Simulation-Based Design of Reconfigurable Moulds for Injection Overmoulding

The injection moulding process enables the production of complex shaped parts, thanks to the accurate kinematics and the tight tolerances of the mould. This process is suitable for large batch production, leading to reduced single part costs, but involves high initial investments. The life of a mould can be increased by exploiting reconfigurable cavity inserts. So, a design method has been conceived for reconfigurable injection moulds by integrating Design for Assembly and Computer Aided Engineering techniques. From the early phases of a systematic design approach, the simulation models are configured with the different geometries as requested by design specifications. The mould inserts are designed with standard features in order to be quickly changed. A case study on a reconfigurable mould for the overmoulding of polymer wheels to be produced in different sizes is presented. The simulations with Moldex3D software are finally compared with the experimental data from the actual production.