A client with appliance manufacturing assets in both the United States and Mexico approached Borke Mold Specialists in regards to designing, casting, and assembling a plastic fridge liner for use within heavy machinery. After consulting the customer-supplied DWG 2D CAD files, and creating our own 3D models based off the supplied specs, we set about the involved processes of aluminum casting, CNC machining, and overall assembly.
We CNC machined foundry patterns for the mold and pressure box then had aluminum castings made for us to finish. By means of CNC machining programmed via MasterCam, we then machined the square core for the mold, the pushers in the pressure box and the 2 alignment pins. After tying all the air cylinders together into a common manifold this will allow the customer to control all the pushers with the vacuum forming machine. The mold surface was sanded to a 180 grit smooth finish and #78 vacuum holes drilled every 1.5″ apart. The mold included .005″ in per inch plastic shrink and produced a part with a tolerance of +/-1/32″.
The final part for the fridge liner component is 18.5″ x 17.5″ x 15.5″ in height. The mold and pressure box project was manufactured in 6 weeks time-frame and weighed over 1000#.
Cast Aluminum Mold Refrigerator Liner
Cast Aluminum Plug Assist Air – Water Manifold
Cast Aluminum Pressure Box Pushers
Design & Manufacturing of Vacuum Forming Mold for a Refrigerator Liners Project Highlights
We designed and manufactured a vacuum forming mold for a refrigerator liner for a client in the heavy machinery industry.
Design
- Design Vacuum Forming Mold & Pressure Box Using MasterCAM CAD/CAM Software
- Created 3D Models based off of Supplied 2D Drawings
Aluminum Casting
- Create Foundry Patterns for Mold & Pressure Box
CNC Machining
- Programming Produced in MasterCAM
- Machine Mold for Square Core
- Machine Aluminum Plug
- Machine 2 Cone Alignment Pins
Assembly
- Tie All Air Cylinders Together into a Common Manifold
Final Plastic Component:
1/8″ Styrene
Length: 18 ½”
Width: 17 ½”
Height: 15 ½”
± 1/32
Shrinkage Allowance: .005 in/in
- 150° Operating Temperature on Mold
Mold:
Cast Aluminum
Aluminum
Fridge Liner: Styrene
- 180 Grit Smooth Finish
Square Core to Retract and Extend on 2up Mold with Air Cylinder
Aluminum Plug Assist to Push Plastic into Tight Corners on Mold w/ Air Cylinder
2 Cone Alignment Pins to Keep Mold and Pressure Box in Alignment
-
- CMM, calipers, and scales
1000 lbs.
- Appliance
- 6 Weeks
U.S.A.
Mexico
Customer supplied DWG 2D CAD File
- Plastic Fridge Liner
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