20 Ton press for injection molding machine

I have only scratched the surface on the higher Fusion 360 stuff.
It will tell you the volume of the mold cavity if you do it right.
I was attempting to get the volume of the sprue and runners, gates to add to the modeled knob volumes, but I did something wrong.
I will keep trying till I get it. :)

As to the hobby part, I have been interested in IM since before I bought a 3D printer. That is actually why I bought that kit or at least one reason. Making formed stuff out of plastic cheaply.
Using the knobs as a mold here to start with is because it is a current pet peeve with knob producers.
I can buy knobs that will work.
The cost is nearly the same if I buy 50 or 1200. I guess those are still small quantities where injection molding is concerned. The 1200 count takes about 6 weeks on the lead time.
They are not really the knobs I want for my product, though they do work.
I am paying a premium price for them. I should be able to get what I want.
That is the driving point for me. An interest and a need collide. ;)

I also understand that some guys that have this press might also use it more often than me. I do have another use for it coming up.
So a dual purpose machine. Probably not great for either purpose. All of the IM parts on this press would come off with a couple set screws and maybe a couple bolts. Then it is an actual 20 ton press again.
That's gotta be cool.
:)

The volume is not really important. The projected area is what matters. Post some pictures if you get it working, I'm curious how it will turn out :-)

Projected area is different than volume?
I do have a learning curve.

You mean surface area.
I think that is the difference from the total volume to the outside shell.?

yes it is different from volume and also different from surface area. The projected area is the area of the shadow that part (including runners) would cause when lit with a lamp. Multiply it with your injection pressure and you have an estimate of the required clamping force you need to keep the mold shut.

The normal for clamp pressure/Tonnage needed is 3 to 5 Ton per square Inch this is the normal requirement,and yes surface area of the molded part, any surface area that will be affected by the injected Plastic, is to be calculated, to know what clamp pressure is needed, for a Hobby molding like you are doing, if you, inject the plastic into the mold, and you get flash, between the 2 mold faces, then you either need more clamp or less injection pressure, hard to control on a Hobby machine

Thanks, Guys.
I may get a chance to move a little farther along with this over the weekend.
I will try machining the first mold design and see what needs to be seen on it. :)
I am going to mount the chuck in the lathe and turn a few parts of this on it as well.

I think I have determined that I will most likely just be using TPE. At least initially.
That stuff seems pretty painless, assuming I am close to the city where the ball park is located. ;)