Step Joint

The step joint with energy director is illustrated in Figure 4. This joint molds readily, and provides a strong, well aligned joint with a minimum of effort. This joint is usually stronger than a butt joint due to the fact that material flows into the vertical clearance. The step joint provides good strength in shear as well as tension, and is often recommended where good cosmetic appearance is required. When working with crystalline materials a 60° included angle energy director should be used instead of the 90° included angle energy director.

Figure 5 shows variations of the basic step joint design.