Rubber seal molds are core industrial sealing system equipment, with their design and manufacturing quality directly determining seal reliability, precision, and production efficiency. Custom, multi-cavity, and non-standard rubber seal molds cater to personalized needs, large-scale production, and special working conditions respectively, playing an irreplaceable role in new energy vehicles, high-end equipment, and medical devices. As seals evolve toward "high temperature resistance, high pressure resistance, micro-size, and long service life," mold technology advances through structural optimization, material innovation, and intelligent integration, providing core support for industrial sealing safety.
Custom molds target personalized needs, developed for seals with specific working conditions, special materials (liquid silicone, fluororubber, TPU) or non-standard sizes, ideal for small-batch production or trials. Highly adaptable, they optimize structures by material and suit extreme conditions (-60℃~200℃, ≤32MPa). Adopting a modular design, they enable multi-specification production via insert replacement, with a 15~25-day delivery cycle and cavity dimensional tolerance ±0.01~±0.03mm.
Multi-cavity molds optimize production efficiency for mass-produced standard seals. Cavity counts range from 2~16 (expandable to 32 for high-volume needs), boosting output 3~5x vs. single-cavity molds. Equipped with a hot runner quantitative injection system and precise temperature control (±1℃ fluctuation), they ensure uniform mold filling with product consistency error ≤0.02mm. Mold cores use Cr12MoV tool steel (deep cooling treated, HRC60~62) for over 500,000 cycles, suitable for nitrile rubber, EPDM.
Non-standard molds cater to seals outside standard sizes or with special structures, suiting inner diameters >800mm, thin-walled/irregular shapes, or extreme conditions. Cavity surfaces are polished to Ra0.15μm, with 0.01~0.02mm exhaust grooves to avoid defects (material shortage, bubbles), ensuring >95% qualification rate. Used in aerospace and engineering machinery for high-pressure, wide-temperature, or corrosion-resistant sealing.
Cavity structure impacts molding quality, optimized by product type: custom molds use conformal cooling channels; multi-cavity molds adopt symmetric layouts and balanced runners (pressure loss ≤10%); non-standard molds feature guiding mechanisms and split cavities. All cavities reserve 0.01~0.03mm shrinkage allowance.
Mold materials balance hardness, wear resistance, and processability: cores use H13/Cr12MoV steel (hardened to HRC55~62 via nitriding/deep cooling); bases use 45# steel/QT500 ductile iron. Silicone-molding molds get anti-adhesion treatment; fluororubber-molding molds use corrosion-resistant alloys.
Mold precision dictates assembly performance: guide pillars/bushings have ≤0.003mm gaps; cavity tolerance is ±0.005~±0.01mm (precision products) or ±0.03~±0.05mm (standard products). Cavities are finished via 5-axis machining + EDM (precision molds) or 3-axis + wire cutting (standard molds), with full-size inspection via 3D coordinate measuring machines.
Processing aligns with precision: precision cavities use 5-axis machining + EDM (Ra0.02~0.05μm); standard cavities use 3-axis machining + wire cutting. Exhaust grooves are laser-cut; cooling channels use deep-hole drilling. Key components undergo heat/aging treatment to eliminate internal stress.
Assembly follows "benchmark first, details later": fix cores/bases, install guide parts/ejection systems/temperature controls, test moving part flexibility. Check exhaust patency and sealing to prevent flash/leakage; optimize ejection parameters, using gas-assisted demolding for irregular parts.
Test molding is critical pre-delivery: set parameters by material (TPU: 170~190℃, 80~120MPa; rubber: 150~185℃, vulcanization time by thickness). Inspect dimensions, surface quality, and physical properties; optimize molds/parameters until qualification rate >95%.
Molds integrate sensors (pressure/temperature) and visual inspection for real-time monitoring, linking to injection molding machines via IoT for automatic parameter adjustment. Multi-cavity molds add intelligent counting/fault warning; custom molds use CAD/CAM/CAE integration (cutting R&D cycles by >20%).
3D printing produces inserts and conformal cooling channels (30% less material waste, 40% shorter development cycles). Mold bases use lightweight aluminum alloy; oil-free lubrication and eco-friendly release agents minimize emissions, supporting green production.
Modular design (standard bases + replaceable inserts) enables rapid product switching. Reverse engineering replicates sample parameters, enhancing custom mold precision and delivery efficiency. New wear-resistant/high-temperature materials expand adaptability for non-standard/custom molds.
