Design of Gate System in Injection Molding of a Dashboard by CAMPmold

Injection molding is widely used in producing various plastic parts due to its high productivity and the demand for high precision injection molded products is ever increasing. To achieve successful product quality and precision, the design of gating and runner systems in the injection mold is very important since it directly influences melt flow into the cavity. Some defects such as weld lines and overpacking can be effectively controlled with proper selection of gate locations. In the present study, the design of gate locations in injection molding of a dashboard for automobiles was carried out with CAMPmold, a PC-based simulation system for injection molding. A dummy runner was developed to simulate a runner system in order to increase the efficiency of the analysis. The numbers and locations of gates were varied in the present investigation as that an acceptable design was obtained in terms of reduced maximum pressure and clamping force.