In Mould Decoration – Is it for you?

In Mould Decoration or IMD has been around for a long time now. It was almost exclusively the realm of mobile phone lenses and keypads in the late 90s. Film, ink and moulding technology has moved on significantly over the years.

For new product design the term IMD or FIM often gets discussed, sometimes all too briefly as there seems to be a fear of the unknown. Success or failure appears on a knife edge and very often it is the lack of experience from the printer coupled with a lack of understanding from the moulder that forces the inevitable final decision to steer away. However, from the projects that have benefitted from good process knowledge, married with project experience it has won over. Very often the process is adopted wholly and with confidence delivering outstanding results. The flexibility that this technology brings to design and production is difficult to ignore.

So, what is In Mould Decoration?

Surface intergrated graphics might be a reasonable way of putting it. Whether it is just a flat film placed in a cavity or a fully formed and trimmed applique design to work as a transition fit into the mould tool. It can make the difference between something looking like it’s out of the 70s to a modern automotive or mobile phone fascia. The functionality is one of the key benefits, clear windows, living switches, hard coats, anti-glare, anti-microbial, hidden till lit legends. All full surface wrapped and no post printing, dipping, trimming, coating. That’s one of the other key benefits, get finished parts off the press. How much value can be attributed to that?

Process qualification?

Firsty, advice costs nothing. We know it’s an old cliche but it is true and especially relevant to IMD and new product design. Process qualification is best affected at the design inception stage before the design has gone down previously explored paths. We’ve been here before and find ourselves witnessing again, a comprehension design review as the penny drops. So, before you put pencil to paper, look at some examples of what can be achieved. We’re an experienced bunch that are willing to offer reliable advice and there’s not many of us about. It’s certainly not in anyone’s interest to steer designers down a blind alley.

Benefits vs drawbacks:

Every process has its limitations as well as its benefits. So, to try to evaluate a potential project we have to compare processes before deciding which route to product we are goint to take. Below is an example of the benefits and challanges for a single design. It shows a sectional view of made-up front moulding. The method on the left is a more conventional route to a functional fascia, on the right is the IMD route. I hope you find it informative.

The biggest hurdle of IMD is the tooling costs. However, more often than not, the added tooling for forming and trimming costs are easily recovered with increased efficiency. Sometimes this is difficult to quantify though; a good example here is using one mould tool production set up and running through a range of printed appliques with different colours or designs. The added functionalities including self-contained windows and switch buttons speak for themselves. Functional surfaces such as anti-scratch, anti-fog or anti-microbial,to suggest a few, save on expensive secondary processing. In flat film applications the tooling is virtually eliminated.

There are a few myths surrounding this process such as the thinking that is is only for high volume parts. This isn’t necessarily true as product designs can facilitate an easier application of lower volume films or appliques, maybe hanging from pins around gates to be later trimmed.

Another myth is that it can’t be applied to existing products. More often than not an existing mould tool can be adapted to work with a film insert or applique. This usually involves modifying the gates and ejection. The application of the ink to strenghthening areas where gate was is present can also help.