Ways to Eject parts from a mold.

You might that is a simple, just push the part out. However when we are talking about
doing that millions of time it becomes a thing that needs careful consideration. There
are many ways to effectively eject a part from the mold, however depending on the
part geometry the length of the production run and the plastic material, all these
factors will determine the best system to use. The most widely used mold ejection
systems are: Pins and blades, Sleeve ejectors, Stripping plats and valve ejectors, next
we will discuss each of these methods in more detail.

Ejector pins and blades.

Ejector pins are often used as they come in many standard sizes and are easy to
fitted, modify and replace. These pins should always be hardened for production, by
one of the following methods:
Nitrided pins. These are pins that have been heat-treated in a molten salt ferritic
bath or gas to introduce nitrogen into the surface of the pin. They have good wear
resistance and are used for all normal ejector pin applications.
Tuftrided pins. Tuftriding introduces nitrogen and extra carbon into the pin surface,
giving a harder surface and leaving a softer core. This has distinct advantages where
slender pins have to be used that may be subject to flexing during operation.
Through-hardened pins and blades. These are hardened in the same way as cavity parts,
using nickelchrome steels. This technique is used for larger core pins and pins that
form the core of a sleeve ejector.

A stepped design should be used in the support plate so that the ejector pin is only in
contact with the plate for 2-3D of the ejector pin. This is so that the ejector pin will
not wear so much however it is adequately support with the mold.
Sleeve Ejectors
These kind of ejectors are used on circular parts just like ejector pins these ejectors
are available in many standard sizes and can be modified to suit molds. Also just like
the ejector pins the ejector sleeve should be hardened and have a stepped design to
reduce wear. The mold height will be increased due to the need to use a core retainer
plates.

Stripper Plate Ejection.

Stripper plate systems are very effective as they can support the maximum area
possible during ejection. Stripper plates systems are often used in addition to pins,
sleeves ejection and compressed air. They are often used in large multi cavity molds
where it is more economical to use a stripper plates rougher than many ejector pins.

Stripper plate with integral hardened insert

Stripper plate with moving hardened insert

Valve Ejection

This type of ejector is used to provide a large area of support that is useful for
supporting the top surfaces of thin-walled part. Such components, especially those in
brittle materials, can be prone to breakage if not supported across a large area. Valve
ejection is also useful for releasing a vacuum in enclosed components such as boxes.
Examples of the use of valve ejectors are shown below.

Air-assisted valve ejection

Ejection Assembly Actuation.
The ejector pins, sleeves or stripper actuators, together with their retainer and
backing plates, form the ejection assembly. Wherever possible, the complete
assembly should be symmetrically balanced to avoid out-of-balance forces that can
create wear or damage. A typical mechanical ejection system with a spring return is
shown in the below image. In this case the ejectors are symmetrically positioned and
no bushed guide system has been used, which is ok for small molds however for
bigger molds it is advisable to use a bushing guide system.

Sometimes it is advantageous to strip components by pulling a stripper plate from

the front half of the tool. A basic system is shown in below.

Ejection by stripping from the fixed half of the tool

Compressed air is widely used tor ejection or to assist ejection, however possible
contamination from the compressed air has to be considered. For threaded
components an unscrewing motor is used to remove the part from the cavity, see the
image below. However due to the part sticking to the cavity a second ejector system
is often necessary like an ejector pin.

Unscrewing combined with mechanical ejection

A double ejector system is often used where the first ejector stroke frees the part
from its cavity, however where the part sticks or lays on these ejector pins then a
second stroke is used to free the part. See the below image for more explanation.

Standard double ejection system.

Here we have a very basic but nevertheless effective method of achieving double
ejection for noncritical applications. After the tool opens, both ejector
assemblies A and B move forward distance Z together as a single until assembly A is
forced to stop by the cavity support plate above it. As the ejection stroke continues,
the die springs compress, allowing assembly B to continue forward until they in turn
hit the stops C.

Simple spring-operated double ejection system

Conclusion.
As we can see there are many alternatives to use to eject the parts from the mold.
Cost may be a factor however the first consideration should always be that the
ejector system is robust and strong enough so that it does not fail or seize up during
production. As if the ejector system seizes up during production it will often mean
the mold has to be pulled out of the machine for maintenance, causing machine
down time and production scheduling problems. So getting the ejector system design
right is a very critical design decisions.
Please contact us if you require any help with a mold design or build.