Analysis of thermal cycling efficiency and optimal design of heating/cooling systems for rapid heat cycle injection molding process

Rapid heat cycle molding (RHCM) is a molding process that the mold cavity is rapidly heated to a high temperature before plastic melt injection, and then cooled quickly once the cavity is completely filled. Heating/cooling efficiency and temperature uniformity of the RHCM system are two key technical parameters to ensure a high productivity and high-quality products. In this study, a numerical model to analyze the heat transfer in heating and cooling phases of RHCM was built. The effect of heating/cooling medium, layout and structure of the heating/cooling channels, mold structure, etc., on heating/cooling efficiency and temperature uniformity was studied and discussed by analyzing the thermal responses of the molding system in RHCM process. Based on the simulation results, the optimization design of the RHCM mold with hot-fluid heating was performed. Then, a new RHCM mold structure with a floating mold cavity was proposed to improve the heating/cooling efficiency and temperature uniformity. The effectiveness of this new mold structure was also verified by numerical experiments. At last, a RHCM production line with steam heating and water cooling was constructed for a thin-wall plastic part. In testing production, the molding systems can be heated and cooled rapidly with a molding cycle time of about 72 s. The production results show that the aesthetics of the molded parts was greatly enhanced and the weld mark on the plastic part’s surface was completely eliminated.     

Heating/cooling channels design for an automotive interior part and its evaluation in rapid heat cycle molding

Rapid heat cycle molding (RHCM) is a recently developed innovative injection molding technology. Rapid heating and cooling of the injection mold is the most crucial technique in RHCM because it not only has a significant effect on part quality but also has direct influence on productivity and cost-efficiency. Accordingly, Heating and cooling system design plays a very important role in RHCM mold design. This study focuses on the heating/cooling system design for a three-dimensional complex-shaped automotive interior part. Heat transfer simulation based on finite element analysis (FEA) was conducted to evaluate the thermal response of the injection mold and thereby improve heating/cooling channels design. Baffles were introduced for heating/cooling channels to improve heating/cooling efficiency and uniformity of the mold. A series of thermal response experiments based on full factorial experimental design were conducted to verify the effectiveness of the improved heating/cooling channels design with baffles. A mathematical model was developed by regression analysis to predict the thermal response of the injection mold. The effects of the cavity surface temperature on weld mark and surface gloss of the part were investigated by experiments. The results show that the developed baffle-based heating/cooling channels can greatly improve thermal response efficiency and uniformity of the mold. The developed mathematical model supplies an efficient approach for precise predication of mold thermal response. As the cavity surface temperature raises to a high enough level, automotive interior parts with high gloss and non-weld mark surface can be obtained.     

Optimal design of heating channels for rapid heating cycle injection mold based on response surface and genetic algorithm

Rapid heating cycle molding (RHCM) technology is a novel polymer injection molding method developed in recent years. In this paper, the principle of RHCM was introduced and a RHCM mold for producing a large-size LCD TV panel was presented. Aiming at achieving a uniform temperature distribution on the cavity surface of the stationary mold insert, the distances between the neighbor heating channels were considered as the main design variables. An objective function for optimizing the temperature distribution uniformity was proposed. The experiment samples for calculating the objective function were selected by using the Latin Hypercube Design experiment method. A quadric response surface equation for calculating temperature distribution uniformity was established. The design variables were optimized by using genetic algorithm and the optimal solutions were obtained. The temperature distribution uniformity on the stationary mold insert cavity surface was greatly improved. The effectiveness of the optimization method presented in this paper was also demonstrated by industrial injection production of a LCD TV panel.     

Three‐dimensional thermal response and thermo‐mechanical fatigue analysis for a large LCD TV frame mould in steam‐assisted rapid heat cycle moulding

Rapid heat cycle moulding (RHCM) is a newly developed moulding technique to improve the surface appearance of plastic parts and eliminate the polluting secondary operations such as primers and painting. In steam‐assisted RHCM, the mould surface temperature should be thermally cycled by alternatively cycling the high temperature steam and cooling water in the heating/cooling channels of the mould. The mould design is of great importance for RHCM because it not only has a great effect on the heating/cooling efficiency and hence the productivity but also directly affects the mould surface temperature uniformity and accordingly the final part quality. Furthermore, the service life of the RHCM mould with steam heating is also very much dependent on the mould structure or the layout of the heating/cooling channels as the fatigue crack is likely to occur at the wall of the heating/cooling channels under combined thermal cycling and mechanical loading. In this study, an RHCM mould for a type of 52‐inch LCD TV frame was designed. A three‐dimensional (3D) transient thermal analysis was performed to determine the thermal response efficiency of the designed RHCM mould cavity and investigate the factors affecting the heating efficiency. Then, by using the results obtained from the heat transfer simulation, the thermal‐structure coupling analysis comprehensively considering the cavity pressure and clamp force was conducted to analyse the stress distribution in the mould cavity, which is helpful to find the weak position in the mould cavity. We found that the spots where the maximum stresses occur are similar to the region where fatigue cracks come into being in the actual RHCM mould. Based on the simulation results, the mechanism of the cavity cracks formation on the cavity surface was proposed. Finally, the fatigue analysis was conducted to predict the fatigue life of the RHCM mould. The analysis results show that the regions at the top edges of the heating/cooling channels have the lowest fatigue life and safety factor. The discrepancy between the available life predicted by simulation and the actual service life of the RHCM mould is also discussed.     

快速热循环注塑成型技术发展综述

快速热循环注塑成型技术是一种绿色环保的新兴注塑成型技术。相比常规注塑成型技术,该技术可显著改善塑件表面质量,获得表面高光且无熔痕的塑料产品。采用快速热循环注塑技术可避免常规注塑过程中的后续喷涂工艺,从而降低生产成本,简化生产流程,缩短生产周期,所生产的塑件可直接用于产品装配。在具体技术和工艺研究两个方面详细介绍了快速热循环注塑技术。在具体技术方面,阐述了快速热循环注塑成型技术的工艺原理,介绍了模具快速加热与快速冷却的方法,以及随形加热与冷却管道的设计制造;在工艺研究方面,综述了快速热循环注塑数值模拟方面的研究,介绍了快速热循环注塑工艺改善产品质量的内在机理。最后,分析了快速热循环注塑技术依然存在的问题,并对其未来的发展趋势进行了展望。     

蒸气辅助快速热循环注塑技术及模温响应模拟

快速热循环注塑采用动态模温控制新策略,可以彻底解决常规注塑工艺存在的短射、喷射痕、缩痕、流动痕、熔接痕、浮纤等缺陷。文中通过对快速热循环注塑工艺与常规注塑工艺的比较,深入研究了蒸气辅助快速热循环注塑工艺的原理,制定了相应的工艺流程,提出了一套新的利用蒸气加热和冷凝水冷却的动态模温控制方案。利用ANSYS模拟了快速热循环注塑工艺和常规注塑工艺的模温响应过程,分别获得了两种注塑工艺的模具加热速率和冷却速率,讨论了快速热循环注塑对塑件成型周期的影响规律。     

工艺参数对高光注射成型制品复制率的影响

以自主开发的车载高光蓝牙外壳模具和温控辅助装置为基础,研究了工艺因素对高光注射成型制品复制率的影响。结果表明,高光成型制品复制率随着模具温度的升高而准线性增大;模温设定条件下,保压压力对制件复制率的影响最大,其次是保压时间,冷却时间影响最小,熔体温度和注射压力的影响以塑料热变形温度为分界点,当模温低于该温度时注射压力的影响较大,反之则相反;随着模温逐步升高,熔体温度和注射压力对制品复制率影响小幅度增大,保压压力、保压时间和冷却时间的影响呈倒"V"型小幅度波动,且均在塑料热变形温度附近达极小值。     

模具温度对高光注射成型制品表面沉降的影响

以自主设计的车载高光蓝牙外壳为例,对模具温度对高光注射成型制品表面沉降影响规律,相同及不同模温条件下其他成型参数对制品表面沉降影响规律进行成型模拟研究。结果表明:高光成型制品沉降指数明显小于普通成型,且随模具温度的升高呈准线性减小趋势;模具温度设定情况下,保压压力对制品沉降指数影响最大,熔体温度、注射压力和保压时间影响效应相当,冷却时间几乎不具影响;随着模具温度的逐步升高,制品沉降指数随熔体温度的升高、注射压力增大呈减小趋势,随着其他参数的变化则呈波动变化趋势,且均在塑料热变形温度附近达极限值。     

Research on the reduction of sink mark and warpage of the molded part in rapid heat cycle molding process

Rapid heat cycle molding (RHCM) is a recently developed innovative injection molding technology to enhance the surface quality of the plastic parts without extending the molding cycle. Most of the common defects that occur in the plastic parts produced by conventional injection molding (CIM), such as flow mark, silver mark, jetting mark, weld mark, exposed fibers, short shot, etc., can be well solved by RHCM. However, RHCM is not a nostrum for all the defects in injection molding. Sink mark and warpage are two major defects occurring in RHCM. The purpose of this study is to investigate and further solve the sink mark and warpage of the molded parts in RHCM. To solve the problem of sink mark, a new “bench form” structure for the screw stud on the product coupling with a lifter structure for the injection mold was proposed. The external gas assisted packing was also proposed to reduce the sink mark in RHCM. To solve the problem of warpage, design of experiments via Taguchi methods were performed to systematically investigate the effect of processing parameters including melt temperature, injection time, packing pressure, packing time and also cooling time on the warpage. Injection molding simulations based on Moldflow were conducted to acquire the warpages of the plastic parts produced under different processing conditions. A signal to noise analysis was conducted to analyze the effect of the factors, and the optimal processing parameters were also found out. ANOVA was also conducted to quantitatively analyze the percentage contributions of the processing parameters on the warpage. The verification results show that part warpage can be reduced effectively based on the optimal design results.     

复合材料固化工艺的直热模具温度场均匀性分析

针对复合材料固化成型工艺的直热模具温度场均匀性进行了研究。建立模具温度场和复合材料固化反应温度场的耦合传热学模型,并对该模型进行有限元建模仿真分析。针对影响模具表面温度均匀性的主要因素,即电加热管的间距和功率,设计正交试验优化,优化后模具表面最大温差为3.5℃,达到行业标准。此外,对影响温度场均匀性的其他因素,即加热管与模具的接触热阻、复合材料层合板厚度进行了探讨,接触热阻的存在使得模具表面最大温差达到7.24℃,模具加热到指定温度多用时800 s,降低了效率。研究层合板对模具温度均匀性的影响时发现未加入复合材料时模具表面最大温差为4.44℃,加入层合板耦合后最大温差为3.5℃;厚度为毫米级时,层合板对直热模具表面温度均匀性影响不大。      

注塑成型计算机模拟

塑料制品的几何形状各异，模腔内的流动复杂，导致价格昂贵的模具开发费用。通过流变学方法对充模过程进行定量模拟，可以为模具统计与注塑工艺优化提供定量依据。对注塑成型有关的数学模型作了讨论，给出了充模，保压和冷却３个阶段的数学模型，讨论了流道流动和三维薄壁模腔流动，还对反应注射成型计算机模拟作了讨论。     

微射出成型导光板的微结构分析

探讨了楔型导光板在微射出成型时的波峰落后现象，並以湿蚀刻制程将导光板扩散点制作于模板上，于微射出成型后将扩散点与导光板一体成型制作出来，用单一参数法探讨了制造工艺参数与导光板平面度及复制性的关系．结果表明，波峰落后现象是由于射出速度太慢、剪切热影响小使温度分布低、黏度升高、流动阻力大以及流动速度慢所造成的．影响平面度的最重要的制造工艺参数为模具温度，低模具温度时有较佳的平面度．模温为影响复制性的最重要的因素．     

笔记本电脑电池盖进浇方案MOLDflow分析

为了减少笔记本电脑电池盖产品的注塑缺陷和提高一次试模的成功率,提出在模具设计阶段改善产品成型质量的模具结构优化方案.应用MOLDFlow软件对电池盖产品的进浇方案进行仿真分析,分析了浇口尺寸、模具温度和成型工艺参数对填充时间、熔接线、气穴位置的影响,证实了所提改善方案的正确性,并得到优化的成型工艺参数,从而解决了电池盖的注塑缺陷问题,提升了生产效率,为模具设计人员进行模具设计以及注塑工艺人员进行工艺参数的调整提供依据.     

变模温与型腔气体反压辅助微孔发泡注塑技术及其产品内外泡孔结构演变

建立了一种变模温和型腔气体反压协同控制的微孔发泡注塑技术,研制了相应的变模温控制系统与型腔气体反压控制系统,构建了变模温与型腔气体反压辅助微孔发泡注塑试验线,并对变模温与型腔气体反压作用下的产品内外泡孔结构演变进行了研究。结果表明,变模温与型腔气体反压辅助工艺单独施加于微孔发泡注塑技术时,对其产品内外泡孔结构均具有双重影响:变模温可以改善产品大部分的表面形貌,但其对填充过程中的熔体发泡影响不大;型腔气体反压可以基本抑制填充过程中的熔体发泡,但却对产品内部泡孔密度有比较明显的降低影响。通过变模温与型腔气体反压的协同控制,可以实现微孔发泡注塑产品表面气泡形貌和内部泡孔结构的良好调控。     

PP/GMT制品模内冷却与结晶过程模拟

采用有限元方法,对PP/GMT制品压缩模塑的冷却与结晶过程进行数值模拟,采用非等温结晶模型,计算出不同条件下制品中树脂的结晶度和制品内部温度分布,并与实验结果进行了对比,为压缩模塑中保压冷却时间的确定提供了理论依据。     

天棚辐射采暖制冷与置换式新风技术的应用

介绍北京某高档住宅天棚辐射采暖制冷及置换式新风技术的实际应用情况,通过对其冬季采暖热负荷指标、新风热负荷指标以及室内动态热舒适条件进行测试,阐述天棚辐射采暖制冷与置换式新风技术在节能及热舒适度方面的优势。     

Inverse thermal mold design for injection molds

The thermal mold design and the identification of a proper cooling channel design for injection molds becomes more and more complex. To find a suitable cooling channel system with objective rules based on the local cooling demand of the part a new methodology for the thermal mold design based on an inverse heat transfer problem was introduced. Based on a quality function regarding production efficiency as well as part quality, additional aspects to model the injection molding process are discussed. Aim of those extensions is the improvement of the inverse optimization of the problem.     

电磁动态塑料注射成型技术的研究

对电磁动态塑料注射成型机的性能进行了研究,分析了这种新型的成型设备和成型技术在机台结构、成型工艺条件、制品性能等方面所具有的特点。     

模具温度对快速热循环成型制品复原性的影响

为深入了解模具温度对快速热循环注塑成型制品复原性的影响,以自主开发的车用蓝牙高光模具和成型温控辅助装置为基础,研究了快速热循环注塑成型模具温度对制品复原性的影响,并分析了不同模具温度条件下其他参数对制品复原性的影响及相同品质条件下各参数随模具温度的变化规律.结果表明,当模具温度升至塑料热变形温度附近时,复制率明显提高;在相同模具温度条件下,压力和温度对制品复制率的影响较明显,时间对制品复制率的影响甚微;随着模具温度逐步升高,在熔体温度、注射压力不变条件下,制品复制率呈小幅升高趋势,对于保压压力、保压时间和冷却时间则呈"V"字型小幅波动变化.     

接触热阻对注塑制品冷却时间的影响

从塑件的瞬态热传导方程出发，推导出了存在在接触热阻时塑件的温度分布吸冷却时间计算的解析表达式，并通过几个简单例子讨论了接触热阻对冷却时间的影响，结果表明，存在热阻时，冷却时间显著增加，随着塑件厚度的增加，热阻的影响逐渐减小。