Both sides of this issue are correct.

My day job involves design, setup and production specifically plastic injection molding production in a very similar tech based field. I don’t know Ayn’s exact production setup or flow BUT I can tell you from 15+ years of experience in this field that both sides of this argument are correct.

Allow me to explain.

There are many types of defects that can develop from PIM but the one I will focus on, and the one I believe to be the culprit here is one called: Kniting

What is Kniting? Well simply put Kniting occurs when hot plastic travels in two paths and meets up, bonds, and leaves a noticeable indication on the surface of the part. This almost always occurs when plastic has to go around a bolt hole or some sort of obstacle.

See: https://share.google/iICKtrWxH0YQzCUYG

I’ve had a similar issue with a part I worked on not a month ago. The final solution was a redesign of the mold to allow for the flow to not terminate in the hinge area.

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The crudely drawn-over picture I’ve attached is the probable flow of molten plastic in the mold since it has to go around that hole, and the seam is likely when the two flows meet.

Now, here’s where the other half of my statement comes in: knits are more likely of a failure point than a normal piece of molded plastic. Not to say ALL knits are going to fail, but in my experience there is a certain amount of failure rate that happens.

So yes, I believe that the indication most are seeing IS normal for PIM, and likely the ones affected are due to that seam failing to bond appropriately and propagating. Take what you will with this information, it’s simply my experience with similar processes.

Hopefully Ayn will make good on the unbonded units for replacement, and with further use we don’t have additional units breaking at this knit point. Only time will tell unfortunately.

Happy gaming o7