How To Design Plastic Parts For Assembly
It’s important to always design efficiently in order to save time and money. Therefore, you want to avoid designing parts that need assembling. You should also try and reduce the amount of parts needed. Below is a list of considerations to make whilst producing cost effective products.
The Material:
Your plastic materials will need to suit your products’ needs. Will your product be exposed to certain chemicals or, will it be under a lot of pressure? Without putting this into consideration, you may invest in a plastic material that isn’t suitable for your product. CJ Tool and Mouldings have the experience and knowledge available to help you choose the best plastic for your application.
Cross Sections:
It is important to avoid cross section thickness. You want to achieve a design that has thin and uniform cross sections. Through using ribs, you will be able to achieve a strong cross section, as they will be able to decrease the distortion that will occur. Dimensional stability and tolerance changes will occur during and after the moulding process. It’s therefore important to grasp this whilst using shapes dependent on thick and thin cross sections.
Assembly:
There are a lot of options when assembling parts, here are the key categories:
Mechanical: Manufacturers will use a method known as Press Fit and Snap Fit. This is when a product must be dissembled at some point during the products’ life cycle. This method is used when the cost of capital equipment is higher than the cost of the consumable.
Friction & Heat Methods: This method is highly used when you need a permanent or tamper-proof seal. The following non-consumable methods tend to include, Ultrasonic Assembly, Vibration Welding and Spin Welding. The only cost is the initial equipment investment and the electricity needed for operation.
Adhesives: Adhesives are the ideal permanent solution when applications use materials that aren’t compatible. Typically, you’ll use a dispensing machine and a device to hold the parts together in order for the adhesive to solidify.
For more information on assembly, click here. Should you need some advice or would like a quote, our friendly team are always happy to help. For our specialist advice, please contact CJ Tool and Mouldings today on 01384 378 866 or read our latest articles for further tips and advice on plastic injection moulding.
Added: 10 May 2018 14:55
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