Family Mold Injection molding

What is Family Mold Injection molding

Family tool injection molding is among the most significant innovations in the manufacturing sector, as they have significantly enhanced the efficacy and design intelligence of the production process. A family mold is a plastic injection mold that is intended to produce multiple components of a single assembly in a single cycle. This concept facilitates the production of multiple components that are integral to the assembly in a single operation, thereby enhancing efficiency.

Family molds are equipped with multiple cavities, each of which is designed to shape a particular component of the final product in a single production cycle. This feature distinguishes them from multi-cavity molds, which are employed to produce many identical parts or products. Each cavity in a family mold is engineered to generate a distinct component of the final product.

family mold

Advantages of Family Molds

Family molds are very efficient and useful because they allow the formation of all the parts of an assembly at the same time in one molding cycle, which is a time saver.

Reduced Cycle Times: Family molds with heated runner molds help in reducing the cycle time. The cooling and ejection phases are shortened, hence the name, due to the fact that the plastic remains in a molten state, which enhances production. The ability to produce a greater number of parts within a smaller period of time is a clear sign of improved operational efficiency.

Cost Savings: In the long run, it may be cheaper to use family molds rather than individual molds for each part of an assembly. They lower the initial costs by doing away with the need for several machinery and minimizing the number of employees. Besides, they also help reduce the need to gather and coordinate the various parts. Therefore, these molds lower post-production expenses on a budget.

Consistent Quality: Family molds are crucial for the end product because they act as a guide. This ability ensures that all the components are made from the same amount of plastic, hence having the same color and quality. This is especially important when the appearance of the objects to be labeled needs to be uniform.

Family Molds’ Limitations:

The disadvantages of family molds’ includes;

Balance Obstacles: Another issue linked with family molds is the inability to get the best fill in all the cavities of the mold. Even simultaneous filling can be a challenge if the thickness of the walls or the sizes of the parts are altered.

Maintenance and Downtime: The entire family mold may need to be closed for repair or replacement if one of the mold components is damaged or worn out. This can result in a situation where the devices are kept idle for a longer time, thus affecting production schedules and productivity.

Material Restrictions: Hot runner systems are optimally used for thermoplastics, but some of the materials may be sensitive to heat. The durability of the elements will also be affected since these materials will be exposed to heat for a longer period.

Design Restrictions: There is a likelihood that family molds are not suitable for all aspects of the design. The parts must made with the same material and dimensions and to be filled and cooled at the same rate.

Applications of Family Mold Injection Molding

Familiy molds help in maintaining the quality of the assembly components where the color and material of the components should be similar.

Complex Part Designs: Hot runner molds are best suited for applications where the part design is intricate, and the control of the molding process is critical to ensure the quality of the parts.

Production at a High Volume: The family has the benefits of cost and productivity, especially in large production processes.

The risks of moulds can be overshadowed by the benefits of moulds. They facilitate the possibility of cutting costs per unit of the part and increasing the speed of production.

Some of the factors that need to be considered when comparing the family molds and the dedicated molds are as follows;

Family molds are considered to be the most economical when evaluating the cost of molds. They also lower the total cost when compared to the dedicated molds, which are used for a single part, and a new mold is needed for the next product cycle. This makes family molds a better option as compared to other forms of undertaking when the undertaking is a bit financially challenged.

However, the maintenance of part quality may be more complicated with family molds because of different mold diameters. Mold filling is a problem in relation to balance and control, especially if the part has large differences in the wall thickness or volume. These differences may lead to dimensional and cosmetic problems. Nevertheless, the use of dedicated molds offers better control of the part infill, which in turn offers better cosmetics and dimensions of the part.

The cost of the parts produced by the two varieties of molds also differs. At the same time, the production rates are also dissimilar. The use of family molds enables the production of parts in quantities which in turn distributes the molding cost among the components and makes the cost of the part cheaper than when using single cavity molds. From the productivity point of view, it makes them almost on par with a two-cavity dedicated mold. The use of special molds is more economical, especially the molds with multiple cavities, since they have higher cavitation rates.

Another aspect in which family molds are limited is mold design flexibility. They provide fewer gating options because the components have to be located in relation to one another, thus limiting the design. On the other hand, low complexity of molds means that gating system is less versatile, however, it allows for creating highly detailed molds for each part.

The size of a run is appropriate for both the familial and the dedicated molds, although the two differ. For low to medium-volume production of fewer than 50,000 parts, family molds are notably considered best because of multi-cavities and help OEM manufacturers to bring parts to market in short time leads. Another type of mold that is highly advantageous is the dedicated mold since it can handle all run sizes, big or small.

The last of the factors that help in the determination of the suitable mold type is the part geometry. Family molds are suitable for the manufacturing of parts that are of similar size, shape, and even the structure of the features on the part. However, the complex part of the core draws or cams may be somewhat problematic because they may interfere with each other. Permanent molds are different from sand casting in that they are not restricted and can be used to produce parts of any geometry as long as they meet the design requirements for the use of plastics.

Therefore, family molds and dedicated molds are different and have their strengths and weaknesses, and certain problems that must be considered. The choice between them depends on factors such as cost, quality of the part, production volumes, design freedom, run quantity, and geometry of the part. These factors offer manufacturing companies the relevant information needed in decision-making processes concerning the production lines, thus increasing efficiency and decreasing costs.

Composite Products Based on the Familial Models

Family mold injection molding is always a benefit to making toys, diversions and other composite products in one operation because the individual production of the components is extremely difficult. It is possible to identify several approaches to the storage and management of the different parts of the toy. Sometimes, the above parts are joined to a runner system on a two-plate mold occasionally. These can be bundled with the runner and transported in the same packaging as other vehicle parts.

It is a very straightforward way of making small quantities of the product using cheap molds, as the production quantities are often small. Hence, the cost of the product is cut down. But it is also important to note that the cost of the plastic dividers should also be incorporated in the packaging price.

Sometimes, it is possible to find an item that is produced in different colors; however, this is not a very frequent occurrence. For instance, an automobile may have a blue surface but a yellow interior even though it has many colors. The cars can be built from the same amount of blue, red and yellow, each of which has its own combination. In this case, the runners are taken off, and the vehicle is supplied with only a coat of paint. Further, this approach is sometimes used for technical products.

Family molds for small or medium-sized technical products.

It is also possible to use a family mold for a single or several pieces of a small or medium-sized technical product if it is complex, such as a washer. When a number of small similar items are produced in a single mold. There is also the probability of using these molds to manufacture large products that require a set of molds. However, these products are also used in the production of domestic appliances and other goods. Whether it is a 2-plate or 3-plate mold, or hot runner or cool runner, is irrelevant at this point. The variety of mold has the following two primary drawbacks:

The mold is filled with a variety of products in different sizes and shapes, excluding edge-gated 2-plate molds. They must be segregated before storage and use to avoid contamination and mixture of the two products. The management of inventory and production can cause serious problems if some of the products are used up faster than others, for example.

Types of Family Molds

Some of the most frequently recognized family molds include:

The most common type of plastic injection molding is family molds. The primary categories are as follows:

Single Cavity Molds

The mold has one opening or one channel through which the molten metal is poured in.

The simplest type of injection molds is the single cavity mold since it has a single cavity that is used to produce a single part at a time. Due to the simplicity of installation and use, this mold is suitable for home use and small enterprises.

Multiple Cavities Molds

The multi-cavity mold is more developed and it has many cavities that allow the production of many identical parts at once. This mold is widely used in large corporations to produce thousands of products of high quality within a short span of time.

This can, at times, be disadvantageous since it requires the manufacture of spare parts whenever specific products are on order. After that, a mold that is not a complete set will be needed to process a part of the items, and others are small sample pieces.

The process can be optimized by blocking off the runner system and using the injection mould only for the necessary parts, which means that there will be fewer unnecessary cavities. But this requires more mold cycles to be run.

Conclusion

In the context of the injection molding industry, family molds can be considered the company’s major asset in terms of cost reduction and increased production. They are most beneficial in the production of assemblies that contain many of the same parts. However, they also have their drawbacks; for instance, there may be problems with the stability of the structure and its maintenance.

Hence, there is a need to assess and critically look at the circumstances so as to arrive at the conclusion of whether a family mold is suitable for a given task. As such, manufacturers are able to make the right decisions, improve the process of production, and obtain the necessary results due to the knowledge of the features of family molds.

Sincere Tech is a well-established china family mold injection molding company. We have helped many clients to cut down their total budget costs by using fewer tools and applying our knowledge of family molds. The quoting tool can be used to get a quote and a clear picture of the cost estimate for your project.