Sealable Mold Column Pieces for Flash-Free Pass Throughs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Molds used in molding processes often produce flashing at pass throughs due to the contact of column pieces during the molding of products, necessitating additional processing steps to remove the flashing and ensure airflow.
Innovation Solution
A mold design featuring releasable column members with mating distal ends that form a seal, using sloped parting line surfaces and optional sealing elements to prevent or reduce flashing, ensuring a sealed mold cavity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If column pieces are used to form pass throughs in molded products, then vent holes or pass throughs are created in the product, but flashing occurs at the contact interface between column pieces
Solution Approach 1:
The column is divided into two separate column pieces that are inserted into opposite mold halves. Each column piece forms only part of the pass through, and the pass through is completed when the mold closes and the column pieces meet in the center. This segmentation prevents flashing by eliminating the continuous contact interface between column pieces that would allow material to escape.
Solution Approach 2:
A seal member is introduced as an intermediary element between the two column pieces. The seal member fills the gap between the column pieces at the mold parting line, preventing molded material from escaping and forming flashing, while still allowing the column pieces to form the pass through structure.
2Device complexity
If column pieces contact each other to form pass throughs, then the mold structure is simplified, but additional processing steps are required to remove flashing
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the column into two pieces inserted into separate mold halves, the mold structure remains relatively simple and modular. The segmentation allows the pass through to be formed during the molding process itself, eliminating the need for post-processing removal of flashing, thus improving productivity without significantly increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal member acts as an intermediary that prevents flashing formation at the interface between column pieces. By preventing flashing at the source, the seal member eliminates the need for subsequent deburring or cleaning operations, directly improving productivity while adding only a single additional component to the mold structure.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If column pieces are inserted into opposite mold halves, then flashing is prevented, but the mold cavity design becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The mold cavity is segmented into two separate halves, each containing one column piece. This segmentation allows each mold half to be designed and manufactured independently, which can actually simplify the overall design process compared to creating a single complex cavity with internal column structures. The segmentation prevents flashing by ensuring column pieces meet at the parting line rather than contacting along a continuous interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal member serves as an intermediary element that simplifies the mold cavity design by providing a reliable sealing solution at the parting line. Rather than requiring precision-machined mating surfaces or complex sealing mechanisms, the seal member can be a simple elastomeric or plastic component that compensates for manufacturing tolerances and ensures flashing prevention.
Data Source
AI summary
Molds and method of using the molds to produce a product are provided. The molds include a first mold piece having a first wall with a first column member protruding therefrom that includes first sidewalls and a first distal end, and a second mold piece having a second wall with a second column member protruding therefrom that includes second sidewalls and a second distal end. The first and second mold pieces are configured to releasably mate to define a mold cavity therebetween and such that the first and second column members releasably mate with the first distal end being received within a cavity of the second distal end to form a seal therebetween. The mold cavity is configured to receive a product material therein and form the product therefrom. The first sidewalls and the second sidewalls are configured to define a pass through in the product.