Optimized Plastic Part & Product Design: Injection Molding, Thermoforming, and Rotational Molding

Overview

Plastic part design guidelines and methods depend upon the manufacturing process. This seminar provides a comprehensive and pragmatic insight into design methodologies for injection molding, thermoforming, rotational molding, and rapid prototyping. Design guidelines for each process will be discussed based on industry standards and more importantly actual applications. In addition, tooling investment, part cost, quality, lead time, and material limitations will be compared between each process.

All design presentations will include case studies based on actual projects. CAD files will be analyzed by demonstrating specific design details. In addition, case studies will also be referenced to explore cost comparative cost studies, prototyping methods, testing, failure analysis, and production startup.

Audience

This seminar is appropriate for applications engineers, new product development specialists, medical device designers, product designers and engineers, industrial designers and industrial engineers, mechanical engineers, manufacturing personnel and technicians, and anyone involved in the plastic part design or product development.

Content

Day 1

Comparison of Major Plastic Manufacturing Processes

We will begin with an overview of plastic manufacturing processes plus a number of others based on affects on design, investment, part cost, quality, material selection, and many other parameters.

Design Guidelines for Thermoforming

Next, we focus on plastic sheet forming design guidelines, methods, and applications. Thermoforming processes including vacuum forming, pressure forming, and twin sheet forming will be covered. Numerous case studies will be included.

Day 2

Design Guidelines for Rotational Molding Part Design

We will discuss materials, part design guidelines, applications, and secondary applications, backed up with numerous case studies.

Day 3

Design Guidelines for Injection Molding Part Design

Injection molding part design will include a comprehensive review of all the accepted industry guidelines and actual case studies. Included are the interrelationships between part design and tooling as well as cost estimating and material selection.

Prototyping, Testing and Failure Analysis

A critical phase of product design includes prototyping and failure analysis. We will delve into the pros and cons of various prototyping methods, their applications, limitations, costs, and lead times. Methods for resolving part failures will also be reviewed.