.
In-House Design and Mold Adjustments
Injection moulders rely on outside mould builders to custom-build the initial mould. Moulds rarely arrive with perfect dimensions; typically, after the mould is debugged, adjustments are required to assure all design specifications are met. For most injection moulders, this requires sending the mould out for final adjustments, which can take a month or more to complete. At SAKSANTEK, we make most of these adjustments in-house and “fine tune” moulds after initial sampling to improve the mould core/cavity geometry and achieve the desired dimensions.
