Why Insulate? What factors would lead a mould designer to specify insulation plates for a mould? In particular Aluminum tooling intended to mould Nylon. Advice please.

If you have Aluminium tooling, Insulating it from the platens of the press would be very wise considering the heat transfer of Aluminium. Having a uniform mold temperature when running Nylon will improve the process and quality of the parts. Considering the platens are like giant heat sinks, which would create "cold spots" which adversely affect the process, it makes good common sense to use insulation plates, especially on Aluminium tooling. In my opinion, the designer made the right call.

Hi Peter, Totally agree with Christopher. By insulating we will be able to reduce the start up time and save energy too since there is less heat loss.

Peter, I also agree with both Christopher and Chandra. I would add that the use of Insulator Plates on both sides of a mold, regardless of Mold Material type and Resin used will allow for a greater process control of the molding cycle. This is especially important when the press rooms are not fully climate controlled and are subject to ambient temperatures that may be effected by seasonal changes----Winter/Summer.

Insulation plates are used to insulate the mold from the machine. You only want to control the temperature of the mold---not the machine. Regardless of the mold material or the material being molded, it is a tremendous waste of energy if you do not isolate the mold from the machine.

I do agree with Cristopher.It is very important to isolate mold from machine platens to attain maximum temperature without any energy loss. Pradeep PandalaTool Room Professional ,Plastic Inj. molding, Pressure die casting, Press tools, Fine blanking, Jigs

Hi all. Has anyone done any study or data to share between an insulated mold and one without. I like to know how significant it is. I work in a tropical country and I have yet to see a mold with insulation plates to prevent heat been lost to the press platen. Thank you

David, Since all molds are different, along with the presses they run in along with the resin used, it is impossible to quantify the thermal losses when not using insulation plates. Sure, a majority of tools today don't use insulation, however, when faced with molding applications that require a high degree of process control the insulation enables thermal stability. Hot Runner Manifolds, High Temperature Resins, Thinwall/High Speed Molding are but a few types of tool/processes that require insulators for best results. As previously mentioned, there are also benefits to Start Up Time and Energy Conservation regardless of how critical your process requirement is.