Wall Slip of Linear Polymer Melts During Ultrasonic‐assisted Micro‐injection Molding

The wall slip of linear polymer melts under ultrasonic vibration is investigated by correcting the slip mechanism, and melt flow behaviors in ultrasonic‐assisted micro‐injection molding (UμIM) method are discussed. Based on the effect mechanism of ultrasonic vibration on the melt, theoretical models of the critical shear stresses for the onset of weak and strong wall slip during UμIM are established, and the change in rheological properties due to the onset of wall slip under ultrasonic vibration is experimental investigated by a built measurement system. The results show that the onset of weak and strong wall slip of the melt in micro cavity are promoted by ultrasonic vibration, which agree with the built theoretical models, and the melt filling capability in micro cavity is enhanced by reducing apparent viscosity and releasing shear stress of the polymer melt, which improves the molding quality of micro polymer parts via UμIM method. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:E7–E13, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Residual wall thickness of water‐powered projectile‐assisted injection molding pipes

Water‐powered projectile‐assisted injection molding (W‐PAIM) is an innovative molding process for the production of hollow shaped polymer parts. The W‐PAIM utilizes high pressure water as a power to drive a solid projectile to displace the molten polymer core to form the hollow space. The residual wall thickness (RWT) and its distribution are the important quality criteria. The experimental and numerical investigations were conducted. Experimental specimens showed that the RWT of a W‐PAIM pipe was much thinner than that of a water‐assisted injection molding pipe. The cross‐section size of the projectile defined the basic penetration section size. The software FLUENT was used to obtain the instantaneous distributions of the flow field, which revealed the forming mechanism of the RWT. The experiments indicated that the processing parameters, such as melt temperature, melt injection pressure, mold temperature, and water injection delay time had obvious effects on the RWT, while the water pressure had little effect on it. The RWT of curved pipes was thin at the inner concave side while thick at the outer convex side. The RWTs at the bend portion are influenced by the deflection angle and bending radius, which is due to the pressure difference between the two sides. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:295–303, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Injection molding and injection compression molding of thin‐walled light‐guided plates with V‐grooved microfeatures

In this study, we investigated the feasibility of injection molding (IM) and injection compression molding (ICM) for fabricating 3.5‐in. light‐guided plates (LGPs). The LGP was 0.4 mm thick with v‐grooved microfeatures (10 μm wide and 5 μm deep). A mold was designed to fabricate LGPs by IM and ICM. Micromachining was used to make the mold insert. The Taguchi method and parametric analysis were applied to examine the effects of the process parameters on the molding quality. The following parameters were considered: barrel temperature, mold temperature, packing pressure, and packing time. Mold temperature in this investigation was in the conventional range. Increasing the barrel temperature and mold temperature generally improved the polymer melt fill in the cavities with microdimensions. The experimental results for the replication of microfeatures by IM and ICM are presented and compared. The height of the v‐grooved microfeatures replicated by ICM was more accurate than those replicated by IM. Additionally, the flatness of the fabricated LGPs showed that ICM was better than IM for thin‐walled molding. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

INCREASING FLOW LENGTH IN THIN WALL INJECTION MOLDING USING A RAPIDLY HEATED MOLD

Injection molded parts are driven down in size and weight especially for portable electronic applications. While gains are achieved via cost reduction and increased portability, thinner parts encounter more difficulty in molding due to the frozen layer problem. To increase moldability in thin wall molding, a rapid thermal response (RTR) mold was investigated. The RTR mold is capable of rapidly raising the surface temperature to the polymer melt temperature prior to the injection stage and then rapidly cooling to the ejection temperature. The resulting filling process is done inside a hot mold cavity and formation of frozen layer is prohibited. Concepts of scalable filling and low-speed filling are discussed in the article to address the benefit of this molding method. Simulation results showed that significant reduction in injection pressure and speed can be achieved in RTR molding. In contrast to the filling behavior in conventional molding, the injection pressure in RTR molding decreases as the injection speed decreases, and therefore, extremely thin parts can be molded at lower injection speeds. Filling lengths of both RTR and conventionally molded polycarbonate samples, with two levels of thickness, under two levels of injection speed were experimentally studied. The experimental results demonstrated the advantage of the new molding method.     

Numerical Simulation for Injection Molding with a Rapidly Heated Mold,Part I: Flow Simulation for Thin Wall Parts

The rapid thermal response (RTR) injection molding is a novel process developed to raise the mold surface temperature rapidly to the polymer melt temperature prior to the injection stage and then cool rapidly. The resulting filling process is achieved inside a hot mold cavity by prohibiting formation of frozen layer so as to enable thin wall injection molding without filling difficulty. The present work covers flow simulation of thin wall injection molding using the RTR molding process. Both 2.5-D shell analysis and 3-D solid analysis were performed, and the simulation results were compared with the prior experimental results. Coupled analysis with transient heat transfer simulation was also studied to realize more reliable thin-wall-flow estimation for the RTR molding process. The proposed coupled simulation approach based on solid elements provides reliable flow estimation by accounting for the effects of the unique thermal boundary conditions of the RTR mold.     

Effects of surface roughness on microinjection molding

Injection molding is one of the most common processes for cost‐effective mass production of microplastic parts. When the dimensions of the part, and thus the cavity of the mold, are small, microscale factors which are normally neglected in the analysis of conventional injection molding may play an important role. This investigation addresses the effects of mold surface roughness on the injection of polymer melt, which is a non‐Newtonian fluid, during the filling stage of microinjection molding. The surface roughness effect on the volume of the mold cavity is discussed. A simple, but effective model, to describe the conductivity and the specific heat of the surface roughness is proposed. Subsequently, by employing the finite volume method and the level set method, a numerical procedure incorporating the proposed surface roughness model to describe the flow behavior of the polymer melt in the cavity is implemented. Finally, simulation on the melt flow injected into a microdisk cavity is performed using the proposed model and the results are found to be in good agreement with experiment. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:2012–2019, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Response of a sequential‐valve‐gate system used for thin‐wall injection molding

Sequential injection molding using a valve‐gate‐controlled hot runner system has attracted attention for industrial applications in recent years. Because of the complexity of the operation mechanisms, a commercial valve gate usually delays for about 0.3–0.5 s once the valve‐opening command is given. The signal‐to‐operation delay is acceptable for the conventional injection molding of large parts. However, this operation delay limits its application to thin‐wall molded parts for computer, communication, and consumer electronics, for which the required filling time is very short. In this study, a gas‐driven fast‐response sequential‐valve‐gate system was developed for thin‐wall injection molding by the adoption of valve‐gate control performance. The characteristics and verifications of the valve‐gate opening were monitored with a charge‐coupled device (CCD) camera (nonmelt condition) and cavity pressure transducers and an accelerometer (melt‐filled condition). The influence of the tolerance between the inner piston and cylinder and the gas pressure on the valve‐gate opening was investigated in detail. Tensile bar parts 1 mm thick were used for the molding experiments. The delay time has been found to be intimately related to the response of the gas‐pressure delivery controlling the valve‐gate movement. In a nonmelt environment, the delay time of the valve‐gate opening decreases with increasing driven gas slightly. In a melt‐filled environment, the delay time is quite sensitive to the operating gas pressure because of the extra resistance between the shaft and the melt. A threshold pressure as high as 100 bar is required to keep the delay time below 15 ms. With the proper choice of the piston size and driven gas pressure, the delay time can be reduced to about 8 ms in a nonmelt environment and to about 12 ms in a melt‐filled environment. Molding using this improved system for sequential valve opening can provide thin‐wall injection parts without a weld line, and good cosmetic quality and better tensile strength require a lower injection pressure than molding using single‐gate and concurrent‐valve‐gate opening. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 1969–1977, 2005     

Optimization and numerical simulation analysis for molded thin‐walled parts fabricated using wood‐filled polypropylene composites via plastic injection molding

Plastic injection molding is discontinuous and a complicated process involving the interaction of several variables for control the quality of the molded parts. The goal of this research was to investigate the optimal parameter selection, the significant parameters, and the effect of the injection‐molding parameters during the post‐filling stage (packing pressure, packing time, mold temperature, and cooling time) with respect to in‐cavity residual stresses, volumetric shrinkage and warpage properties. The PP + 60 wt% wood material is not suitable for molded thin‐walled parts. In contrast, the PP + 50 wt% material was found to be the preferred type of lignocellulosic polymer composite for molded thin‐walled parts. The results showed the lower residual stresses approximately at 20.10 MPa and have minimum overpacking in the ranges of ?0.709% to ?0.174% with the volumetric shrinkage spread better over the part surface. The research found that the packing pressure and mold temperature are important parameters for the reduction of residual stresses and volumetric shrinkage, while for the reduction of warpage, the important processing parameters are the packing pressure, packing time, and cooling time for molded thin‐walled parts that are fabricated using lignocellulosic polymer composites. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:1082–1095, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effect of molecular weight and molding conditions on the replication of injection moldings with micro‐scale v‐groove features

Injection molded optical plastic parts require accurate replication of micro‐scale features. The effects of melt viscosity and molding conditions on replication of microscopic v‐groove features in injection molded parts were examined for PC with different molecular weight. The micro‐scale feature size was a continuous v‐groove with 20 μm in depth and 50 μm in width. For injection molding conditions, melt temperature, mold temperature, injection velocity and holding pressure were varied in three levels. As the result, the mold temperature had significantly affected replication for all polymers with different molecular weight. Additionally, the molding conditions that lower melt viscosity led to improved replication. In the case of polymer with high molecular weight, the viscosity decreased with increasing melt temperature. It has been found that high replication of micro‐scale features could be achieved by higher mold temperature and higher melt temperature even with high viscosity PC. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Determination of the heat transfer coefficient from short‐shots studies and precise simulation of microinjection molding

The filling process of a micro‐cavity was analyzed by modeling the compressible filling stage by using pressure‐dependent viscosity and adjusted heat transfer coefficients. Experimental filling studies were carried out at the same time on an accurately controlled microinjection molding machine. On the basis of the relationship between the injection pressure and the filling degree, essential factors for the quality of the simulation can be identified. It can be shown that the flow behavior of the melt in a micro‐cavity with a high aspect ratio is extremely dependent on the melt compressibility in the injection cylinder. This phenomenon needs to be considered in the simulation to predict an accurate flow rate. The heat transfer coefficient between the melt and the mold wall that was determined by the reverse engineering varies significantly even during the filling stage. With increasing injection speed and increasing cavity thickness, the heat transfer coefficient decreases. It is believed that the level of the cavity pressure is responsible for the resulting heat transfer between the polymer and the mold. A pressure‐dependent model for the heat transfer coefficient would be able to significantly improve the quality of the process simulation. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

气辅注塑成型工艺过程及其关键技术

气体辅助注塑成型工艺包含塑料熔体注射和气体注射两部分,由气体推动塑料熔体充满模具型腔,因此具有普通注塑成型工艺所没有的优点,但在应用上也带来了特殊的技术要求。本文介绍了几种常用的气体辅助注塑成型工艺过程,并从制品设计、模具技术和工艺控制三方面分析了应用气体辅助注塑成型工艺的关键技术。     

A temperature‐dependent adaptive controller. Part I: Controller methodology and open‐loop testing

Currently, the controllers for achieving a desired injection velocity setpoint profile are independent of processing conditions in plastic injection molding. The dynamics of the reciprocating screw during injection mold filling is complex and temperature‐dependent. This complexity is based on process parameters that are nonlinear, which can vary spatially in time. Open‐loop tests were performed on two polymers at three melt temperatures and three mold‐fill velocity regimes: low, medium, and high. These tests were based on close‐loop injection mold‐fill setpoints and a derived voltage velocity relationship for the injection velocity hydraulic valve. The results of the open‐loop tests show that mold‐filling injection velocity is polymer‐ and melt temperature‐dependent. Polym. Eng. Sci. 44:1925–1933, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Surface fracture in injection molding of filled polymers

In injection molding certain polymers, fracture of the polymer stream sometimes occurs at the mold surface. This phenomenon has been found to be a tearing apart of the polymer surface layer accompanied by downstream slip of the flowing melt at the polymer/mold interface. Fracture occurs early in mold filling and is initiated usually at the gate to the mold cavity. Analysis of the fracture mechanism indicates that fracture is caused by: (1) high shearing stress in the melt as it fills the mold; (2) poor polymer/mold adhesion; and (3) low polymer surface cohesive strength.     

Microinjection molding of light‐guided plates using LIGA‐like fabricated stampers

This investigation explores the microinjection molding of light‐guided plates (LGPs) using lithography, electroplating, and molding (LIGA)‐like fabricated stampers. The 3.5‐in. LGP has a thin wall (0.76 mm) and micron‐sized features of truncated pyramidal prisms (70 μm wide and 38.3 μm deep, with a vertex angle of 70.5°) and v‐grooves (9.8 μm deep). Stampers for LGP injection molding (IM) are fabricated precisely by combining the anisotropic wet etching of silicon‐on‐insulation wafers with electroforming. LGPs must have multiple quality characteristics, such as good replication effects on microfeatures and flatness of the plate. In this study, the Taguchi method and gray relational analysis are adopted to optimize the microinjection molding parameters. Various IM parameters, including mold temperature, melt temperature, holding pressure, and injection speed, are considered. Experimental results demonstrate that mold temperature and holding pressure dominate the performance. Gray relational analysis and the Taguchi method can be used to determine the optimal process parameters for LGP molding. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Experimental investigation and numerical simulation of injection molding with micro‐features

Injection molding of thin plates of micro sized features was studied in order to manufacture micro‐fluidic devices for bioMEMS applications. Various types of mold inserts—CNC‐machined steel, epoxy photoresist, and photolithography and electroplating produced nickel molds—were fabricated and tested in injection molding. The feature size covers a range of 5 microns to several hundred microns. Issues such as surface roughness and sidewall draft angle of the mold insert were considered. Two optically clear thermoplastics, PMMA and optical quality polycarbonate, were processed at different mold and melt temperatures, injection speeds, shot sizes, and holding pressures. It was found that the injection speed and mold temperature in injection molding greatly affect the replication accuracy of microstructures on the metal mold inserts. The UV‐LIGA produced nickel mold with positive draft angles enabled successful demolding. Numerical simulation based on the 2D software C‐MOLD was performed on two types of cavity fillings: the radial flow and the undirectional flow. The simulation and experimental data were compared, showing correct qualitative predictions but discrepancies in the flow front profile and filled depth.     

Experimental Results of Low Thermal Inertia Molding. I. Length of Filling

In injection molding, complete mold cavity filling is a design goal that has to be met 100% every time. Mold cavity filling is a complicated process which depends on many variables such as mold cavity surface temperature, injection pressure, injection speed, melt temperature, flow index of material being molded, etc. The aim of experimental investigation of the low thermal inertia molding (LTIM) [1] process is to demonstrate the feasibility of molding completely filled, thin parts at low injection pressure and injection speed without sacrificing part quality. The evaluation of the new molding concept consists of comparison of a conventionally molded thin rectangular part with an identical part molded by the LTIM process. The length of filling in the conventional cavity and in the LTIM cavity are compared at different injection pressures and injection speeds. The mold design, experimental procedure, and results of the molding are discussed in the following sections.     

Experimental investigation and molecular dynamics simulations of the effect of processing parameters on the filling quality of injection-molded micropillars

Microinjection molding has been attracting increasing attention and application in fabricating products with functional surface microstructures. The processing parameters, packing pressure, and melt temperature have important effects on the filling quality. In order to study the mechanisms of the packing pressure and melt temperature on the filling quality of micropillars, a simulation model of injection molding of nanopillars was constructed by molecular dynamics software and a series of injection molding experiments of micropillars were carried out in this paper. Subsequently, the mechanisms were analyzed qualitatively. The results showed that the frozen layers were formed at the interface between the polymer melt and mold under the action of heat transfer, which prevented effective filling of the polymer melt. The filling quality of the micropillars could be improved significantly via increasing the melt temperature and the packing pressure, but the mechanisms were different. To be specific, the increase of the packing pressure could make more polymer melts fill into the cavity fully. Thus, the density of the micropillars was increased and the filling quality could be improved. The forming rate of frozen layers could be slowed down by increasing the melt temperature. As a result, the purpose of improving the filling quality was achieved.     

Injection and injection compression molding of ultra‐high‐molecular weight polyethylene powder

Ultra‐high‐molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) powder was processed using injection molding (IM) with different cavity thicknesses and injection‐compression molding (ICM). The processing parameters of feeding the powders were optimized to ensure proper dosage and avoid jeopardizing the UHMWPE molecular structure. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy tests confirmed that the thermal and oxidative degradations of the material were avoided but crosslinking was induced during melt processing. Tensile tests and impact tests showed that the ICM samples were superior to those of IM. Increased cavity thickness and ICM were helpful for reducing the injection pressure and improving the mechanical properties due to effective packing of the material. Short shot molding showed that the UHMWPE melt did not exhibit the typical progressive and smooth melt front advancements. Due to its highly entangled polymer chains structure, it entered the cavity as an irregular porous‐like structure, as shown by short shots and micro‐computed tomography scans. A delamination skin layer (around 300‐μm thick and independent of cavity thickness) was formed on all IM sample surfaces while it was absent in the ICM samples, suggesting two different flow behaviors between IM and ICM during the packing phase. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:E170–E179, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers     

蒸汽加热变模温注射成型数值模拟与结果分析

采用Moldflow软件对变模温注射成型过程进行数值模拟。利用蒸汽加热和冷却水冷却的变模温注塑工艺,研究不同蒸汽加热时间下注塑位置处压力以及制件冷凝层的变化规律,同时分析了制件表面和模具型腔表面的热响应规律。结果表明,相比于传统注射成型工艺过程,变模温注射成型通过提高注塑充填过程中模具温度,使得制件冷凝层出现在充填阶段之后;随着模具加热时间从10、15、25 s增加到40 s,注塑位置处最大注射压力从87.0608、84.6064、79.6863 MPa减小到74.4342 MPa,大大提高了熔体注塑充填过程中的充填能力;通过不同的蒸汽加热时间,制件表面和模具型腔表面可以获得不同的温度值,同时通过模拟获得了传热系数对制件表面温度的影响。     

Effect of process conditions on the dart impact properties of thin‐wall injection‐molded polycarbonate plates

Multifunctional mobile products, such as cellular phones, laptop computers, personal media players, etc., have become smaller and lighter; so the technology of thin‐wall injection molding (TWIM) has been highlighted for making lightweight and compact mobile electronic products. Regarding mechanical properties, many portable electronic products should pass the so‐called “drop test”; therefore, the evaluation of the dart (or impact) property of the housing that is made by the TWIM process is crucial for commercializing a product. However, extant research on the effect of injection molding process parameters on the physical properties of TWIM plates is insufficient as yet. Therefore, in this study, the pressure and temperature inside the cavity during the injection molding process are monitored by varying the injection molding process parameters, i.e., the gate size, injection speed, and melt temperature, and the effect of the average flow rate of the molten resin inside the cavity on the dart property of thin‐wall injection‐molded plates is examined. The dart property of thin‐wall injection‐molded plates is evaluated by the instrumented dart impact test to differentiate various responses of the load‐displacement data during dart tests. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci., 2013