Optimization of a Cooling System Design in a Complex Injection Mold

Complex manufacturing process such as additive welding is a very expensive procedure able to make every possible cooling circuit. This type of cooling is called “conformal cooling channels”. This paper presents a cooling system design optimization process through three steps. It shows a design solution which is much cheaper and faster to manufacture than the conformal cooling system. Qualitative contribution will be shown to give the reader a feeling of the degree of cooling improvement by each design step. One of the problems solved and shown here is the assembly of cooling fountains in two sliders of the mold. The design takes into consideration the complex shape of the parts and their manufacturing on a 5-axis and 3-axis CNC milling machine, different loads of the sliders related to their movement, structural loads and high temperature during the injection and ejection process.