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The increased adoption of downsized engines along with higher electrical demand is generating a challenge to the Front-End Accessory Drive (FEAD) system functioning and validation. One alternative to speed up the validation of potential design solutions is the in-vehicle experimental tests approach. Nevertheless, experimental data collection during in-vehicle FEAD evaluation imposes some challenges due to, for instance, packaging space constraints and sample rate required to capture the dynamic events during vehicle operation, among others. In order to overcome this limitation, the objective of this research is focused in the development of a customized test rig that emulates FEAD layout of an actual automobile in a simulated operating condition.

On an injection mold, the runner system is divided in: main runner, secondary distribution runners and injection gates. As for the injection gates, one of the most widely used designs is the pinpoint gate, for being simple and leaving small marks on the injected part. In the literature, the authors diverge for the values for the optimization of the gate, recommending further studies for each application. On that note, the objective of this study is to analyze through CAE the values recommended for the pinpoint gate in order to obtain the optimized injection process, varying the material, shape and thickness of the product. At the end of the study, a reference chart will be presented with the gate dimensions that were the most efficient in the computer simulation for each type of part, to aid in the project of future injection molds.