Torsten’s Training Tip: Polymer Materials Overview
It is important for part and mold designers not only to understand design principles, but also to understand the fundamentals of plastics. The choice of a plastic, or polymer, has a strong impact on the outcome of a molded part. Polymers are categorized by processing methods and temperature behavior. The major groups are thermoplastics, thermosets, […]
New Training Topics Coming Soon
At Kruse Training we pride ourselves on the ability to consistently add new content and topics that meet the needs of the injection molding industry. With this in mind, we are currently undertaking a series of new topics focusing on areas that move beyond the basics of injection molding to the more complex aspects of […]
Torsten’s Training Tip: Cold Runner Types and Designs
Cold runner systems are an important aspect of mold design. By optimizing cold runner shapes and sizes, important molding processes such as pressure drops, polymer shearing, packing and cooling behavior, gate sealing time, and overall cycle time can be made more efficient. Cold runners are simply unheated channels that transport molten polymer material from a […]
Torsten’s Training Tip: Short Shots
Injection molding is a complex scientific manufacturing process. By following a methodical set-up process, molders aim to minimize or eliminate common molding defects that affect part quality. Generally, molding defects are either part design, mold design, or process related. This training tip focuses on short shots. There are various potential design-related causes for short shots. […]
Torsten’s Training Tip: Sink Marks and Voids
Two common and related injection molding defects, sink marks and voids, are the result of excessive polymer material shrinkage. Because it is essential to produce high quality parts free of molding defects, understanding the causes in order to reduce or eliminate sink marks in molded parts can be very helpful. Let’s review some basics. A […]
Molding Defects Level 2 Press Release
For Immediate Release Kruse Training launches Molding Defects Level 2 interactive training for injection molders, part and mold designers and process engineers NAPLES, Fla., September 15, 2020 – Kruse Training Inc., a leading developer of interactive online training programs for injection molders, part and mold designers, and process engineers, is introducing Molding Defects Level […]
Torsten’s Training Tip: Gate Seal Time
Gate seal time is an important aspect of the packing phase that needs to be understood to produce high quality molded parts. Setting proper gate seal time plays a key role in packing parts. Properly packed parts will have even internal polymer molecular structure, fewer volumetric shrinkage differences, optimized part dimensions, and fewer sink marks […]
Torsten’s Training Tip: Thermal Pins
Designing thermally optimized molds becomes more challenging as part designs become more complex. There are various cooling design strategies, from using drilled coolant circuits or baffles and bubblers, to selecting mold steels or thermal pins (sometimes called heat pipes or heat tubes.) Thermal pins are a cooling strategy to optimize thermal behavior inside a mold. […]
Torsten’s Training Tip: Cashew Gates
Injection molded part quality is highly dependent on gate designs, sizes, and location. Because cashew gates, also called banana gates, can be placed in areas that are not visible, they are an option for molded parts that require perfect surface quality. Cashew gates, or banana gates, are sub-gates that are automatically de-gated and can be […]
Torsten’s Training Tip: Mold Steel Selection
Injection molds are designed and built to allow parts to be produced from various polymers and to be utilized for a variety of applications. A mold design team must possess the ability to evaluate and determine the optimal mold steel for each mold component to effectively produce high quality plastic parts. How do mold designers […]
