After molten plastic is injected into the mold cavity, it must be rapidly cooled and solidified via a cooling system; the design of this system directly impacts product quality and production efficiency:
Structural configuration: Typically involves circulating water channels drilled within the mold. These must be positioned close to the cavity surface (at a distance of 8–12 mm) and distributed evenly to match the cavity's contours, thereby preventing localized rapid cooling that could cause product warpage.
Temperature control medium: Cooling water is commonly used (for standard-temperature molding), while specialized applications (such as high-temperature resin molding) employ hot oil or electric heating. A mold temperature controller is used to precisely regulate the mold temperature (maintaining fluctuations within ±1°C).
For instance, when manufacturing a 2 mm thick ABS appliance housing, a well-designed cooling channel layout can keep the solidification time under 20 seconds; conversely, an uneven layout not only extends the cooling time but may also lead to sink marks on the product.