A novel approach for automatic venting system generation on complex surfaces in injection mold design

Venting system is an indispensable component of injection mold especially for the increasing demands of plastic articles with high quality. We propose a novel approach for automatic venting system generation on complex surfaces. The approach comprises three components, namely main vent centerline generation, main vent feature generation, and sub vent feature generation. The main vent centerline is generated by offsetting parting curve with equal arc length on complex surface. Multiple group key points are generated based on the main vent centerline, and the main vent features are generated by interpolating these points. The sub vent centerline is obtained by constructing the reference surface set and performing regular Boolean intersection with the parting surface. The sub vent feature generation process is the same as that of the main vent feature. A prototype system is also developed to improve the quality and efficiency of venting system design. Finally, a case study is provided to validate the proposed approach.