5 June 2018
It is a first for Rompa Group: we have had a mould designed that features no fewer than seventeen sliding elements. This type of construction is commonly used in the world of injection moulding, but seventeen of them in a single mould is quite unique.
What are sliding elements in a mould for? Sometimes, it is impossible to open a mould once it has been filled with the cooled plastic, e.g. because of apertures in the plastic or because of the product’s complex shape. The product is “locked” inside the mould, as it were. To get it out, the mould has to have one or more sliding elements. Undercuts are used in these locations.
Highly complex product
Due to cost considerations, a product is designed in such a way that few or no undercuts are needed. In some cases, however, a product is so complex that there is simply no other solution. This is one such case. The plastic shell for a child seat features seventeen undercuts. The shell is made out of polypropylene and weighs roughly 2.5 kilos.