Plastic CUP – Injection Molding Optimization

Project Status

Ongoing project focused on improving recycled plastic injection molding through mold design optimization and parameter tuning.

3D Printed Mold

Injection Molding System

Overview

This project focuses on improving a recycled plastic injection molding system used by the Plastic CUP recycling initiative.

The system uses a 3D-printed mold to enable low-cost tooling and rapid prototyping for recycled plastic products.

Objectives

• Improve part quality
• Reduce molding defects
• Optimize injection molding parameters
• Evaluate performance of 3D-printed molds

Engineering Work

• Analysis of injection molding cycle
• Optimization of holding pressure and cycle timing
• Mold design evaluation
• Iteration of 3D-printed mold geometry
• Process improvements for recycled polymer manufacturing

Tools

• CAD (Inventor / SolidWorks)
• Injection molding machine
• 3D printing (FDM)
• Manufacturing process analysis

Project Context

This work is part of a collaboration with Plastic CUP, a recycling initiative focused on sustainable plastic reuse and community manufacturing solutions.

Future Work

• Further mold geometry optimization
• Cycle time reduction
• Material flow analysis
• Improved mold durability