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Lesson 1: Understanding Shrinkage and Warpage

Minimizing volumetric shrinkages and reducing part warpage are important considerations when designing injection molded parts. When you understand the interaction of part and mold designs, polymer material, and the molding process, you can design preventative measures  into the molding system to minimize shrinkage and warpage. In the first lesson of this section we will take a detailed look at various factors that could lead to differential shrinkage and part warpage behaviors.

Topics covered in this lesson include: the causes of shrinkage and warpage in injection molded parts, how part design variations affect volumetric shrinkages and resulting part warpage, how part design, mold design, cooling behavior, polymer characteristics and processing steps affect shrinkage and warpage behaviors.

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Understanding Shrinkage and Warpage

Learn the fundamentals of process optimization by understanding how different phases in the injection molding cycle will influence the overall part quality. Build your own Circle of Knowledge lesson by lesson. 

Goals of Processing: Shrinkage and Warpage (Level 1): 

  • Learn the fundamentals of shrinkage and warpage during the processing phase of injection molding
  • Gain an understanding of how part design, mold design, and process are connected and interdependent
  • Analyze real-life molded parts and learn the cause and effect behaviors of design and process

Section Description: 

Molding high-quality parts is dependent on many factors, including skillful part and mold design, an understanding of polymer material behavior, and an optimized process. It is important for injection molding processing engineers to follow key steps to ensure consistently high-quality molded parts.

Explanations, simulations, cause and effect analyses, and specific shrinkage and warpage examples are covered in this section.

Recommended For: Entry Level Personnel, All Personnel

Length: Lessons are approximately 15-20 minutes long each

The Kruse Training platform delivers knowledge and expertise developed over two decades in the plastic injection molding industry. Now companies and individuals can access a state-of-the-art online training program, suited for all levels of knowledge.