Molding services for Agricultural customersInjection molding has advanced over the last few decades and the injection molding process continues to evolve and improve. One of the more important tools used in modern injection molding design is mold flow analysis. Mold flow analysis allows us to assess a mold’s design to ensure that it will deliver all of the strength, performance and durability characteristics your parts require. While this can be an incredibly useful tool, it also requires an extra investment of time and resources so it’s important to consider whether it’s necessary for your specific application.
MOLD FLOW ANALYSIS BASICS
Mold flow analysis is a process that utilizes digital tools and software to predict what will happen when a material is injected into a mold. Mold flow analysis makes predictions and offers an accurate estimate of how a mold will perform based on the size, design and configuration of the mold and the properties of the material that’s being injected into the mold. This process is done before tooling begins and is intended to help identify potential issues before production.
The mold flow analysis process is comprehensive, so you can assess a wide variety of different factors and variables to accurately predict how resin will flow through a mold. This process does add time to your mold production and it may add to the short term cost of your mold production, but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. When you utilize mold flow analysis, you can identify potential issues early on and address those issues in the mold design before production. This can improve the quality of your molds and the product or components you’re producing.
IS MOLD FLOW ANALYSIS ALWAYS NECESSARY?
Mold flow analysis can be useful, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s needed for every application. Projects with simple and straightforward molds typically don’t need mold flow analysis, since the designs aren’t as complicated and the injection molding process is therefore more predictable. In addition, you might not want to invest in mold flow analysis if the scope of your project is very small. Because of the cost associated with this process, you may not be able to justify the investment unless your project is on a big enough scale and your mold design in complex enough to warrant it.
If you have questions about mold flow analysis or you want to find out more about any other aspect of injection molding or plastics manufacturing, contact the team at KASO Plastics today. For decades, we’ve been proud to serve our customers with outstanding services and we continue to offer comprehensive molding and engineering services. Contact us online or by phone today to find out more about what our team can do for you.