Design Guide | Injection Mold

Dr. Aris Thorne stared at the failed part on his desk. The polycarbonate clip had snapped at the boss—a hairline fracture invisible to the naked eye but devastating under load. His production line was down. His client, a medical device giant, was furious. And the problem, as always, traced back to a single, unforgiving origin: the mold.

Bosses are cylindrical features used to accommodate screws, pins, or inserts. injection mold design guide

Always, always run a DFM (Design for Manufacturing) review with your mold maker before machining steel. The $500 cost of a DFM analysis can save $50,000 in tooling modifications later. His production line was down

: Scale the mold cavity larger than the desired final part dimensions based on the resin’s shrinkage rate. Bosses are cylindrical features used to accommodate screws,

Avoid gating areas that are cosmetic or subject to high stress, as the gate area is often a point of residual stress.

A minimum of 0.5° to 1.0° is usually required.

: Apply a minimum of 0.5° on all vertical faces.