May
31
Jobs In Plastic Injection Mold Making: Mold Design
May 31, 2009 |
Injection mold design is part of the fast paced world of injection molding. As a mold designer, you must be able to think of new ways of doing things, and you must be adaptable and willing to learn new technologies.
To the untrained eye the work may look easy because of the powerful CAD programs, but in reality, these programs are merely the tools to help develop your design. In the field of injection mold design you often must develop new and original methods of plastic molding.
A day in the life of an injection mold designer
Most injection mold designers follow a schedule similar to the mold makers. Because their mold designs are soon going to be manufactured by the mold makers, there is a very close relationship between these two
A typical workday for an injection mold designer is spent in front of his computer. He, or she, will use some very powerful CAD programs, such as AutoCad, MasterCam, UniGraphics, or one of the other sophisticated programs. The computer programs available today are extremely fast and capable.
An injection mold designer needs to have good communication skills, because he will be interacting with mold makers, WEDM programmers, CNC programmers, and everyone else associated with the molding process. This ability to communicate with the various players is crucial to the job.
Usually the injection mold 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.
How do you become an injection mold designer??
In the United States there are basically two paths. One is to learn on the job and the other is to learn at a design school. These two options each have their own strengths and work quite well.
A lot of mold designers have experience in mold making. One benefit of this is the hands-on approach to designing the mold. This experience is greatly appreciated by the mold maker!
There are numerous community colleges, universitites and technical colleges that offer excellent courses on injection mold design. A background in mechanics, spatial relationships, ability to visualize 3D parts, and mathematics are all essential.
Is there a future in injection mold design?
Like everything else associated with the plastics industry, the answer is yes and no. Yes, because the plastics field is growing all the time and skilled designers are in high demand and low supply.
No, because the field is so competitive on a global scale. In this electronic age the designer does not even need to be in the same country as the mold maker. I had this experience at one shop; the designer was in Canada and we were in the USA. It worked well, but required considerable phone time on the part of the project manager.
Conclusion
Working in injection mold design is challenging, interesting, secure, well paying and in demand. Anyone interested will find many good courses available and companies seeking qualified designers.
