Alcoa Case Study: Rear Tray Mould Tool Design for a Car
Material Selection in Design | 3rd Year | Duration: 1 Months
Overview
Our chosen case study was set by Alcoa, it required us to design an injection mould tool to manufacture the rear tray of a car.
Objectives:
Objectives:
- Choose a suitable material for the manufacture of the tool
- Give reasons for the choice over other materials
- Outline the design considerations taken into account when designing the mould and how they are accounted for in the design (including the manufacturing process of the tool).
- Inside material to be moulded set as Polypropylene
- Part dimensions are 1557 x 650 x 330mm (not the tool dimention)
- Tool used to make parts in the tens of thousands (life of the tool)
- The produced part is visible to the consumer (surface finish of the tool)
- Produce a 4 page report detailing the material selection and our reasoning, manufacturing process and other considerations taken into account
- Produce and present an 8 minute presentation
Contribution
During the project, I designed the tool using solidworks and ran preliminary simulations looking at the heat transfer through the tool and the stresses due tot he clamping force used to hold both sides of the tool together.
I then wrote about the my design desicions to contribute to the report, this included reasons for the placement of the sprue (waste) which leaves behind a mark, the ejector pins and the cooling channels.
I along with another team member produced and presented the an 8 minute long presentation (audience size roughly 150)
I then wrote about the my design desicions to contribute to the report, this included reasons for the placement of the sprue (waste) which leaves behind a mark, the ejector pins and the cooling channels.
I along with another team member produced and presented the an 8 minute long presentation (audience size roughly 150)
Material SelectionThe main requirements for the material were:
Note: we later learnt about how materials can have different properties at different depths which we had not considered. |
*produced by team members
|
Tool Design
Design consideration:
|
![]()
|