Dimensions of the Plastic Forming Region
The plastic forming region for a mold cavity is the portion of the mold containing the mold cavity, as well as the slide mechanisms and temperature control lines required for that cavity.
The dimensions of the plastic forming region affect mold base size as well as runner system size and layout, and so they impact machine selection, material utilization, and tooling costs.
This calculation of the dimensions of the plastic forming region depends on the following:
• Part length and width. These are determined by GCD Extraction for Plastic Molding. Note the following:
o Height dimension is always aligned with the draw direction (see GCD Extraction for Plastic Molding).
o Length is the longer of the remaining part dimensions, and width is the shorter.
o Part length and width have the same values as the longer and shorter dimensions of a mold cavity.
• Space allowances for the following:
o Slide mechanisms (see How aPriori Assigns Holes and Voids to Slides and Lifters).
Note that the longer dimension of the plastic forming region is aligned with the platen length, and the shorter dimension of the plastic forming region is aligned with the platen width. So plastic forming region length and width are not necessarily aligned with cavity longer dimension and shorter dimension, respectively—the alignment depends on the cavity orientation.