SOLIDWORKS: Mold Design

Learn how to design high-quality molds and casts—for one-off prototyping or mass production—in SOLIDWORKS.

Introduction

• What is mold design?
• What you should know

1. What Is Mold Making and Casting?

• Definition of terms
• Design methodology
• Overview of applications possible

2. Everyday Casting: Materials

• Everyday casting—you've already done it
• History
• Materials

3. Design Considerations for Molding

• Types of molds
• Prototype molding components
• What to avoid?
• Designing a mold project
• Molding possibilities

4. The Casting Process

• Types of casting
• Safety gear
• Mold and box setup
• End-to-end casting process
• Casting possibilities

5. What Prototyping Processes Tell You about Full-Scale Manufacturing

• Parting lines and flash
• Material in, material out
• Mold complexity, pulls, and placement
• Fluid flow
• Complex molding

6. 3D Printing and CNC for Molding and Casting

• Why cast instead of 3D printing?
• What is CNC and what can you do with it?
• Picking your fabrication method

7. Other Applications and Processes

• Blow molding and roto molding
• CNC forms for vacuum forming
• Press molding
• Production at any scale

Conclusion

• Next steps