Study of Plastic Moulding Production Planning Process.
A. The study of Plastic Moulding Production Planning Process.
1) Mould Design: -
● The first step of the process is to finalize your designs for plastic moulding, which includes
the part and the mould design.
● Then for moulding suppliers to hold back design for manufacturability (DFM) feedback until
after an order is placed. This is where the most time in a project can be lost.
● The initial phase of mould design involves laying out the part and deciding how it will be
oriented when it’s being moulded. This layout provides useful information about mould size
and the corresponding steel block required to create the tooling.
● The next phase of mould design is to flesh out details like finalizing the design of the core
and cavity and building a complete BOM (bill of materials) with all of the small parts and
other components needed.
● After creating a 3D CAD model of the mould, the 2D drawing is completed in another day or
two.
● Finally, once the part design is confirmed, CNC programming begins, while the cooling lines
and ejector pin holes are drilled.
2) Material Procurement: -
● Once the CNC programming is done, it’s time to order the copper material for any EDM
(electrical discharge machining) required by the design. This copper will be used to make the
electrodes for sinker EDM.
● A mould base encloses the core and cavity parts of the mould itself and helps absorb the
pressure from the injection process. The mould base is often made of a softer steel than the
core and cavity because it’s cheaper than the harder steel used for those inserts.
● To finish off the mould materials list, the next step is to source all of the required
off-the-shelf components like screws, nuts, and bolts plus anything else that’s on the BOM
and hasn’t been obtained yet.
3) CNC Machining the mould: -
● Once the material arrives, it’s time to start machining the mould. The core and cavity are
machined from the prepared steel blocks, and the process starts with rough CNC machining
using larger cutting tools to cut a rough outline.
● The copper blocks are also machined at the same time as the steel to ensure the EDM
electrodes are available immediately to complete the mould.
4) Electrical Discharge Machining: -
A. The study of Plastic Moulding Production Planning Process.
1) Mould Design: -
● The first step of the process is to finalize your designs for plastic moulding, which includes
the part and the mould design.
● Then for moulding suppliers to hold back design for manufacturability (DFM) feedback until
after an order is placed. This is where the most time in a project can be lost.
● The initial phase of mould design involves laying out the part and deciding how it will be
oriented when it’s being moulded. This layout provides useful information about mould size
and the corresponding steel block required to create the tooling.
● The next phase of mould design is to flesh out details like finalizing the design of the core
and cavity and building a complete BOM (bill of materials) with all of the small parts and
other components needed.
● After creating a 3D CAD model of the mould, the 2D drawing is completed in another day or
two.
● Finally, once the part design is confirmed, CNC programming begins, while the cooling lines
and ejector pin holes are drilled.
2) Material Procurement: -
● Once the CNC programming is done, it’s time to order the copper material for any EDM
(electrical discharge machining) required by the design. This copper will be used to make the
electrodes for sinker EDM.
● A mould base encloses the core and cavity parts of the mould itself and helps absorb the
pressure from the injection process. The mould base is often made of a softer steel than the
core and cavity because it’s cheaper than the harder steel used for those inserts.
● To finish off the mould materials list, the next step is to source all of the required
off-the-shelf components like screws, nuts, and bolts plus anything else that’s on the BOM
and hasn’t been obtained yet.
3) CNC Machining the mould: -
● Once the material arrives, it’s time to start machining the mould. The core and cavity are
machined from the prepared steel blocks, and the process starts with rough CNC machining
using larger cutting tools to cut a rough outline.
● The copper blocks are also machined at the same time as the steel to ensure the EDM
electrodes are available immediately to complete the mould.
4) Electrical Discharge Machining: -
