Here we have some pictures of parts molded with conventional and weldless processes. You can see in these parts the seam lines that have been eliminated in each part where the material, in the conventional process, did not flow together properly. Some of these images show you how the surface finish can often look blanched, scorched, or faded because of the failure to control the heating or cooling cycle. With the 3D weldless process, the surface finish is often improved dramatically, as you can see from this camera part.

Transferablity, as we mentioned before, is something else to pay attention to. When you're trying to get a particular textured finish, temperature control is very important. You can see here that the weldless process does much better on this simulated-leather texture.

This part has a fiber-filler, and you can see that not having good control over the surface temperatures will cause problems in the flow of the resin. Weldless fixes this.There are significant and obvious quality and appearance benefits from this process. There are no weld lines, no flow marks, no sink marks, and you get finer surface finishes, which can often eliminate secondary operations such as annealing, sanding, and painting.

You have much tighter control over the molding process with a better quality part in less time. You can mold at lower pressures, which allows for less flash and longer tool life, without warping and distortion.

The part has a lower residual molding stress, which reduces surface blushing, cracking, and glazing. You also have a higher strength through the normal molded material blending or match interface surface. With no blending problems, the part is stronger.

The 3D mold design does provide some flexibility relative to cavity design in issues such as gate and runner positions, thanks to the better material flow. Your number of trial tests tends to be reduced as well. This lets you have better control over your process factors such as the molding cycle, surface temperatures, resin flow, and molding pressures.