Restrained State Datum Alignment Protocols for Compliant Polymer Cavity Inserts
Restrained state datum protocols eliminate false rejections by measuring compliant polymer inserts under specified fixture clamping torque and thermal conditions.
PEEK Cavity Tooling
Meaning
High-temperature polymer mold inserts are machined from polyetheretherketone to produce prototype or low-volume molded parts. Injection molding departments select PEEK cavity tooling when they need to rapidly produce components using production-grade resins without the long lead times of steel molds. This polymer tooling is suitable for medical prototypes that require low production quantities.
Thermal Requirement
Polymer molding requires molds that can withstand high temperatures and pressures without melting. Utilizing PEEK cavity tooling allows the run of resins that require mold temperatures up to one hundred and fifty degrees Celsius.
Wear Resistance
Fiber-reinforced plastics are highly abrasive and can wear down polymer molds quickly. The surface of PEEK cavity tooling will degrade faster than a metal mold, limiting the lifetime of the insert to a few hundred cycles. This degradation must be monitored closely to prevent dimensional drift.
Mold Proofing
A prototype molding run helps verify the shrinkage and flow behavior of the resin in the cavity. Relying on PEEK cavity tooling during the development phase allows design changes to be made quickly by re-machining the polymer insert. However, launching high-volume production before building the metal tool can cause a complete line stop when the polymer tooling fails.