Research on a New Variotherm Injection Molding Technology and its Application on the Molding of a Large LCD Panel

The polymer injection products produced by using the current injection molding method usually have many defects, such as short shot, jetting, sink mark, flow mark, weld mark, and floating fibers. These defects have to be eliminated by using post-processing processes such as spraying and coating, which will cause environment pollution and waste in time, materials, energy and labor. These problems can be solved effectively by using a new injection method, named as variotherm injection molding or rapid heat cycle molding (RHCM). In this paper, a new type of dynamic mold temperature control system using steam as heating medium and cooling water as coolant was developed for variotherm injection molding. The injection mold is heated to a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature of the resin, and keeps this temperature in the polymer melt filling stage. To evaluate the efficiency of steam heating and coolant cooling, the mold surface temperature response during the heating stage and the polymer melt temperature response during the cooling stage were investigated by numerical thermal analysis. During heating, the mold surface temperature can be raised up rapidly with an average heating speed of 5.4°C/s and finally reaches an equilibrium temperature after an effective heating time of 40 s. It takes about 34.5 s to cool down the shaped polymer melt to the ejection temperature for demolding. The effect of main parameters such as mold structure, material of mold insert on heating/cooling efficiency and surface temperature uniformity were also discussed based on simulation results. Finally, a variotherm injection production line for 46-inch LCD panel was constructed. The test production results demonstrate that the mold temperature control system developed in this study can dynamically and efficiently control mold surface temperature without increasing molding cycle time. With this new variotherm injection molding technology, the defects on LCD panel surface occurring in conventional injection molding process, such as short shot, jetting, sink mark, flow mark, weld mark, and floating fibers were eliminated effectively. The surface gloss of the panel was improved and the secondary operations, such as sanding and coating, are not needed anymore.     

Reducing residual stresses in molded parts

Means of reducing the flow-induced residual stresses in injection molded parts through optimization of the thermal history of the process are presented. An approach through the use of a passive insulation layer with low thermal inertia on the cavity surface was investigated. The passive insulation layer prevents the polymer melt from freezing during mold filling and allows the flow-induced stresses to relax after the filling. The criteria for the optimal thermal properties and the required thickness of the layer are presented. A numerical simulation model of non-isothermal filling and cooling of viscoelastic materials was also used to understand the molding process and to evaluate this approach. This model predicts the stress development and relaxation in the molding cycle. Both simulation and experimental results show that the final stresses in the molded parts can be reduced significantly with the use of an insulation layer. This technique can also be applied to other molding or forming processes in order to decouple the material flow and cooling process for minimum residual stresses in the molded parts.     

Mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of cell growth in injection molding of microcellular plastics

A mathematical formulation and numerical simulation for non‐isothermal cell growth during the post‐filling stage of microcellular injection molding have been developed. The numerical implementation solves the energy equation, the continuity equation, and a group of equations that describe the mass diffusion of dissolved gas and growth of micro‐cells in a microcellular injection molded part. The “unit‐cell” model employed in this study takes into account the effects of injection and packing pressures, melt and mold temperatures, and super‐critical fluid content on the material properties of the polymer‐gas solution and the cell growth. The material system studied is a microcellular injection molded polyamide 6 (PA‐6) resin. Two Arrhenius‐type equations are used to estimate the coefficients of mass diffusion and solubility for the polymer‐gas solution as functions of temperature. The dependence of the surface tension on the temperature is also included in this study. The numerical results in terms of cell size across the sprue diameter agree fairly well with the experimental observation. The predicted pressure profile at the sprue location has also been found to be in good agreement with the dynamics of the cell growth. Whereas for conventional injection molding the pressure of the system tends to decay monotonously, the pressure profile in microcellular injection molding exhibits an initial decay resulting from cooling and the absence of packing followed by an increase due to cell growth that expands the polymer‐gas solution and helps to pack out the mold uniformly. Polym. Eng. Sci. 44:2274–2287, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Development of stress birefringence and flow patterns during mold fillin and cooling

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the development of stress birefringence patterns of molten polymer during the mold filling and cooling operation. For this study, a rectangular mold cavity with glass windows on both sides was constructed, which permitted us to record on a movie film the changes in stress birefringence patterns in the mold cavity during the molding operation, using a circular polariscope. The mold was equipped with an automatic relay system which closes the shut-off valve when the pressure in the mold cavity reaches a predetermined value. The mold was also equipped with both heating and cooling devices, so that either isothermal or non-isothermal injection molding could be carried out. The mold temperature was controlled by thermistor regulated controllers. During the entire cycle of the molding operation, the mold cavity pressure was continuously recorded on a chart recorder, using a melt pressure transducer. The present study shows how molding conditions (namely, injection pressure, melt temperature, mold temperature) influence the distribution of stress birefringence patterns in a molten polymer while it is being injected into, and cooled in, a rectangular mold cavity.     

Simulation of non‐isothermal melt densification of polyethylene in rotational molding

Rotational molding involves powder mixing, heating and melting of powder particles to form a homogeneous polymer melt, as well as cooling and solidification. The densification of a loose powder compact into a homogeneous melt occurs over a wide range of conditions as the material passes from a solid state into a melt state. The numerical simulation of the non‐isothermal melt densification in the rotational molding process is presented in this work. The simulation combines heat transfer, polymer sintering and bubble dissolution models, and is based on an idealized packing arrangement of powder particles. The predictions are in general agreement with experimental observations presented in the literature for the rotational molding of polyethylenes. The simulation allows for systematic and quantitative studies on the effect of molding conditions and material properties on the molding cycle and molded part density. Results indicate that the densification process is primarily affected by the powder characteristics, which are accounted for in terms of the particle size and the particle packing arrangement. The material rheological properties become increasingly important as the powder characteristics lessen in quality. The simulation demonstrated that while certain combinations of processing conditions help reduce the molding cycle, they have a detrimental effect on the densification process.     

Development of rapid heating and cooling systems for injection molding applications

The injection molding process has several inherent problems associated with the constant temperature mold. A basic solution is the rapid thermal response molding process that facilitates rapid temperature change at the mold surface thereby improving quality of molded parts without increasing cycle time. Rapid heating and cooling systems consisting of one metallic heating layer and one oxide insulation layer were investigated in this paper. Design issues towards developing a mold capable of raising temperature from 25°C to 250°C in 2 seconds and cooling to 50°C within 10 seconds were discussed. To reduce thermal stresses in the layers during heating and cooling, materials with closely matched low thermal expansion coefficient were used for both layers. Effects of various design parameters, such as layer thickness, power density and material properties, on the performance of the insert were studied in detail with the aid of heat transfer simulation and thermal stress simulation. Several rapid thermal response mold inserts were constructed on the basis of the simulation results. The experimental heating and cooling response agrees with the simulation and also satisfies the target heating and cooling requirement.     

The effect of injection molding process parameters on mechanical and fracture behavior of polycarbonate polymer

In this work, the mechanical and failure behavior of injection molded aviation standard optical grade polycarbonate (PC) was investigated through uniaxial tensile testing. The effect of different injection molding process parameters including injection velocity, packing pressure, cooling time, mold temperature, and melt temperature were determined to observe their effect on yield and postyield behavior of PC. Out of these examined parameters, the mold and melt temperature show significant effect on mechanical behavior of studied polymer. The yield and flow stresses in polymer increase with the increase in mold and melt temperature during injection molding. However, other process parameters i.e., packing pressure, injection velocity, and cooling time showed little effect on mechanical performance of the polymer. The molded specimens were annealed at different temperatures and residence time to evaluate its effect on mechanical behavior and fracture morphology. The yield stress increases gradually with the increase in annealing temperature and time. The annealing treatment also changed the failure mode of PC specimens from ductile to brittle. In addition to process parameters, the effect of increased loading rate was also undertaken which shows substantial effect on mechanical and failure behavior of PC. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44474.     

Injection Molding Nanoscale Features with the Aid of Induction Heating

During injection molding of micron or submicron scale features, incomplete filling frequently occurs, resulting from premature freezing of the polymer melt in contact with a cold mold. In order to overcome the filling difficulty without increasing the total cycle time, the mold surface temperature was raised rapidly by induction heating. A prototype mold insert with cooling channels was fabricated and integrated with a nickel stamp having nanoscale-grating structures. The nickel stamp surface was successfully heated from 25 to 258°C in 2.7 sec. Four different mold surface temperatures, 100, 150, 200 and 250°C, were tested to determine if the nanograting structures can be replicated with an optical quality cyclic olefin copolymer. Experimental results indicate that the nanocavities were successfully filled when the surface temperature reached 250°C, but mold release caused drag damages on the nanogratings. Further, coupled thermoelectromagnetic analyses were carried out to simulate the induction heating process of the nanostructured mold insert. The predicted surface temperature responses in general agree with the experimental ones and the simulation model can be used in the further development of process control and mold design in micro/nano molding.     

Improving surface quality of microcellular injection molded parts through mold surface temperature manipulation with thin film insulation

Microcellular injection molding offers many advantages such as material and energy savings, reduced cycle times, and excellent dimensional stability. However, typical surface characteristics of microcellular injection molded parts—such as gas flow and swirl marks and a lack of smoothness—have precluded the process from being used for applications where surface appearance is important. This article presents an insulator‐assisted method that has been shown to improve the surface quality of microcellular injection molded parts significantly. By incorporating a thin film (75–225 μm) of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) insulator on the mold surface, the polymer melt–insulator interfacial temperature can be manipulated and can be kept high enough during mold filling to reduce or eliminate swirl marks on the surface. The experimental results in terms of surface roughness and surface profile of conventional and microcellular injection molded parts with and without the insulator film are discussed. Thermal analyses of the corresponding microcellular injection molding experiments were performed to elucidate the correlation between film thickness, interfacial temperature, and the surface quality. The effect of insulator on the cooling time increase is also analyzed and presented. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Integrated simulation to predict warpage of injection molded parts

Injection molding analysis programs were developed for CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) in injection molding of thermoplastics. The programs consist of mold cooling, polymer filling-packing-cooling, fiber orientation, material properties and stress analyses. These programs are integrated to predict warpage of molded parts by using a common geometric model of three dimensional thinwalled molded parts. The warpage is predicted from temperature difference between upper and lower surfaces, temperature distribution, flow induced shear stress, shrinkage, and anisotropic mechanical properties caused by fiber orientation in the integrated simulation. The integrated simulation was applied to predicting warpage of a 4-ribbed square plate of glass fiber reinforced polypropylene for examination of its validity. Predicted saddle-like warpage was in good agreement with experimental one.     

A simplified method for analyzing mold filling dynamics Part I: Theory

A graphical method based on dimensional analysis is presented for estimating the injection pressure and clamp force required for injection molding amorphous polymers to form disk-shaped parts with a constant wall thickness. A procedure is suggested for estimating clamp force when the projected area of the mold cavity is smaller than the surface area of one side of the molded part. The results reported here are based on a numerical simulation of a power-law fluid filling a cold mold at a constant injection rate. The dimensionless bulk temperature and the ratios of the nonisothermal injection pressure (clamp force) to the isothermal injection pressure (clamp force) are given as functions of the dimensionless cooling time τ, the Brinkman number Br which characterizes viscous heating, the power-law exponent n, and a dimensionless temperature β which includes the inlet melt and mold wall temperatures and the temperature coefficient for viscosity.     

Numerical Simulation for Effects of Injection Mold Cooling on Warpage and Residual Stresses

Abstract

The dimensions quality of the injection‐molded parts is the result of a complex combination of material, part, and mold designs and process conditions. In this article, warpage prediction relies on the calculation of residual stresses developed during the molding process. The solidification of a molten thermoplastic between cooled parallel plates is used to model the mechanics of part warp in the injection‐molding process. Flow effects are neglected, and a thermorheologically simple thermoviscoelastic material model is assumed. The warp and residual stresses numerical simulation with finite element method (FEM) is time dependent. At each time step, the material properties can be temperature and pressure dependent. Mold temperature or mold‐cooling rate effects on part warp have been numerically predicted and compared with experimental results. By showing the mold‐cooling effects, it was concluded that mold cooling has a significant effect on part warpage, and mold‐cooling parameters, such as mold temperature, resin temperature, cooling channels, etc., should be set carefully.     

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     

An experimental matrix design to optimize the weldline strength in injection molded parts

The forming of weldlines wherever polymer flow fronts meet is one of the problems that confound the overall success of injection molding technology. In this study, an L'18 experimental matrix design based on the Taguchi method was conducted to optimize the weldline strength of injection molded thermoplastics. Experiments were carried out on a 4.1 oz injection molding machine. A plate cavity with an obstacle at the center was used to create a weldline. After molding, the weldline strength of the parts was measured with a tensile tester. Of the factors selected in the main experiments, melt temperature and mold temperature were found to be the principal factors affecting the weldline property of injection molded thermoplastics. Weldline strengths of injection molded parts increase with the size of the obstacles.     

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。     

Role of polymer transparency and temperature gradients in the quantitative measurement of process stream temperatures during injection molding via IR pyrometry

The accurate and precise measurement of process stream temperatures during injection molding can be difficult, since the cyclic operation results in spatial and temporal variations of the stream temperature. This paper examines the application of a spectral infrared (IR) pyrometer to monitor the cooling of a polymer melt within the mold cavity during a typical injection molding cycle. An outline for interpreting the radiation signal collected with the IR pyrometer is presented. The discussion includes theoretical aspects as well as experimental results. The theoretical approach accounts for the polymer transparency (attenuation behavior) at the spectral wavelength of the pyrometer and also for the temperature gradient within the polymer, thereby establishing the concept of a critical depth for a given pyrometer/polymer combination. The final analysis reveals good agreement between the predicted and measured results for the transient cooling conditions of the polymer within the mold cavity. Depending on the degrees of polymer transparency used in the theoretical prediction, the deviation between the measured and predicted transient bulk temperatures after mold filling (during the mold cooling stage) varies from ±2°K to ±9°K.     

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.     

Modeling and simulation of thermally induced stress and warpage in injection molded thermoplastics

Thermally induced stress and the relevant warpage caused by inappropriate mold design and processing conditions are problems that confound the overall success of injection molding. A visco-elastic phase transformation model, using a standard linear solid for the solidified polymer and a viscous fluid model for the polymer melt, of 2-D finite element scheme with 8 noded overlay isoparametric elements was used to simulate and predict the residual stress and warpage within injection molded articles as induced during the cooling stage of the injection molding cycle. Computed results are in good agreement with published experimental data. The approach proposed here is to examine and simulate the injection molding solidification process with the intent of understanding and resolving more inclusive and realistic problems.     

汽车接插件随形水路设计及工艺优化

根据汽车接插件的模具规格和使用要求,基于Moldflow软件对汽车接插件的成型过程进行数值模拟,设计冷却系统和流道系统,针对冷却系统对热流道区域冷却不足的问题进行优化,增加随形水路。根据Taguchi正交实验分析了熔体温度、模具温度、注塑时间、保压时间、保压压力5个因素对产品框口区域翘曲变形的影响规律,得到最佳工艺参数组合,最后对最佳参数组合进行了模拟验证。实际生产表明,该方案可以缩短产品的开发周期与成型周期,提高生产效率。     

石墨烯镀层辅助快速热循环注射成型方法的研究

提出了一种以石墨烯纳米镀层辅助实现快速热循环注射成型的新方法,采用化学气相沉积工艺在模具型腔表面制备连续且致密的化学键合石墨烯镀层,仅需低压电源驱动就能将型腔表面温度迅速提升至聚合物材料玻璃化转变温度（Tg）之上并进行实时调控,型腔表面温度分布均匀且具有较高的降温速率,可满足注射成型快变模温调控的要求。结果表明,利用石墨烯镀层快速热循环注射成型方法可有效改善注射成型熔体流动行为,明显消除制品的熔接痕。