DP Measurement Balometer mould design
A Balometer measures air flow through a particular medium such as ducting. This enables the user to calculate, among other things, the volume of air flow per hour through that medium.
How did CGP help?
CGP teamed up with the moulding company, designer and client to finalise the design of the Balometer so it would, once manufactured, perform as expected in the field.
Our work group spent eight months re-designing; prototyping and testing the Balometer parts until we had a design that delivered the results expected of it in the field and would lend itself to the toolmaking and injection moulding process.
Running a mould flow analysis on the 330mm diameter part was the first step in the mould design process. It aided material processing and hot tip feed selection.
The tool design covered moulding an M10 internal thread and 14 side actions including six 4mm diameter 150mm long water cooled core pins which hollowed out the main spokes.
Detachable hydraulic cylinders and slider units were designed so they could easily be removed by the mould setter, enabling them to build the tool in the press without the aid of a skilled toolmaker, increasing flexibility and saving the moulding company money.
The hardened tool weighing 1350kg measured 1.5m across with the 6 hydraulic cylinders in place.
The main Balometer part was just one of seven parts used to build the final assembly, all of which were made by CGP Engineering Ltd.
