Gas Flow Injection Provides Solution to the Challenge of Under-Bonnet Space

 

West Midlands based Eaton Automotive Ltd approached us recently to design and produce two tools for Jaguar Land Rover. The upper flow water coolant pipes, manufactured from hydraulics resistant glass-filled nylon, had to be designed to fit under the bonnet of vehicles.

 

Challenge

Due to the extremely tight space constraints, a normal plastic moulding made from two pieces welded together was too large, and the profile was so complex that standard tooling with retractable moving slides wasn’t a viable option. In addition, the tool had to hold the very tight tolerances needed for the different diameters and positional fixing points.

 

Solution

The solution was to create a one-piece moulding and gas flow the inner bore using nitrogen. We began by carrying out complex flow and warpage analysis simulation, injecting gas behind the flow front of molten resin to create a void for the water to flow through. The internal chamber was critical to ensure we could create the correct water flow rate. The resulting report confirmed that the project was achievable and that the moulding process would be absolutely critical to achieving the desired results.

Benefits

We created the tool with steel safe conditions to allow for compensation adjustments, which we carried out, and the balance of process tool function meant we were able to provide a successful solution to this challenging project.