Draft & Texture

The reason for draft

Drafts (or taper) in a mold, facilitates part removal from the mold. The amount of draft angle depends on the depth of the part in the mold, and its required end use function.
The draft is in the offset angle in a direction parallel to the mold opening and closing.

It is best to allow for as much draft as possible for easy release from the mold. As a nominal recommendation, it is best to allow 1 to 2 degrees of draft, with an additional 1.5° min. per 0.025 mm (0.001 inch) depth of texture. See below.

The mold parting line can be relocated to split the draft in order to minimize it. If no draft is acceptable due to design considerations, then a side-action mold (cam-actuated) may be required at a greater expense in tooling.

The reason for texture

Draft for texturing is somewhat dependant on the mold design and the specific mold texture. Guidelines are readily available from the mold texture suppliers or mold builders.

As a general guideline, 1.5° min. per 0.025mm (0.001 inch) depth of texture needs to be allowed for in addition to the normal draft. Usually for general office equipment such as lap-top computers a texture depth of 0.025 mm (0.001 inch) is used and the min. draft recommended is 1.5 °. More may be needed for heavier textures surfaces such as leather texture (with a depth of 0.125 mm/0.005 inch) that requires a min. draft of 7.5°.

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