Abstract: The factors affecting the quality and capability of plastic parts were quantitatively analyzed and optimization a model of gate location of plastic mould with changeable thickness and section was formulated based on genetic algorithm and numerical simulation. After optimization, the pressure of gate location, the temperature difference, and the maximum shear stress were reduced by 25 %, 31 %, 8 %, respectively, and numerical examples were given to demonstrate the function of the optimization model.

Key words: injection molding, plastic mould, gate location, numerical simulation, genetic algorithm