Designing plastic parts for assembly

An outgrowth of a University of Wisconsin-Madison professional development course, this new edition details specifics regarding materials selection, manufacturing techniques, assembly procedures, and more. Also included in this new edition are World Wide Web references related to plastic part design. Designing parts for assembly has always been an important task and a new emphasis, „designing for manufacturing and assembly“ (DFMA), has become a significant trend worldwide. The book explains how plastics parts and components can be designed to maximize the benefits of DFMA. The process for optimizing parts for modern manufacturing systems is presented in two sections. The first reviews the physical and mechanical properties of polymers and explains the major polymer families and their structures. The second deals with assembly and design techniques, and includes a case history demonstrating the use and importance of finite element analysis (FEA). Appendices provide details about FEA, and output from FEA software. Contents: Understanding Plastic Materials. Safety Factors. Strength of Material for Plastics. Nonlinear Considerations. Assembly Techniques for Press Fitting. Living Hinges. Snap Fitting. Appendices. World Wide Web References Related to Plastic Part Design. References. Review: „This practical book [is] for anyone involved in the development and manufacture of plastics products.“ —Colloid & Polymer Science (2nd edition)