1. The Basic Concept of the Safety Factor In product design, the **safety factor (SF)** is a ‘margin of safety’ established to prepare for unforeseen loads and uncertainties when a structure or component is actually in use. Put simply, it acts as ‘insurance against failure’ and reduces the risk of accidents or breakdowns by ensuring a margin between the design strength and the actual operating conditions. For example, if a force of 100 N is expected to be applied to a component, and the...

In the manufacturing industry, shortening product molding cycles is a key factor in enhancing competitiveness. Against this backdrop, attention is focusing on ‘super high-cycle molding’, which further enhances conventional high-cycle molding. This technology is a comprehensive system designed to dramatically improve productivity. In this article, we provide a detailed overview of the fundamentals of super high-cycle molding, mold design, requirements for molding machines, and success stories....

A clear explanation of evaluation methods that visualise the ‘hardness’ and ‘toughness’ of resins In the field of plastics, differences in properties—such as ‘this resin softens easily at high temperatures’, ‘this material is impact-resistant’, or ‘it is hard at room temperature but becomes prone to deformation as soon as the temperature rises slightly’—have a significant impact on mouldability and product quality. One of the evaluation methods used to accurately understand these differences...