Injection mold design is part of the fast paced world of injection molding. As a mold designer, you must be able to develop new ways of making things, and be flexible and willing to learn new technologies.
It might appear easy because mold designers use sophisticated CAD software programs, but in reality, they are just tools to help you. When working as an injection mold designer, you are constantly required to engineer original designs for building injection molds.
What is a typical day like for injection mold design?
Plastic injection mold designers and mold makers work closely together. This is obviously for the reason that the mold maker will be using the design to build the mold. The daily schedule is usually quite similar for the designer and mold maker.
A mold designer spends most of his time at his computer, using powerful CAD programs such as Unigraphics, AutoCAd, SolidWorks, MasterCam and many, many others. Nowadays, the programs are incredibly fast and powerful.
Typically, an injection mold designer interacts with the various other people in the shop. This could be th mold makers, CNC programmers, molders, WEDM programmers, etc.. The mold designer must be willing and able to communicate, if he is to be successful.
Usually the designer does not work quite as many hours per week as the mold maker. Often mold designers have a shop background and help out in the mold making shop as well. This is especially common if there is a slowdown in design and a lot of work in the shop .
What career path does an injection mold designer follow?
Essentially, there are two paths in the USA. One is to learn on the job and the other is to learn at a design school. Both are common and work well. It is highly recommended that you use the interactive injection mold design tutorial to teach you about mold design. It is self-paced and full of illustrations, animations and just about everything you need to get started.
Mold makers love it when the designer has a mold making background.. This is especially helpful to provide a realistic approach to mold design. There is no substitute for practical experience!
Several tech schools and universities offer excellent courses on injection mold design. It is helpful, but not essential, to have a well rounded background. Physics, mechanics, understanding spatial relationships, and the ability to visualize 3D concepts are all very useful.
The future of injection mold design
Plastic mold making always seems to be growing, even with the ever rising cost of plastic resins. Wherever there is a plastic injection mold producing parts, there has to be a mold designer behind the scenes.
Probably the biggest obstacle to working as a mold designer is that fact that we operate in a global economy. You just simply do not have to be in the same location as the mold maker, though it certainly is better to be in-house. Many mold making shops hire free-lance mold designers on a contract basis quite successfully. Freelancing is also a nice alternative type of employment for the right individual.
Conclusion
Injection mold design is a highly respected occupation with very low unemployment and good pay. Most mold designers have secure jobs that provide a comfortable living with a minimum of occupational hazards, compared to other jobs. It is also quite possible to work as a freelancing mold designer and have considerable freedom of movement.
Randy Hough has a comprehensive website: http://global-plastic-injection-molding.com that is full of resources to help injection molding and mold making companies. Visit our site to learn more about injection mold design and the injection molding process.
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