Why is Cooling Design Important in Injection Mold Design?

Cooling design is one of the most critical aspects of plastic injection molding design, directly impacting productivity, quality, and profitability.

Why Cooling Matters:

• Cooling represents 60-80% of cycle time
• Uniform cooling prevents warpage
• Proper cooling ensures dimensional accuracy
• Cooling affects surface finish quality
• Impacts crystallinity in semi-crystalline materials

Conventional Cooling Channels:

• Gun-drilled straight channels in mold plates
• Cross-drilled with plugged intersections
• Standard baffles and bubblers for cores
• Limitations in following complex part geometry

Advanced Cooling Solutions:

Conformal Cooling:

• 3D printed cooling channels that follow part contours
• Uniform distance from cavity surface
• Reduces cycle time by 20-40%
• Dramatically improves temperature uniformity
• Reduces warpage and improves quality

Thermal Pins and Inserts:

• High-conductivity inserts for hot spots
• Copper alloy cores for better heat transfer
• Heat pipes for difficult-to-cool areas

Cooling Design Best Practices:

• Channel diameter: 10-14mm typical
• Channel spacing: 2-3x diameter between channels
• Distance from cavity: 1-2x diameter from surface
• Turbulent flow: Reynolds number > 10,000
• Series vs. parallel circuit considerations
• Balanced cooling between cavity and core

Cooling Analysis:

• Temperature distribution mapping
• Cooling time calculation
• Hot spot identification
• Cycle time optimization
• Coolant flow simulation