Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Poor wall thickness design often creates hidden costs in injection molding — long after the mold is made

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Poor wall thickness design often creates hidden costs in injection molding — long after the mold is made.

Many product teams focus on appearance and functionality, but wall thickness decisions made early in the design stage can quietly increase costs throughout production.

Here’s what usually happens when wall thickness is not optimized:

• Higher mold cost due to complex tooling and cooling design

• Longer cycle time because thick sections cool slowly

• Warpage, sink marks, and inconsistent part quality

• Increased material consumption with no performance benefit

• Costly mold modifications after tooling is completed

In mass production, even a few extra seconds per cycle or a small increase in material usage can significantly impact total cost.

That's why experienced injection molding suppliers always recommend DFM analysis before tooling — optimizing wall thickness through design, not by adding more material.

Many cost problems don't come from material prices — they come from design decisions made too early.

source : Bert Huang

#Injectionmolding #Productdesign #Costreduction

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : DAHER just won a JEC Award for a thermoplastic wing rib.

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

DAHER just won a JEC Award for a thermoplastic wing rib.

But not for the material - for the welding.

Daher’s JEC Award–winning thermoplastic wing rib is often described as an “aluminum replacement” case. However, if you look closely, the real replacement is not the material - it’s the joining philosophy.

The published numbers are clear:

– 22% weight reduction versus aluminum

– 15% lower assembly cost

– 25% shorter production cycle

– 64-ply thermoplastic laminate, ~12 mm thick

– AFP layup combined with Direct Stamping

– Infrared welding instead of mechanical fastening

Those results do not come from fiber efficiency alone.

In aluminum wing ribs, joints dominate the design. Rivets and bolts drive minimum thickness, local doublers, drilling tolerances, sealants, and inspection effort. A large fraction of structural mass exists purely to survive fastening. Infrared welding removes that entire stack of constraints.

A welded thermoplastic joint carries load through a continuous polymer–fiber interface, not through discrete fasteners. No holes means no local fiber cut-off and no fastener-driven thickness increase. This explains a large part of the 22% weight reduction at similar stiffness targets.

The cost numbers follow the same logic.

A riveted assembly requires drilling, deburring, fastening, sealing, and inspections. Welding collapses this into a single joining operation. Fewer operations mean fewer defect modes and less labor variability. That is where the 15% assembly cost reduction comes from.

Cycle time reduction is also structural.

Mechanical assembly scales poorly with fastener count. Welding time scales with joint length and heat transfer, which is far easier to automate. Combined with thermoplastic forming, this explains the reported 25% shorter production cycle.

Material choice matters here as well.

Using LMPAEK instead of PEEK lowers processing and welding temperatures, widens the process window, and improves repeatability. In production terms, that means higher yield and more stable automation.

This is the core point many miss.

Replacing aluminum with composites while keeping bolted joints preserves most of the old economics. Designing for welding from the start changes the load paths, the assembly flow, and the business case.

On a personal note: I’ve been following thermoplastic welding work at Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), and I remember seeing very impressive welding results already back in 2019. They've been building deep expertise in this area for years. Congrats to Henri Perrin and the team on this well-deserved recognition!

This wing rib is not proof that composites are lighter than aluminum.

It is proof that welding turns thermoplastic composites into a production system, not a lab material.

source : Fedor Antonov

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Most machines are oversized and no one wants to admit it.

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Most machines are oversized and no one wants to admit it.

Oversizing a machine feels like the safe move. “Just in case.” A little extra clamp force, a bigger screw, more stroke. But the reality is, oversizing costs more than most people think.

An oversized clamp unit slows dry cycle.

An oversized injection unit introduces melt instability.

An oversized screw increases residence time and shear.

And oversized machines take up more floor space, consume more energy, and often underperform at startup.

Why does it happen? Because it's easy. It gives the illusion of flexibility. But in practice, it reduces process control and increases long-term cost per part.

If you're running a part that only needs 80 tons of clamp force and you're using a 150-ton machine, you're likely sacrificing efficiency on every cycle, even if the parts are technically OK.

Right-sizing isn’t about cutting corners. It’s about matching the machine to the real needs of the mold and the process. If you’re planning new production, it might be time to take a second look at whether your machine specs are built around the process or just the habit.

source : Roman Malisek

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Clearmelt® – Premium Surfaces Straight Out of the Mold

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

✨ Clearmelt® – Premium Surfaces Straight Out of the Mold ✨

When design and durability meet in injection molding, Clearmelt® technology offers a unique solution.

🔹 What is Clearmelt®?

It’s an advanced process that combines in-mold decoration with a transparent, scratch-resistant polyurethane (PU) coating applied directly inside the mold. The result? A single step that delivers both decoration and protection.

🔹 Key Benefits:

🌟 Premium look & feel – high-gloss, glass-like surfaces with depth effect

🛡️ Durability – scratch, UV and chemical resistance

⚙️ Process integration – no need for secondary coating operations

🎨 Design freedom – colors, gradients, textures, and functional layers (e.g. touch control)

🔹 Where is it used?

Automotive interiors & trim parts

High-end consumer electronics

Premium appliances and lifestyle products

⚠️ Challenges to watch out for:

Complex mold and process setup

Longer cycle times compared to standard molding

Higher initial investment, making it ideal for premium and high-volume applications

💡 Takeaway: Clearmelt® opens the door to integrated, durable, and visually striking plastic parts – bridging the gap between aesthetics and functionality.

👉 Have you seen or worked with Clearmelt® applications? What industries do you think could benefit the most?

source: Tivadar Hamzók

#Clearmelt #InjectionMolding #polymers

India-EU FTA: A Historic Boost for Indian Exports 🇮🇳🤝🇪🇺

 🌍 India-EU FTA: A Historic Boost for Indian Exports 🇮🇳🤝🇪🇺

India and the European Union have concluded a landmark Free Trade Agreement — already being called the “Mother of all Deals” — with the potential to reshape global trade dynamics.

📦 What’s in it for India?

✔ Tariff reductions on 90%+ of Indian exports to the EU

👕💊⚙️ Major boost for Textiles, Pharma, Engineering Goods, Chemicals, Gems & Jewellery

🌐 Easier access to 27 EU countries and one of the world’s largest consumer markets

💡 This deal is not just about tariffs. It’s about:

🔹 Better market access

🔹 Stronger global competitiveness

🔹 Faster export growth

🔹 Smarter supply chain integration

📊 Expected impact:

📈 Higher bilateral trade volumes

🏭 Stronger MSMEs & manufacturing clusters

👷 More jobs and investment

🔗 Deeper integration into global value chains

🇮🇳 For Indian exporters, manufacturers, and supply chain professionals — this is a strategic opportunity, not just a policy headline.

💬 Which sector do you believe will benefit the most from this agreement?

source : Adarsh Amal

#IndiaEUFTA #Exports #GlobalTrade #MakeInIndia