the integration of an approximate model and a clonal selection algorithm (csa) is considered to one of the most effective ways to solve complex optimization design problems in engineering. in this study, first, a process for developing an approximate model and the principles of clonal selection algorithms were presented. then, a variotherm temperature injection mold used to produce a large liqu...

An important step in the mold design process that ensures disassembly of mold pieces consists of identifying various regions on the part that will be formed by different mold pieces. This paper presents an efficient and robust algorithm to find and highlight the mold-piece regions on a part. The algorithm can be executed on current-generation computer graphics hardware. The complexity of the al...

Development of CAx for numerical simulation of injection molding and mold design has opened new possibilities for product analysis during the design process of plastic products. This development contributed to higher quality performance as well as to lower cost of product. The paper presents developed integrated CAD/CAE software for mold design. This program solution presents integrated system ...

Multi-Piece molds, which consist of more than two mold pieces, are capable of producing very complex parts⎯parts that cannot be produced by the traditional molds. The tooling cost is also low for multi-piece molds, which makes it a candidate for pre-production prototyping and bridge tooling. However, designing multi-piece molds is a time-consuming task. This paper describes geometric algorithms...

In-mold assembly process has been used for manufacturing articulated structures at the macro scale. But the in-mold assembly process at the mesoscale behaves differently and poses new challenges due to reduced structural rigidity of the mesoscale premolded component. One of the major challenges that need to be addressed is that of the plastic deformation of the premolded component during the se...

Soft robotics is an emerging field with strong potential to serve as an educational tool due to its advantages such as low costs and shallow learning curves. In this paper, we introduce a modular and reconfigurable mold for flexible design of pneumatic soft robotic grippers. By using simple assembly kits, students at all levels are able to design and construct soft robotic grippers that vary in...

One of the most fundamental decisions when designing a mold for the plastics thermoforming process is whether to use a plug (male) mold or a cavity (female) mold design. This critical decision is often brushed over in the literature yet has the greatest single impact on part wall thickness and wall thickness variation. Other considerations when deciding on this fundamental design concept includ...

In-mold Assembly process at the mesoscale presents several manufacturing challenges. Results reported in this paper demonstrate the technical feasibility of creating rigid body mesoscale revolute joints using In-Mold Assembly process. The following new results are reported in this paper. First, we describe a mold design with varying cavity shape to perform In-Mold Assembly. This mold design use...