Properties of rapid prototype injection mold tooling materials

Epoxy acrylate‐based sterolithography resins have been used successfully as tools for injection molding. Molds made out of these resins fail at distinct times: during the first injection of plastic; during the first part first ejection; during either injection or ejection, but after a certain number of parts have been produced, which can be compared to a fatigue process. This paper presents corelations between measured properties of stereolithography molds and injection molding processing conditions so as to understand and predict mold failure. The study focuses on two stereolithography resins (SL 7510 and SL 7510) and one epoxy‐based composite material used for the high speed machining of prototype molds (Renboard). Rapid tooling materials are studied in fatigue, tensile, and fracture at injection molding operating temperatures and at room temperature. Finally, a method to address failure of molds is proposed using the theory of fracture.     

Numerical and experimental studies on the ejection of injection‐molded plastic products

Numerical and experimental studies have been conducted on the ejection stage of plastics injection molding process. A numerical approach is proposed to predict the ejection force from the mold‐part constraining and friction forces as the product cools in the mold cavity up to the moment of ejection. The finite element thermoviscoelastic solidification analysis has taken into account the stress and volume relaxation behavior of polymers under the cavity‐constrained condition. The predicted ejection force and its distribution over ejector pins are validated by injection molding experiment of rectangular boxes using a polycarbonate resin. Different cases of the ejector pin layout are evaluated to examine the effect of the number, location and dimension of ejector pins, so as to identify the balanced layout causing minimum stress and deformation to the product. The approach is also applied to another product geometry which shows complex distribution of the mold‐part constraining and friction forces and involves multi‐step operations in the demolding stage.     

The effect of copper alloy mold tooling on the performance of the injection molding process

The performance of copper alloy mold tool materials in injection molding has been examined with respect to cycle time, part quality and energy consumption using in‐process monitoring techniques. A mold insert manufactured from conventional tool steel was compared to four identical inserts made from beryllium‐free copper alloys with copper contents ranging from 85 to 96%. Injection molding trials using high density polyethylene and polybutyl terepthalate were performed using a highly instrumented injection molding machine. Results showed that copper alloy mold tools exhibited cooling rates up to 29% faster than conventional tool steel and that cooling rate was related to thermal conductivity of the alloy. Lower cycle times were achievable with copper alloy than for tool steel before part quality deterioration occurred. The results suggest that copper alloy tooling has the potential to achieve significant reductions in cycle time without detriment to the process or product quality. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effect of processing parameters,antistiction coatings,and polymer type when injection molding microfeatures

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and silicon tooling with microscale features on its surface was employed to investigate the impact of three factors on the quality of injection molded microscale features: (1) optimized process parameters, (2) use of a more flexible thermoplastic material, and (3) used as an antistiction coating. The molded parts and tooling surface were characterized by atomic force, confocal, and scanning electron microscopy. Although both improved filling of the tooling trenches, higher mold temperatures significantly enhanced replication, but faster injection velocities contributed moderately to replication quality. With medium aspect ratio (2.3:1) trenches, the antistiction coating doubled depth ratios, enhanced the edge definition and flatness of the features, and significantly reduced tearing of the features during ejection. The flexibility of the TPU permitted easier part ejection and left less polymer residue on the tooling surface in comparison to polycarbonate and other thermoplastic polymers. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

插座壳塑料模具设计

本文详细阐述了插座壳注塑模具的整个设计过程。提出了注塑模具设计的一般程序。该零件形状结构简单,采用一模四腔设计方案,为了弥补PC塑料的流动性差,采用两板式侧浇口多浇口进料的冷流道注塑模。本文对模具制造和试模过程中可能出现的问题做了详细的分析,并提出了相应的解决方法,并对模具中的主要零件进行了结构设计、分析计算和校核,并给出了模具工作零件的设计。     

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.     

Properties of elongational flow injection-molded polyethylene. Part 1: Influence of mold geometry

Injection molding of polyethylene was carried out using molds that introduce axial elongational flow during the filling process, As compared with conventional injection-molding methods, the present technique yields polyethylene materials having higher mechanical strengths (σ ≈ 150 MPa). The σ-value of the moldings can be systematically monitored by adequately varying the elongational flow through modification of the mold geometry. Geometrical features of the volume containing the melt before injection as well as geometry of the die, the extruder, and the inlet influence the overall elongational flow, and thus, the mechanical strength of the moldings.     

Analysis of a liquid‐assisted molding process for coating microchannels with an ultraviolet curable polymer

Injection molding can be altered to form hollow parts by partially pre‐filling a mold with polymer melt and then injecting a gas into the mold before cooling. The gas will core the center section and in the process force melt into the unfilled portions of the mold. This process is called gas‐assisted injection molding (GAIM) and is a thoroughly studied polymer processing technique. Liquid‐assisted molding follows the same principles as GAIM, except the coring fluid is a liquid of low viscosity. Liquid‐assisted molding of an ultraviolet (UV) curable polymer can be used to coat microchannels, the benefit of which being a smooth and circular cross‐section. Presented here are experiments of the controlled microchannel flow of a long, immiscible liquid thread through a viscous UV curable polymer. The roles of channel geometry and bubble velocity are discussed for square, rectangular, and circular microchannels. Finally, a quasi‐analytical model for calculating the Newtonian coating fluid thickness, when the coring fluid is driven by a constant pressure, was developed using the equation for Poiseuille‐like flow within a square channel. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effective properties of particle reinforced polymeric mould material towards reducing cooling time in soft tooling process

Cooling time in soft tooling process using conventional mold materials is normally high. Although increase of effective thermal conductivity of mold material by inclusion of high thermally conductive fillers reduces the cooling time, it affects other properties (namely, stiffness of mold box and flow ability of melt mold material), which play important roles in soft tooling process. Therefore, to apply composite polymer in soft tooling process as mold material simultaneous studies of these properties are important. In this work, extensive experimental studies are made on the effective thermal conductivity, modulus of elasticity and viscosity of composite polymeric mold materials namely Polyurethane and RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanizing)‐2 silicone rubber, with aluminum and graphite particle reinforcements. To find suitable models of the effective properties of composite mold materials, which are required to decide the optimum amount of filler content before actual application, attempts are made to fit the experimental results using various models reported in the literature. Finally, different aspects in reducing cooling time in soft tooling process and further activities are reported. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

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     

Ejection force of tubular injection moldings. Part II: A prediction model

The integrated knowledge of the injection molding process and the material changes induced by processing is essential to guarantee the quality of technical parts. In the case of parts with deep cavities, quite often the ejection phase of the molding cycle is critical. Thus, in the mold design stage, the aspects associated with the ejection system will require special consideration. In particular, the prediction of the ejection force will contribute to optimizing the mold design and to guarantee the integrity of the moldings. In this work, a simulation algorithm based on a thermomechanical model is described and their predictions are compared with experimental data obtained from a fully‐instrumented mold (pressure, temperature, and force). Three common thermoplastics polymers were used for the tubular moldings: a semicrystalline polypropylene and two amorphous thermoplastics: polystyrene and polycarbonate. The thermomechanical model is based on the assumption of the polymer behavior changing from purely viscous to purely elastic below a transition point. This point corresponds to solidification determined by temperature in the case of amorphous materials and by critical crystallinity for semicrystalline polymers. The model results for the ejection force closely agree with the experimental data for the three materials used. POLYM. ENG. SCI. 45:325–332, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

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.     

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.     

Draft angle and surface roughness effects on stereolithography molds

Stereolithography (SL) is a rapid prototyping process, which allows one to build complex shapes quickly. Current research investigates the possibilities of using this process to make injection molds. This would allow designers to manufacture and test molds easily and rapidly. One of the main issues with this technique is the effects of its surface on the part. Molds built by SL have high roughness. This gives rise to a high friction force between the part and the mold, and increases the ejection force needed to eject the part from the mold. High ejection forces often lead to damage or breakage of the part and the mold. Research was undertaken on the effects of draft angle and roughness on ejection forces. It was found that increasing the draft angle does not necessary assist the ejection of the part. As the draft angle increases, the roughness and hence the friction force between the part and the mold also increase. There is a trade‐off between draft angle and roughness. A model based on Glanvill's equation was developed to predict ejection force and was consistent with experimental results.     

Predicting mechanical properties of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer in injection molded plaque and box

A methodology to predict mechanical properties in injection molded parts has been developed. Knowledge of part properties before actual molding and testing will be of immense help to part and mold designers in modification of design. This methodology involved the application of connectionist learning systems, injection molding computer simulation, and experimental evaluation of mechanical properties, to relate the thermomechanical history of injection molded parts to the resulting part properties of injection molded parts are dependent upon their thermomechanical history which in turn is greatly influenced by the processing conditions and part geometry. As the relationships between engineering properties and thermomechanical history are complex and highly nonlinear, the methodology developed was based on a backpropagation neural network algorithm that provided the means for a nonparametric mapping between the part properties and thermomechanical history. The proposed methodology has been successfully applied to two geometries, plaque and box. This methodology provides designers with the ability to predict mechanical properties in injection molded parts when significant thermomechanical history can be obtained from injection molding simulation.     

Quantifying part irregularities and subsequent morphology manipulation in stereolithography plastic injection moulding

Abstract

The direct use of moulds produced by stereolithography (SL) provides a rapid tooling technique which allows low volume production by plastic injection moulding. The greatest advantage of the process is that it provides parts that are the same as those that would be produced by metal tooling in a fraction of the time and cost. However, work by the authors demonstrates that the parts possess different characteristics to those produced by metal tooling. This knowledge defies the greatest advantages of the SL injection moulding tooling process – the moulded parts do not replicate parts that would be produced by metal tooling. This work specifically demonstrates that a different rate of part shrinkage is experienced and subsequently investigates the mechanisms in SL tooling that induce these different part properties. The work culminates in different approaches to modifying the moulding process which allow the production of parts whose key morphological characteristics are closer to those that have been produced from metal moulds.     

Predicting surface defects in injection molded PVC components

Surface defects in injection molded PVC parts have long been analytically unpredictable. These defects are typically caused by thermal instability and flow instability of the material. There exists a need to analytically predict these defects through the use of mold filling simulation. This paper documents an experimental approach to predicting surface defects on injection molded PVC parts through the use of material characterization, mold filling simulation correlation, and verification tests.     

Ejection force in tubular injection moldings. Part I: Effect of processing conditions

The development and manufacture of injection molds for high quality technical parts are complex tasks involving the knowledge of the injection molding process and the material changes induced by processing. In the case of some specific shapes (boxes, tubular fittings), the shrinkage is partially restricted by the mold. The molding shrinks against the core, inserts or pins. Thus, upon ejection, it will be necessary to overcome the frictional forces resulting from the shrinkage. The knowledge of the ejection force is a useful contribution to optimizing the design of molds with these features, and to guaranteeing the structural integrity of the moldings. A study on the effect of conditions on the ejection force required for deep tubular moldings is described for the cases of three common thermoplastic polymers. The studies were based on tubular moldings (60 mm diameter, 146 mm length, and 2 mm thickness). The injection unit cell consisted of a 1 MN clamp force injection molding machine, thermal regulator, and material dryer. During processing, pressure, temperature and ejection force evolutions were recorded. The results show that the processing conditions noticeably influence the ejection force. Polym. Eng. Sci. 44:891–897, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Thermal effects on stereolithography injection mold inserts

Stereolithography is a process in which a photopolymerizable resin is used to make parts. This method is used here to produce mold inserts for small injection molding runs. This paper focuses on the effects of the heat due to the injection of the polymer on these mold inserts. As the number of shots increases, the degree of cure of the insert changes. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was used to determine the thermal property changes of the material. The evolution of the ejection forces for different post‐cure treatments was investigated. The ejection force decreased with increasing cure of the mold inserts.     

Permeability model for a woven fabric

The resin transfer molding (RTM) method is used to manufacture composite parts. The reinforcing fibers are placed in a mold cavity and the resin is injected to fill up the empty spaces. After the resin cures, the mold is opened and the part ejected. To predict necessary pressures and filling times and the proper locations for the inlet ports for resin injection and vents for air ejection it is necessary to model the resin infiltration process. A key to this modeling is permeability which characterizes the resistance of fibers to the flow of infiltrating resin. A simplified model for in-plane permeability of fabric reinforcement (preform) is developed here. This model uses lubrication theory for modeling the flow through open pores and Darcy's law for the transverse flow through the reinforcement. Scaling analysis is provided to justify the simplification and to estimate the range of validity for resulting expressions. Extension of the model to cover multi-layered preforms is derived. Boundary conditions and the data necessary to specify the problem geometry are discussed. A numerical experiment is conducted to estimate the influence of the transverse permeability of the preform on the solution. A calculation is provided for the permeability of a plain weave fabric.