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Automotive Electrical Connector Mold
The automotive electrical connector mold is engineered for producing high-precision connector systems including sealed and unsealed housings, terminal position assurance (TPA) components, cavity plugs, and wire seals. This tooling system supports insert molding of stamped terminals, crimped contacts, and pre-assembled wire subassemblies. The mold architecture incorporates sliding cores, collapsible cores for internal locking features, and hot runner systems with pinpoint gating to achieve precision fill in thin-wall connector sections. Steel selection includes Stavax ESR for polished cavity surfaces and H13 with PVD coating for wear-prone insert areas. Cooling employs conformal circuits with micro-channel technology to maintain dimensional stability across complex geometries. Ejection strategies combine ejector pins, air poppets, and a synchronized stripper system to ensure damage-free demolding of intricate connector housings.
Core advantages
- Insert molding capability for stamped terminals and contacts
- Collapsible core technology for internal TPA and locking features
- Pinpoint gate hot runner with individual nozzle temperature control
- Multi-cavity configurations (4+4, 8+8, 12+12, 16+16) available
- PVD coating (TiAlN, CrN) on slide and core surfaces
- Conformal micro-channel cooling reduces cycle time by 20–28%
- Terminal positioning tolerance ±0.01 mm with optical verification
Product characteristics
| Mold base standard | DME / HASCO / FUTABA |
| Insert molding capability | Terminals, contacts, wire subassemblies |
| Injection materials | PA6, PA66, PBT, LCP, PPS, POM |
| Clamping force range | 50 – 600 ton |
| Number of cavities | 4 – 16 (custom) |
| Surface finish | SPI A1, VDI 3400, textured |
| Terminal positioning tolerance | ±0.01 mm |
| Mold life | 1M – 3M shots |
Application scenarios
- Sealed and unsealed connector housings
- Terminal position assurance (TPA) components
- Cavity plugs and wire seals
- Header connectors and pin headers
- Sensor connectors and mounting flanges
- High-voltage and high-current connector systems
- Board-to-board and wire-to-board connectors
Processing considerations
- Mold temperature: 80–120°C for PA; 60–100°C for PBT
- Melt temperature: 260–300°C for PA; 230–260°C for PBT
- Insert preheat temperature: 120–180°C for metal terminals
- Injection profile: slow fill to prevent terminal displacement
- Pack pressure: 50–80% of injection pressure, hold time 3–8 sec
- Venting depth: 0.003–0.008 mm for precision terminals
- Shrinkage allowance: 0.5–1.2% for PA; 0.3–0.8% for LCP
