MOLDEX-3D

STUDENT CATEGORY
SPECIAL PRIZE WINNER

Project Name: Design and verification of Large round basket optimization parameters

School: National Formosa University
By Jui-Chang Lin, Po-Yen Lin, Zong-Hong Xie

Summary

A large spherical basket for storage is developed for the product.  It has a maximum loading capacity of 35 kg and the objective of its design is the use of the least plastic with the lowest cost.  Therefore, the design includes two parts: (1) A blueprint based on the design of CAE to create a structural drawing with basic minimum volume. The objective of the hollow structure design aims to have the smallest and thinnest rib. (2) Verify whether a short shot is generated and the impact of the weld line on its strength, and create a design with the optimized molding parameters. (3) Complete the mold making and structure test of the product.

The objective function was achieved in this study.  We used Moldex3D molding analysis software to obtain the optimized results.  The reduction of thickness in the cross-section of the basket and the design with optimized parameters were used as the objective function. We modified the warpage and volume reduction rate to verify the output. In addition, we analyzed and simulated the bearing capacity of the product with the Abaqus, to verify the difference with the original product and conduct mutual verification based on the injection results at last.

Based on the optimized design, the thickness in the cross-section of the large spherical basket is reduced from 3 mm to 2. 5 mm and its loading capacity is 35kg.  The shrinkage rate of the warpage and volume is also significantly reduced to achieve the goal of optimal design.

Challenges

• The objective of the project is to reduce 15%-20% of the original volume and reduce the width of the rib from 3mm to 2.5mm
• The requirement of reducing the cross-section size is fulfilled to reduce cost and time
• We used the Taguchi method to find the optimal parameters of injection molding and improved the short shot of the product as well as reduced the amount of warpage and volume shrinkage

Solutions

We used the injection molding module of the Moldex3D and Taguchi method to inspect the warpage.  We simulated multiple designs and modified parameters to reduce volume by 15%-20%.  We also successfully obtained the best parameters and improved the warpage problem.

Benefits

• The requirement of reducing the thickness of the cross-section of the new product is fulfilled.  It did not result in short shot and stress embrittlement due to the weld line
• The thickness of the rib in the large spherical basket is reduced from 3 mm to 2.5 mm, and its loading capacity is 35 kg.  The volume and mass is reduced by 22.75%
• The maximum volume shrinkage rate of warpage is reduced from 10.557% to 9.436% and it reduced by 11. 8% in the modified design compared to the original design
• The maximum of total warpage displacement is reduced from 8.063 mm to 6.29 mm. It reduced 1. 773 mm in the modified design compared to the original design and the total warpage displacement is reduced by 28.1%