Application and Trends of Automotive Mold Bases in Car Manufacturing

Automotive mold bases are widely used in the production of interior and exterior trim parts and structural components, such as bumpers, door panels, instrument panels, and lamp housings. Depending on the molding process, they can be divided into injection mold bases and die-casting mold bases. In recent years, with the rapid development of new energy vehicles, automotive mold base technology has undergone significant changes, the most prominent trend being the application of integrated die-casting technology.

I. Technological Innovation

Traditional automotive chassis and structural components are assembled by welding hundreds of stamped parts. Integrated die-casting technology uses large die-casting machines and specially designed die-casting mold bases to form a few large aluminum alloy parts in a single step.

II. Core Advantages

1. Lightweighting

Replacing steel with aluminum alloy significantly reduces vehicle body weight, thereby increasing the range of new energy vehicles.

2. High Efficiency

Greatly simplifies production lines and manufacturing processes, reducing production costs.

3. High Integration

Integrates multiple complex parts into one, improving the overall structural integrity of the vehicle body.

This technology places extremely high demands on the strength, precision, and size of mold bases, driving the mold base manufacturing industry toward high-end, large-scale development.

III. Main Industrial Distribution

China's automotive mold base industry is closely linked to the mold industry, with distinct regional characteristics. It is mainly concentrated in the following two major areas:

1. Pearl River Delta Region

Centered around Guangdong, this is China's most important mold market and the largest mold export base, accounting for over 40% of national output. The region features a complete industrial chain, leading specialization, and standardization.

2. Yangtze River Delta Region

Centered around Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu, relying on the region's advanced manufacturing industry, it has formed a complete mold base industrial chain. For example, Changxing in Zhejiang is home to world-leading die-casting mold base manufacturers, supplying to many automakers such as Tesla, NIO, and Geely.

IV. Main Structural Components

The structure of an automotive mold base is generally divided into two major parts: the upper mold (front mold) and the lower mold (rear mold), mainly composed of the following systems:

1. Mold Base Frame

This is the basic skeleton of the mold base, composed of steel plates such as the top plate, A plate (front template), B plate (rear template), spacer block (C plate), and bottom plate. It provides strength and rigidity to the entire mold, ensuring no deformation under high clamping pressure.

2. Guiding System

Composed of high-precision guide pillars and guide bushings, this is the “positioning unit” that ensures precise alignment of the upper and lower molds during opening and closing. For automotive molds, guiding precision requirements are extremely high to avoid flash or dimensional deviation.

3. Ejection System

This is the “demolding unit” that removes the finished product from the mold. It mainly consists of ejector pins, ejector retainer plates, ejector base plates, and return springs. After mold opening, the ejector rod of the injection molding machine pushes the ejector plate to smoothly eject the product.

4. Auxiliary Systems

These include functional units that ensure the normal operation of the mold, such as:

• Cooling system: Cooling channels (water lines) opened in the mold base to control mold temperature and improve production efficiency.

• Gating system: Channels that guide molten plastic into the cavity, such as runners and gates.

• Venting system: Shallow grooves on the parting surface to expel air from the cavity, preventing defects like gas marks.

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