{"id":1443,"date":"2008-05-24T11:25:55","date_gmt":"2008-05-24T16:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=1443"},"modified":"2018-02-09T14:06:06","modified_gmt":"2018-02-09T20:06:06","slug":"pe-eliminating-side-actions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/1443\/pe-eliminating-side-actions\/","title":{"rendered":"Eliminating Side-Actions for Fun and Profit"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Protomold<\/a> – Nobody’s Faster In The Short Run.\u00ae<\/p>\n

Quick, how would you make the part shown in Figure 1? Well, since by now you’re aware of the fact that Protomold supports up to four side actions per mold, the obvious answer is to use a mold with a side-action to create the bottomless box with the window. After all, without a side-action, a mold feature that protrudes inward from the A-Side of the mold (or outward from the B-Side) would be entrapped in the window when the mold opened, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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\"A<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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Fig. 1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Wrong! This part can be made in a two-part straight pull mold without side actions. It works for one simple reason: the side walls are drafted. That means that the mold surface will begin to pull away from the part surface as the mold begins to open. So if your design can support the draft and you’d like to save a little money and skip the side action altogether, it’s worth taking note. Take a look at Figure 2 to see how this can be applied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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\"A<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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Fig. 2<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Figure 2 shows a cross-section of the window area in the closed mold in which:<\/p>\n