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• Inserts are used in plastic parts, to allow the use of fasteners such as
machine screws. The advantage of this is that since these inserts are made
out of metal, they are robust. Further, machine threads also allow great
many cycles of assembly and disassembly
• Inserts are installed using one of the following methods:
- Ultrasonic insertion. The insert is vibrated using an
ultrasonic transducer, called the "horn" mounted in an
ultrasonic machine.
The horn has to be specially designed for each application for optimum
performance. The ultrasonic energy is converted to thermal energy due
to the vibrating action, which allows the insert to be melted inside the
hole.
This type of insertion can be done rapidly, with short cycle times, low
residual stresses. Good melt flow characteristics for the plastic are
necessary for the process to be successful.
This process is fast and requires no special tooling. However, high hoop
stresses are generated, so the boss design has to be robust. Also, the
retention is strictly based on press fitting and the small amount of
material that flows inside the barbs. Thus retention is not very high.
- Molded-in Inserts. The inserts are placed in the mold prior to the
injection of plastic. The injection of the plastic completely encases the
insert on the outer diameter and provides very good retention. In fact
retention of such inserts is the best compared to other process
(barb/knurl design being the same).
This process slows down the operation of the mold, since the inserts
have to be manually placed inside the mold. Inserts can be automatically
placed in a mold, but this greatly increases the complexity and cost of
the mold. This can only be justified if the volume of production is very
high to offset the cost savings in shorter cycle times.