We know that there are at least two points that must be kept in mind to obtain a qualified injection product: the melt flow rate in the mold cavity is the same as possible, and the temperature of the cavity wall of the mold is the same as much as possible. Compared with the traditional waterway, the special-shaped waterway can be more evenly distributed around the mold cavity, which can evenly cool the product, thereby guaranteeing precision manufacturing! Let’s feel it first through several special-shaped waterway structures!
Why do we need shaped waterways?
Cooling system (CoolingSystem) is one of the design of mold engineering. After the plastic material of the mold is heated and injected into the mold with a lower temperature, it is necessary to wait for the mold to cool before taking the finished product. At this time, you need to rely on the cooling system to cool and release the mold. The cooling system affects the demolding time, product quality, product appearance, etc., and the quality is huge.

Compared with the traditional waterway, the special-shaped waterway can be more evenly distributed around the mold cavity, which can evenly cool the product, thereby guaranteeing precision manufacturing!
What is a special-shaped waterway?
The special-shaped waterway is a complex and irregularly shaped cooling waterway designed in accordance with the shape of the product. Its design jumps out of the traditional design position and frame, so that the waterway can be changed in accordance with the change of the geometry of the cavity surface. Looking further, the design of the cooling water channel of the mold can also adopt an irregular shape design to improve the cooling efficiency. This is the basic principle of the special-shaped water channel.
What are the difficulties in achieving shaped waterways?
The method of making special-shaped waterways is limited by existing technology. The way is to drill or cut and weld the mold. Not only is the construction very complicated, but the life of the mold will also be shortened due to secondary processing. Special-shaped waterway design can only stay at the theoretical stage.

But since the advent of metal 3D printing, these issues have improved dramatically.
The reason for this is to start with 3D printing technology. 3D printing is a fast-moving engineering technology in recent years. The biggest advantage is that the principle of 3D printing is additive manufacturing, so there are no restrictions on modeling, even for complex modeling in objects. With pipelines, it is not difficult for 3D printing, and the mold industry has noticed the value of 3D metal printing.
Regardless of the diameter of the mold waterway or the internal corner processing that is difficult to be performed by ordinary lathes, metal 3D printing can be easily achieved. Even better, even if the planning of the shaped waterway is complicated, metal 3D printing requires only one application process. Can complete molds and special-shaped waterways at the same time.