Shrinkage occurs as a plastic part cools. Consider the amount of shrinkage when making the mold so that the dimensions of the finished part meet the part design specification.
Shrinkage is classified as:
To compensate for this shrinkage, adjust the mold dimensions. You can use the Shrinkage feature to set this adjustment manually by using grade-specific material data. Alternatively, you can run a shrinkage analysis to predict the shrinkage, taking into account the material characteristics, the processing conditions, and the part geometry.
A Part Shrinkage analysis evaluates an individual part. A Mold Shrinkage analysis evaluates the entire mold design, including the feed system. Shrinkage analysis estimates the percentage of shrinkage that occurs based on the mold dimensions. Adjust the mold dimensions until the shrinkage analysis predicts that the part dimensions are within an acceptable tolerance of the design specifications.