From the course: SOLIDWORKS: Mold Design

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Fluid flow

Fluid flow - SOLIDWORKS Tutorial

From the course: SOLIDWORKS: Mold Design

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Fluid flow

- Often, when forming a part, you'll be dealing with liquid material at one stage or another. Different plastics have different characteristics while molten. Depending on how thick it is, the harder it will be to completely pack into the mold. Think about trying to squeeze honey into your mold and what that honey would stick to. When I have the point of material introduction at one end of the model and only allow for one avenue of venting, this is an exaggeration of the problems you may find. A properly designed part has enough gaps, vents, and avenues for the molten plastic to flow into and fill the part completely. It's also helpful in a larger surface area part to fill from the center of volume and vent at the outer most extents of the model. Most importantly, it reduces built in tension and stress as much as possible. Non uniform filling and cooling can introduce stress. This can lead to your part warping out of shape or even cracking. I can't give advice for every project but on…

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