Proposal to Adopt a NASUG User Mold

by Douglas A. Van Putte Eastman Kodak Company Rochester, NY 14652-4102   Abstract

Since stereolithography mold patterns and direct injection molds were being increasingly utilized by industry to mold plastic parts, the author proposed at the 1996 NASUG Conference that a user mold to be developed for use by the members similiar to the use of the user part developed by Ed Gargiulo. At the suggestion of Tom Graver, GA Tech RPMI, a team which included himself, Bill Durden, Durden Enterprises, Jeff Heath, Xerox, Larry Andre, Solidiform, and the author was formed. The team met at the SME RP&M Conference in Dearborn on April 23, 1996. After some discussion, the team adopted a modified version of the Kodak benchmark part from which to create a set of injection mold inserts. After the design of the Kodak benchmark part was modified and approved by the "User Mold" team, a parametric PRO/E CAD program was created by Jeff Robertson at Kodak to allow as much flexibility as possible for users to create and customize a set of mold inserts. In addition to the option of modifying the overall size of the inserts and other features, the program allows the selection of the anticipated plastic shrinkage compensation. The part file also contains a set of data points which can be used to verify the part or mold dimensions. The method of utilizing the PRO/E CAD program to create a set of mold inserts will be presented along with the details of how to acquire the program or stl files of the mold.