Three ink paths.
One integrated mold.
An implemented CustoMold manufacturing project: actual mold design, physical tooling and molded parts. The case documents the integrated tool and continuing production—not a proposed engineering route.
Three independent ink outlets. A bonded chip interface. Internal and external undercuts. See how we reworked a two-mold approach into one production mold for a demanding ink cartridge housing.
The outlets look close.
The ink paths must stay separate.
This housing feeds three ink paths through three narrow outlets. Each outlet must remain open and aligned with its corresponding inlet on the bonded chip. The molded plastic between them must preserve separation. A visually tidy part can still fail its job if one opening is obstructed or one separating wall is incomplete.
Two opposite defects. One functional interface.
Flash at a shutoff can reduce the available opening. Incomplete plastic between adjacent outlets can compromise separation. The engineering task therefore includes both the steel contact that forms an open passage and the molded wall that must remain intact beside it.
Three backlit views below. On a small screen, swipe across to inspect each opening.
Backlighting makes the openings easier to see. Functional flow and isolation require their own agreed tests; these photographs are visual views of the part.
Look inside the tool.
Understand the decisions.
Follow the cartridge from a demanding functional interface to the mold and the parts it produces. Choose a step or play the walkthrough.
Three paths. One critical interface.
The challenge starts at the part: three narrow outlets must stay open, remain separate and align with the bonded chip.
- Preserve each opening. Flash must not obstruct an ink path; adjacent molded walls must remain complete.
- Locate the whole interface. Outlet spacing and the bonding face work together. A dimension matters because the next component must fit.
Rethink the tool. Keep the function.
The earlier two-mold approach was redesigned into one production mold. The task was to integrate the required features into a workable tooling system.
- One tooling route. The design combines the forming steel, release mechanisms and supporting mold structure.
- More than a lower mold count. Access, guidance and a reliable return to molding position must be considered together.
Put the steel where the features are.
The exposed forming side shows why a simple straight-pull concept was not enough. Internal and external features need different tooling elements.
- The forming region. The functional geometry determines where the molding steel and shutoffs must meet.
- Slide assemblies. Movable tooling reaches features that cannot be released by the main opening direction alone.
Plan the way out, too.
Looking below the forming plate reveals the angled core-side arrangement. A feature must be formed accurately and then released without damaging the molded housing.
- Angled withdrawal. The core-side mechanism provides a release path for restricted geometry.
- Support and return. The moving elements need clearance, guidance and repeatable seating. Release order and travel belong in the tooling review.
A designed tool.
A manufactured part.
The redesigned mold was built and the housing continues in injection production. These photographs connect the tooling decision to the physical component and production batches.
- The part beside its mold. The internal chambers are visible in the housing held at the production tool.
- Repeat production. The batch photograph shows parts from this project. For a new part, acceptance criteria are agreed around its critical dimensions and function.
Actual project CAD views and production photographs. The animated highlights explain the design; this walkthrough does not simulate the mold’s operating sequence, travel or cycle time.
Does your part have similar demands? ↗Keep the functional geometry.
Rethink how the tool releases it.
The customer's earlier approach used two molds. We redesigned the tooling into one mold, combining internal and external slides with angled withdrawal on the core side. That arrangement addresses features facing different directions without treating every undercut as a reason to change the product.
Form the features.
Place the molding steel where the internal and external features need it, while retaining the required outlet and interface geometry.
Release the restrictions.
Coordinate slide and angled withdrawal travel so undercuts are released before ejection. Clearances and motion order must be checked together.
Return to position.
Guidance, support and locking must bring the moving elements back to their working position. A release mechanism also has to withstand molding pressure and repeated operation.
From two molds to one production mold.
The value is an integrated tooling route that reached production. Mold count alone does not define cost or reliability: the motions, interfaces and maintenance needs still have to work as a system.
A tight dimension matters
because something must fit it.
The critical-feature accuracy requirement in this project was approximately 0.01–0.02 mm. Its meaning comes from the outlet geometry, their relative positions and the chip-bonding interface—not from applying a single tolerance to every surface of the housing.
Start with the shared assembly datum.
Three individually acceptable openings can still miss the chip inlets if the whole pattern shifts or rotates. Bonding-face distortion can also change the adhesive gap. We consider hole position, spacing, orientation and interface height as connected requirements.
Shutoff contact
The steel contact must keep melt out of the passage while supporting complete plastic around it. Contact condition, alignment and wear all affect the edge.
After molding
Steel dimensions are only part of the problem. Shrinkage, cooling, warpage and ejection can change the molded part. Review the actual part in its required condition.
After bonding
Locate the chip against the agreed datums and preserve adhesive keep-out zones around the outlets. Dimensional checks and assembled function answer different questions.
The range above describes this project's critical-feature requirement. Tolerances for a new part are reviewed by feature, material, geometry and measurement method.
How we turn a DFM issue into a decisionThe mold is built.
The parts are being made.
This project moved beyond a tooling proposal. The redesigned mold was built, the intended part result was achieved, and the cartridge housing continues in injection production. The photographs connect the molded component to its production mold and to a batch of parts.
Consistency is a set of
features to control.
For a part like this, “looks good” is not enough. The production acceptance plan needs separate answers for dimensional alignment, open passages, isolation between paths and assembled function.
For your project, we agree the measurement approach, functional checks and sampling requirements around the consequences of a failure. Critical shutoffs and moving tool elements belong in that discussion, along with any change to material, process or mating components.
Explore tooling and part supplyA different product.
The same engineering demands.
This project is relevant when your part combines closely spaced openings, separated internal paths, a precision mating surface or features that need more than one release direction. The product does not need to be an ink cartridge for those manufacturing decisions to matter.
| Your part has… | Bring this to the review | The decision it enables |
|---|---|---|
| Narrow passages or separated chambers | Flow paths, minimum openings and isolation requirements | Where shutoffs and separating walls are critical |
| A bonded or closely located mating part | The mating model, datum scheme and adhesive limits | Which positions and surface conditions control assembly |
| Internal and external undercuts | Functional features that cannot move or change | A release concept that preserves the product's job |
| Repeated production orders | Quantity outlook, revision and acceptance criteria | The tooling and supply scope to discuss together |
Send the current revision even if some requirements remain open. We can begin by separating the fixed product functions from the manufacturing choices still available.
Prepare the information for a useful quoteA fixed exterior can be just as important as a precision interface.
Our enclosure case addresses a different constraint: zero-draft walls, four lateral sliders, visible finish and rib-supported panel assembly. Together, the two cases show how the part’s function shapes the tooling and acceptance discussion.
Read the zero-draft enclosure case ↗Does your part combine precision
with difficult release geometry?
Send your current design, quantity outlook and the interfaces that matter.