Multi-objective optimization of volume shrinkage and clamping force for plastic injection molding via sequential approximate optimization

Process parameters in plastic injection molding (PIM), such as the packing pressure, the mold temperature, the melt temperature, and so on, are generally determined by a trial-and error method through the experiments. Computer-aided engineering (CAE) in the PIM is an alternative approach to determine the optimal process parameters. In cap-type plastic product, large volume shrinkage makes the clamping difficult. Furthermore, small clamping force leads to high productivity as well as cost reduction. Both volume shrinkage and clamping force should then be minimized simultaneously, and a multi-objective design optimization is formulated. Inappropriate process parameters easily lead to short shot that the melt plastic is not fully filled into cavity. In this paper, short shot is handled as the design constraint. Numerical simulation of the PIM is so expensive that the response surface approach is valid. In particular, a sequential approximate optimization (SAO) that the response surface is repeatedly constructed and optimized with some new sampling points is recognized as one of the most powerful tools available. In this paper, the radial basis function (RBF) network is adopted for the SAO, and the pareto-frontier is identified with a small number of simulation runs. Numerical result shows that the pareto-frontier is well identified with a small number of simulation runs.     

Quality encoding for tetrahedral mesh optimization

We define quality differential coordinates (QDC) for per-vertex encoding of the quality of a tetrahedral mesh. QDC measures the deviation of a mesh vertex from a position which maximizes the combined quality of the set of tetrahedra incident at that vertex. Our formulation allows the incorporation of different choices of element quality metrics into QDC construction to penalize badly shaped and inverted tetrahedra. We develop an algorithm for tetrahedral mesh optimization through energy minimization driven by QDC. The variational problem is solved efficiently and robustly using gradient flow based on a stable semi-implicit integration scheme. To ensure quality boundary of the resulting tetrahedral mesh, we propose a harmonic-guided optimization scheme which leads to consistent handling of both the interior and boundary tetrahedra.     

气辅成型首次气体穿透的无网格模拟

基于气体穿透机理的研究分析,精确描述气辅成型中气体穿透推进过程,将三明治成型理论应用到气辅成型中。以矩形平板型腔为例,结合Hele-Shaw流动模型,引入合理简化和假设,建立气体辅助注射成型首次气体充填过程的压力控制方程和气/液交界面运动方程,并应用无网格Galerkin法做数值模拟。得到了不同时刻气体的穿透情况以及不同节点的压力随时间的变化曲线。数值表明:三明治成型理论应用于气辅成型所建的数学模型能准确反应气体穿透推进过程,无网格Galerkin法能较好的追踪气/液界面的动态演化过程。     

Neural‐network‐based predictive controller design: An application to temperature control of a plastic injection molding process

This paper presents a neural‐network‐based predictive control (NPC) method for a class of discrete‐time multi‐input multi‐output (MIMO) systems. A discrete‐time mathematical model using a recurrent neural network (RNN) is constructed and a learning algorithm adopting an adaptive learning rate (ALR) approach is employed to identify the unknown parameters in the recurrent neural network model (RNNM). The NPC controller is derived based on a modified predictive performance criterion, and its convergence is guaranteed by adopting an optimal algorithm with an adaptive optimal rate (AOR) approach. The stability analysis of the overall MIMO control system is well proven by the Lyapunov stability theory. A real‐time control algorithm is proposed which has been implemented using a digital signal processor, TMS320C31 from Texas Instruments. Two examples, including the control of a MIMO nonlinear system and the control of a plastic injection molding process, are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. Results from both numerical simulations and experiments show that the proposed method is capable of controlling MIMO systems with satisfactory tracking performance under setpoint and load changes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society     

Expert systems in engineering design: an application for injection molding of plastic parts

The rich development environments of expert system shells provide tools for developing knowledge-based expert systems for complex tasks such as engineering design. The diverse knowledge in engineering design combines heuristics with deterministic knowledge, from multiple sources, and involves complicated, interrelated components. The hybrid capabilities in emerging expert system tools effectively address this diverse knowledge, and facilitate the rapid development of design aids by the engineering designer. A prototype expert system for injection-molded plastic parts demonstrates the utility of expert systems for design applications. The prototype is implemented in an object-oriented, rule-based environment, and incorporates solid modeling software and external material databases.     

注射合模机立柱应力分析和结构改进

针对某注射合模机立柱螺纹根部开裂问题,采用ANSYS Workbench建立单根立柱有限元模型,对某三梁四柱式注射合模机进行强度分析,得到立柱与螺母啮合处的应力大小和分布。在轴向载荷作用下,应力峰值出现在立柱与螺母啮合的第一个螺纹处,其中轴向应力分量最大;若在立柱与螺母啮合的第一个螺纹处进行圆弧过渡,可有效降低应力集中;与无圆弧半径比较,当过渡圆弧半径r=7 mm时,最大von Mises等效应力下降46%。     

General frameworks for optimization of plastic injection molding process parameters

Plastic injection molding is widely used for manufacturing a variety of parts. Molding conditions or process parameters play a decisive role that affects the quality and productivity of plastic products. This work reviews the state-of-the-art of the process parameter optimization for plastic injection molding. The characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and scope of application of all of the common optimization approaches such as response surface model, Kriging model, artificial neural network, genetic algorithms, and hybrid approaches are addressed. In addition, two general frameworks for simulation-based optimization of injection molding process parameter, including direct optimization and metamodeling optimization, are proposed as recommended paradigms. Two case studies are illustrated in order to demonstrate the implementation of the suggested frameworks and to compare among these optimization methods. This work is intended as a contribution to facilitate the optimization of plastic injection molding process parameter.     

基于快速建立四面体网格的有限元心脏建模

针对目前通过医学成像技术获得心脏序列图像来提取相关心脏结构参数,判断心脏的功能的三维心脏建模技术的热点问题.提出了一种基于快速建立四面体网格的有限元心脏建模的方法,结合心脏这种形变模型的各种约束条件,模拟心脏的动态形变,利用有限元与生物力学原理构建心脏表面重建的有限元方程,由心脏表面三角网格数据点快速构建一系列不相重叠的四面体网格单元,以满足单元的应力矢量及单元节点位移矢量计算的需要,为模拟重建心脏运动奠定基础.实验结果表明了有效性和可行性.     

注射成型弧形流道流场分析

针对在注射成型过程中,注射熔体的均匀程度以及其进入型腔的速度方向对制件的品质会产生很大影响的问题,主要对熔体进入型腔前的流动进行分析.采用弧形流道,用有限差分法离散连续性方程和动量方程,用超松驰迭代法求解离散后的代数方程组,进而求出弧形流道熔体流动的速度和压强分布.结果表明,在弧形流道中,外层熔体可能进入中心层甚至内层,局部有旋涡,内外层熔体有物质和能量交换,所以熔体经过弧形流道后密度和温度场分布更均匀.     

Instrumented film-insert injection compression molding for lens encapsulation of liquid crystal displays

A film-insert injection compression molding process was introduced to encapsulate cholesteric liquid crystal displays with flexible and rigid lens for full protection of displays to replace the currently used time consuming hand lamination technique. For this purpose, a new interchangeable cavity instrumented hot runner mold was designed and constructed. This complex method was carefully optimized considering challenges arising from an insert multilayer display with +80% liquid crystal content as well as different thermal expansion coefficients between the layers and the lens material as a high potential of delamination and warpage. Concerning the desired physical properties including transparency, low melt viscosity and melting temperature as well as a wide range of hardness grades from soft (flexible) to hard (rigid), three different hardness grades of thermoplastic polyurethanes were found to be the best candidates for this lens application. During proposed lens encapsulation, the pressure changes were evaluated with screw and mold movements using position detection via displacement transducers attached to track the mold closure and screw forward motion. The quality of encapsulation and shrinkage related problems, as well as their elimination, were all discussed. Display substrate material selection criteria for lowered warpage were defined with supporting thermal characterizations. Among the process parameters, tested also by applying the design of experiments with Taguchi method, mold temperature was found to be the most influential parameter on warpage, followed by pin gate opening time, packing pressure, and cooling time.     

基于控制参数化的注塑工业过程最优反馈控制方法

本文针对一类典型的注塑工业过程系统, 研究了注塑填充过程中产生的熔体流动速度最优跟踪控制问题, 提出了一种基于控制参数化的计算最优反馈控制器设计方法以实现注塑过程中熔融聚合物流动前沿位移的最优跟 踪控制, 进而达到改善注塑零件性能的高效生产目标. 首先, 面向注塑工艺复杂生产过程建立了动态过程系统数学 模型, 提出了注塑机内部熔融聚合物流动前沿位置的动态最优跟踪控制问题; 其次, 设计了一种多级反馈控制律, 通 过控制参数化方法将控制反馈核进行了参数化表示, 将控制器设计问题转化为一序列最优参数决策问题; 然后, 通 过状态灵敏度方程分析方法, 求解出了目标函数及约束条件关于决策变量参数梯度信息的显式表达式, 并基于所提 供的梯度信息结合序列二次规划算法进行了高效优化迭代求解; 最后, 通过实验仿真验证了本文所提出的最优反 馈控制器设计方法的可行性和有效性.     

Analysis of morphology and performance of PP microstructures manufactured by micro injection molding

In this paper, PP (polypropylene) microstructures were manufactured by micro injection molding (MIM). The surface topography and internal defect under different process conditions were studied. An internal defect named “hollow” was observed in microstructures made without vacuum. To investigate the morphology (crystal and phase), the microstructures samples were cut to slices with 10 μm thickness along the filling direction. Results of polarized light microscopic observation reveal that these microstructures also represent “skin-core” morphology, i.e. a highly oriented non-crystalline skin layer, a shear zone with column crystal essentially parallel to the injection direction and a spherulites core. However the morphology distribution of microstructures is different from the macroscopic structure: the non-crystalline layer is much thinner, the ratio of skin layer (non-crystalline and column crystal layer) to core thickness is very big, there is no change of spherulites dimension from skin to center. So the microstructures must have a special mechanical performance differ from the macroscopic parts.     

Application of lattice Boltzmann method in free surface flow simulation of micro injection molding

The filling flow in micro injection molding was simulated by using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). A tracking algorithm for free surface to handle the complex interaction between gas and liquid phases in LBM was used for the free surface advancement. The temperature field in the filling flow is also analyzed by combining the thermal lattice Boltzmann model and the free surface method. To simulate the fluid flow of polymer melt with a high Prandtl number and high viscosity, a modified lattice Boltzmann scheme was adopted by introducing a free parameter in the thermal diffusion equation to overcome the restriction of the thermal relaxation time. The filling flow simulation of micro injection molding was successfully performed in the study.     

A neural network-based approach for dynamic quality prediction in a plastic injection molding process

This paper presents an innovative neural network-based quality prediction system for a plastic injection molding process. A self-organizing map plus a back-propagation neural network (SOM-BPNN) model is proposed for creating a dynamic quality predictor. Three SOM-based dynamic extraction parameters with six manufacturing process parameters and one level of product quality were dedicated to training and testing the proposed system. In addition, Taguchi’s parameter design method was also applied to enhance the neural network performance. For comparison, an additional back-propagation neural network (BPNN) model was constructed for which six process parameters were used for training and testing. The training and testing data for the two models respectively consisted of 120 and 40 samples. Experimental results showed that such a SOM-BPNN-based model can accurately predict the product quality (weight) and can likely be used for various practical applications.     

基于光线和位置补偿的注塑机残留物图像检测方法

对于图像处理算法解决注塑机模具中含残留产品的问题,现有算法对待检测图像与预存背景图像直接比对,但由于每次动模的光照情况和停留位置有偏差,导致待检测图像与预存背景图像在光线和位置上有偏差,故现有算法误差较大.为解决以上问题,提出一种基于光线和位置补偿的注塑机模具残留产品的图像检测方法,调整图像的均值、方差实现光线补偿,通过求取动模外边框并对准实现位置补偿.基于提出算法建立了基于PC机的模具图像监测报警系统,实验结果表明:该系统检测正确率高.     

变模温注射成型数值仿真

针对传统的恒定模温控制技术易导致塑件表面产生熔接痕、流动痕和凹陷等表面缺陷的问题,采用Moldex 3D对某典型型腔进行流动分析,预测模型中熔接痕产生的位置;利用该软件中的暂态冷却模块,采用改变冷却方式和注射时间的方法对普通冷却与变模温技术的保压和冷却效果进行对比.分析结果表明,变模温技术能在不影响生产效率的基础上,达到提升制品品质的目的.     

面向有限元分析的三角网格迭代优化

从逆向工程或者简单离散实体模型得到的网格质量较差,通常不能直接用于有限元分析,为此提出一种迭代优化算法.首先对给定网格进行细分得到足够的自由度,以改变网格的几何和拓扑;然后在误差允许的范围内,通过简化和规则化来提高网格质量.该过程不断迭代,直到网格质量满足分析要求或者达到迭代上限.实验结果表明,该算法既能灵活地控制网格属性,又能有效地提高网格质量.     

Automatic layout design of plastic injection mould cooling system

This research extends our previous investigation of the automation of the preliminary design stage to the layout design stage of the cooling system design process. While the functional aspects of the cooling system are considered during the preliminary design stage, the layout design stage addresses both the functionality and manufacturability of the design. A graph structure is devised to capture a given preliminary design and a graph traversal algorithm is developed to generate candidate cooling circuits from the graph structure. Heuristic search is employed to develop the cooling circuits into the layout designs by generation of tentative manufacturing plans. A framework for fuzzy evaluation of the layout designs is developed to rate the various design alternatives generated. An experimental system is implemented to verify the feasibility of the approach, and examples generated from the system are presented to illustrate the major steps of the automatic design process.     

An object-oriented approach to computer-aided design of a plastic injection mould

This paper describes a knowledge-based and object-oriented approach for the design of the feed system for plastic injection moulds. The gating system of a plastic injection mould plays a significant role in producing a quality part. Designing of this gating system entails a great amount of effort from an experienced designer and it is time-consuming. CADFEED (Computer-Aided Design of the FEED system of the plastic injection mould) is developed to accurately and efficiently design the type, location and size of a gating system of a plastic injection mould. This system provides an accurate and fast means of obtaining solutions based on the users' requirements, which are easily handled by the rating algorithm in the system. CADFEED generates acceptable solutions at a lower cost than most traditionally and commercially available analysis packages. This system can be used to verify designs proposed by the design engineers. It can also help novice engineers in the understanding of mould design. Another important feature of CADFEED is that it is a low cost system, which uses AutoCAD and an expert system shell on a personal computer. This feature makes CADFEED easily affordable by small-scale industries.     

Three-dimensional finite element method for the filling simulation of injection molding

With the development of molding techniques, molded parts have more complex and larger geometry with nonuniform thickness. In this case, the velocity and the variation of parameters in the gapwise direction are considerable and cannot be neglected. A three-dimensional (3D) simulation model can predict the filling process more accurately than a 2.5D model based on the Hele–Shaw approximation. This paper gives a mathematical model and numeric method based on 3D model to perform more accurate simulations of a fully flow. The model employs an equal-order velocity–pressure interpolation method. The relation between velocity and pressure is obtained from the discretized momentum equations in order to derive the pressure equation. A 3D control volume scheme is used to track the flow front. During calculating the temperature field, the influence of convection items in three directions is considered. The software based on this 3D model can calculate the pressure field, velocity field and temperature field in filling process. The validity of the model has been tested through the analysis of the flow in cavities.