The First Shot — the initial molding trial immediately after mold setup — is the most critical moment in injection molding.
It reveals whether a mold is truly ready for production. When two defects appeared simultaneously on a clear polycarbonate part, BARO Studio's team didn't just adjust process conditions. They went back to the root cause.
 

Application: Y-Arm Material: Makrolon 2458 Clear (Transparent Polycarbonate) Production History: 15,000 pcs (2025) → Low-volume production confirmed: 35,000 pcs (2026)
 

Defects Identified at First Shot

Two defects were found during the initial molding trial after mold setup:

•   Air Trap: Trapped air around circular and rectangular holes, causing surface defects
•   Flash: Resin bleeding along hole edges, forming visible burrs

These were not process-setting issues that could be resolved by tweaking parameters. The root causes were structural — requiring a design-level solution.
 

BARO Studio's 3-Step Improvement Approach

BARO Studio re-examined the mold from the ground up.

Step 1. Dedicated Mold Base Slide mechanisms and structural constraints made it impossible to use the existing mold base configuration. A dedicated mold base was built from scratch to ensure structural stability and create the foundation for a clean process.

Step 2. Gate Size & Location Optimization The gate was redesigned — both its size and position — to control resin flow uniformly and create a proper air evacuation path. This directly addressed both the air trap and flash at their source.

Step 3. Core Pin Material Upgrade: SK-3 → Beryllium Copper (BeCu) The original SK-3 steel core pin offered limited thermal conductivity. Switching to Beryllium Copper significantly improved cooling performance, eliminating even micro flash that had persisted under the previous setup.
 

Results

Structural fix + gate optimization + material upgrade = Zero Flash.

• ✅ No Air Trap
• ✅ No Flash
• ✅ No Micro Flash
• 🏆 Clean, stable, production-ready quality achieved

The BARO Studio Approach

BARO Studio goes beyond mold fabrication. Every defect is traced to its root cause — from mold design to material selection — and resolved systematically. Even complex, multi-cause defects at the First Shot stage are brought to production quality through structured analysis and hands-on engineering.

From rapid injection molding prototypes to low-volume production, BARO Studio delivers with speed, precision, and full confidentiality.
 

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