Fruit & Vegetable Crate Mould
SINOMOULD is a professional mould manufacturer in the field of post‑harvest fruit & vegetable processing and cold‑chain logistics packaging. For the characteristics of fresh fruit and vegetables—high respiration rate, need for ventilation and heat dissipation, and frequent stacking/handling—we have deeply developed the fruit & vegetable crate mould. Crates produced by this mould feature a full ventilation grid structure and are made of food‑grade PP/HDPE, offering excellent compressive strength and weather resistance.
Fruit & Vegetable Crate Mould Specifications
SINOMOULD provides fully customized mould solutions based on folding/fixed design, ventilation, and stacking standards. Below are the core specifications for a typical fruit & vegetable crate mould:
| Applicable Product Range | General folding fruit & vegetable baskets, fixed leaf vegetable crates, broccoli/mushroom special ventilation crates | Number of Cavities | 1 cavity (large storage/transport crate) or 2 cavities (general harvesting/transfer crate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mould Overall Dimensions | Fully non‑standard custom design (calculated based on maximum projected area and mould base size) | Compatible Injection Machine Tonnage | 650T – 1800T (dynamically calculated according to volume and grid density) |
| Main Mould Steel | 738H / NAK80 (high‑gloss, corrosion‑resistant pre‑hardened steel, balancing cost and service life) | Injection System | Multi‑drop valve‑gated hot runner (enables low‑pressure gentle filling of large grid areas) |
| Demoulding System | Hydraulic cylinder direct eject + stripper plate composite ejection + auxiliary air blow demoulding | Injection Process | Multi‑drop valve‑gated hot runner (enables low‑pressure gentle filling of large grid areas) |
| Core Mould Features | Flash‑free full grid venting, rapid cooling and setting water circuits, ultra‑long‑life stacking locking design | Cycle Time | 15 – 20 seconds (based on lightweight design with 2.5–3.5mm wall thickness) |
| Design Life | 800,000 – 1,000,000 cycles | Delivery Time | 60 working days |
Fruit & Vegetable Crate Mould Quality Essentials
To produce fruit & vegetable crates that withstand rough handling and have highly uniform wall thickness, SINOMOULD implements special control measures on quality details:
- Flash‑free forming of cross ventilation grids
For the dense cross/slit ventilation holes on the crates’ side walls and bottom, SINOMOULD uses a precision insert‑type core interlocking structure. By controlling the single‑side fit clearance to 0.01–0.02mm with tapered precision positioning, we fundamentally eliminate fine flash caused by shear‑induced heating. Every ventilation hole edge is clean and completely open.
- Food‑grade anti‑fouling and easy‑demoulding surface treatment
The entire moulding area is precision polished with 8000# abrasive paper. All radii on the crate and runners are generously rounded to eliminate dead corners. Since root soil and leaf residues from fruit and vegetables can easily corrode ordinary steel, the moulding surfaces receive an electroless nickel‑phosphorus alloy anti‑fouling coating, which greatly reduces adhesion. Additionally, fine micro‑dot texture on the cavity surface creates an air‑cushion release effect.
- Precision interlocking of stacking male/female locking features
For the stacking limiting locks on the four corners and edges of the crate, we use wire EDM and CNC precision boring to produce interlocking features. This ensures stable engagement within the specified tolerance band, whether empty or fully loaded, effectively preventing crates from tipping or collapsing during transport of fresh produce.
Fruit & Vegetable Crate Mould Machining Essentials
A fruit & vegetable crate mould that perfectly balances ventilation needs and structural strength demonstrates the integration of high precision and efficient production:
- High‑efficiency automated milling of grid ribs
Using custom macro programs, a large gantry machining center performs high‑speed layer milling on thousands of grid features, eliminating tool marks and creating naturally smooth reinforcing radii at the intersections of the three‑dimensional grid. This greatly enhances the impact‑fatigue strength of the moulding surface.
- EDM finishing of thin‑wall porous parts
For fine ventilation slots and narrow ribs, we use customized graphite electrodes for EDM. Low‑wear graphite electrodes combined with micro‑orbiting technology perform precision corner cleaning and polishing of the grid roots and vent slots, ensuring smooth melt flow through micro‑structures.
Fruit & Vegetable Crate Mould Flow Analysis
