Have you ever wondered how plastic products like trays, bottle caps, or containers are made? Most are created using injection molding – where melted plastic is injected into a mold to form the final shape.
To study this process, a plastic tray model was created in SOLIDWORKS and analyzed using the Plastics Add-in. The project highlights how design choices directly influence manufacturing outcomes.
✨ What I learned from the tray project:
- Design for Manufacturability: Draft angles, wall thickness, and gate positions directly impact mold filling and part quality.
- Mold Flow Analysis: Helps identify potential defects like warpage, sink marks, and shrinkage and time to fill the mold
- Result Advisor Insights:
- The tray can be filled with an injection pressure of 100 MPa (14507 psi).
- The required pressure is >90% of the maximum injection limit, which may cause filling or packing issues.
- Recommended fixes: increase part/runner/gate thickness, adjust mold or melt temperature, or use lower viscosity plastic.
- The flow front melt temperature is within the acceptable range, ensuring good filling, weld line integrity, and appearance.
- Predicted cooling time is calculated for 90% of the part reaching below the ejection temperature, helping optimize cycle time.
💡 Why it matters for students:
You’re not just creating models—you’re learning how design choices affect real-world manufacturing. Tools like Result Advisor give industry-level insights before the mold is even made.
📷 Check out the animation of the tray (Fill Time).
📂 Explore 3DXML model to see the full mold setup.
👉 Try it yourself! Pick a simple product, run the simulation, and check the Result Advisor. Small design changes can make a big difference in manufacturing success.
Edu SOLIDWORKS
