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Core Pins

carbide-core-pins.jpg

Tolerances: Depending on geometry and application, tolerances can reach 0.000050 inches (0.00127 mm) in roundness and size.

Description: CraftAlloy™ tungsten carbide core pins used to form internal features in plastic injection molded parts.

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Key Functions

 

Core pins are rigid, precision components inserted into the mold cavity to create internal features in a molded part. During injection, molten plastic flows around the pin, forming holes or internal geometries as the material cools. Because plastics exert high pressure on the pin, stiffness is critical, and any bending leads to dimensional inaccuracies.

CraftAlloy™ tungsten carbide (developed by Crafts Technology and now part of Hyperion’s portfolio) delivers exceptional rigidity, ensuring minimal deflection and reduced core shift for highly accurate molded parts. Strategically harnessing CraftAlloy™ Tungsten Carbide on components within your injection molding process can minimize tool deflection and reduce molding cycle times by up to 40%.

Types

 

Hyperion develops custom core pins tailored to meet unique mold designs and challenging geometries.

CraftAlloy™ is a tungsten carbide grade engineered specifically for injection molding, optimized by Hyperion to deliver the ideal balance of hardness and toughness required for demanding molding conditions. Learn more about how CraftAlloy™ Carbide Core Pins improve core deflection.

 

Custom Core Pins

 

Custom core pins are engineered to meet unique mold designs, tight dimensional requirements, and challenging geometries. In addition to manufacturing high‑precision carbide solutions, Hyperion partners closely with customers throughout the project lifecycle to ensure optimal results.

Hyperion’s custom core pin support includes:

  • Recommendations for transitioning existing steel pin designs to tungsten carbide, improving stiffness, tool life, and dimensional stability
  • Engineering support for CAD drawings, including design reviews and material selection guidance
  • Design and application troubleshooting to address deflection, wear, or molding performance challenges before and during production

 

Combined with Hyperion’s advanced carbide manufacturing capabilities, this collaborative approach enables customers to achieve:

  • Extremely tight tolerances
  • Maximum stiffness with minimal deflection
  • High‑precision micro‑features
  • Repeatable accuracy across long production runs

 

Material Properties

 

Hyperion manufactures high‑performance tungsten carbide core pins engineered for applications where core deflection is the primary limiting factor in part quality. CraftAlloy™ carbide delivers:

  • Exceptional rigidity and stiffness, dramatically reducing core pin bending under high injection pressures
  • Dimensional stability for long, slender geometries, where even minimal deflection can result in ovality, flash, or scrap
  • Near‑zero wear, even when molding abrasive materials such as glass‑filled resins or PEEK
  • High thermal conductivity, supporting faster heat removal and more consistent cycle times
  • Extended tool life, significantly outperforming traditional steel or copper‑based alternatives

 

Core Pin, Insert, and Bushing Material Properties

 

Material Type 

Craftalloy™ CP Tungsten Carbide 

Craftalloy™ CPT Tungsten Carbide 

420SS 

H13 

P20 

M2 

Copper‑Beryllium Alloy (98% Cu, 2% Be) 

Young’s Modulus of Elasticity (kpsi) 

85,000 

77,600 

30,000 

31,000 

30,000 

30,000 

19,000 

Young’s Modulus of Elasticity (GPa) 

586 

535 

207 

214 

207 

207 

131 

Thermal Conductivity (Btu/ft·hr·°F) 

60 

60 

14.4 

14.2 

17.3 

11 

75 

Thermal Conductivity (W/cm·°C) 

104 

104 

24.9 

24.5 

30 

19 

130 

Thermal Expansion Coefficient (×10⁻⁶ / °C) 

5.5 

6.2 

10.3 

10.4 

12.1 

11 

17.3 

Thermal Expansion Coefficient (×10⁻⁶ / °F) 

3.06 

3.44 

5.7 

5.8 

6.7 

6.1 

9.6 

Density (g/cm³) 

14.4 

14.0 

8.03 

7.8 

7.86 

8.14 

8.36 

Density (lb/in³) 

0.52 

0.50 

0.29 

0.28 

0.284 

0.294 

0.302 

Specific Heat (Btu/lb·°F) 

0.051 

0.051 

0.11 

0.11 

0.11 

0.11 

0.091 

Specific Heat (J/kg·K) 

213 

213 

460 

460 

460 

460 

380 

Hardness (HRc) 

~80 (92 HRa) 

~76 (90 HRa) 

52 

54 

48 

66 

42 

Poisson Ratio 

0.22 

0.23 

0.24 

0.30 

0.29 

0.29 

0.30 

Wear Resistance 

Best 

Best 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Poor 

Cost 

$$ 

$$ 

$ 

$ 

$ 

$ 

$ 

* All values are close approximations; actual values may vary.

 

Because of these characteristics, CraftAlloy™ core pins are best suited for high‑precision injection molding applications involving long, thin‑walled, or deep internal features, where steel pins are prone to bending or core shift.

Typical applications include molded components with long, unsupported internal holes, thin‑wall sections requiring tight positional accuracy, and micro‑features where even micron‑level deflection impacts part function.

In these applications, resistance to bending is the dominant performance driver. CraftAlloy™’s superior stiffness minimizes deflection during injection, helping manufacturers maintain tight tolerances, improve repeatability, and reduce scrap across long production runs.