Documente Academic
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Lahore
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Injection molding 3
Engineering plastics 3
Mold 9
Mold Components 10
Screw design 11
Process Cycle 12
Time Function 14
Engineering plastics are a group of plastic materials that exhibit superior mechanical and thermal
properties in a wide range of conditions over and above more commonly used commodity
plastics. The term usually refers to thermoplastic materials rather than thermosetting ones.
Engineering thermoplastics are sold in much lower quantities and are thus more expensive per
unit weight. Despite this, they are widely used in everyday products.
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS): Tough, stiff and abrasion resistant, resistance to acid
and alkalies. It has tendency to stress crack. It is used to make light, rigid, molded products such
as piping (for example Plastic Pressure Pipe System), musical instruments, golf club heads (used
for its good shock absorbance), automotive body parts, wheel covers etc.
Polyamide (Nylon, PA): It has lubricity and moderate strength; it is tough plastic but has low
stiffness and has poor dimensional stability because it is hygroscopic in nature.
Polyimide (PI): It has thermal stability, good chemical resistance, excellent mechanical
properties, and characteristic orange/yellow color. It has high impact and dielectric strength.
Polyamides compounded with graphite or glass fiber reinforcements have flexural strengths up to
50,000p.s.i.
Polysulfone (PSU): These polymers are rigid, high-strength, and transparent, retaining its
properties between 100 C and 150 C. It has very high dimension al stability. This expensive
material is electroplate able and has good toughness.
Thermoplastics are injected in injection molding machine in the form of pellets. There are usually
available in standard packing of 25 kg bag.
There are four main units in injection molding machine which are as follows:
Injection unit
Clamping unit
Hydraulic system
Control system
Injection Unit:
The Screw: Inside the barrel, there is a screw. The screw has helical flights, which when the
screw is rotated, cause the pellets to move forward in the barrel. The screw also provides heat to
melt these pellets by shearing and crushing them against the barrel wall.
End Cap: Here material stays temporarily after that the screw
moves forward and inject the melt into the mold.
Hydraulic Injection Cylinder: It is cylinder into which oil is pumped under pressure to force the
injection piston and screw to move forward. It causes the screw to move forward like a ram.
Non-Return Valve: It helps to prevent any movement of the melt back into the screw.
6 Department of Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering,
University of Engineering & Technology.
Lahore
Clamping Unit:
The clamping unit holds the mold together, opens and closes it automatically and ejects the
finished part. .
Toggle
Hydraulic
Hydro mechanical
Toggle clamps: An actuator moves the crosshead forward, extending the toggle links to push the
moving platen toward a closed position. They are actuated either by hydraulic cylinders or ball
screws driven by electric motors. Toggle-clamp units seem most suited to relatively low-tonnage
machines.
In Japan, there is a company JSW (JAPAN STEEL WORK), this company makes toggle type
clamping unit.
Two clamping designs: (a) one possible toggle clamp design (1) open and (2) closed; and (b)
hydraulic clamping (1) open and (2) closed.
There is a company TOSHIBA, this company makes hydraulic type clamping unit.
They use hydraulic cylinders to rapidly move the mold toward closing position.
Locking the position by mechanical means.
FUNCTION:
Clamping Cylinder: It is a device that actuates the chuck through the aid of hydraulic energy.
Ejection System: An ejection system is needed to eject the molded part from the cavity at the
end of the molding cycle. Ejector pins built into the moving half of the mold usually accomplish
this function.
Hydraulic System:
The hydraulic system on the injection molding machine provides the power to open and close the
mold, turn the reciprocating screw, drive the reciprocating screw, and energize ejector pins and
moving mold cores. A number of hydraulic components are required to provide this power, which
includes pumps, valves, hydraulic motors and hydraulic reservoirs.
Mold:
Mold is that part of injection molding machine in which molten material is poured.
Material of Mold:
Molds are typically constructed from;
Hardened steel
Pre-hardened steel
Aluminum
Beryllium-copper alloy
The choice of material to build a mold from is primarily one of economics, steel molds generally
cost more to construct, but their longer lifespan will offset the higher initial cost over a higher
number of parts made before wearing out. Pre-hardened steel molds are less wear resistant and
are used for lower volume requirements or larger components.
Mold Base: The mold base is an arrangement of steel blocks manufactured to specific
dimensions. Mold base consists of two halves. The half A is also known as stationary half or
injection half and, half B is known as moving half or ejection half. These two halves enclose the
mold cavity.
Mold Core: Mold core generates the inner image of surface of molded part. It is mounted on
ejector half of mold base. It is convex in shape.
Mold Cavity: Mold cavity holds the material when it is injected into the mold. It is attached to
the stationary plate of mold base Mold cavity creates outer image of surface of molded part. It has
concave shape.
Runners: The runners are large-diameter channels through which plastic flows, usually around
the edges of the part or along straight lines.
These channels allow plastic to run along
them, so they are referred to as runners.
Channels carry the molten plastic from the
sprue to all of the cavities that must be
filled.
Cooling System: The hot thermoplastic remains in the mold under pressure until it cools. This
cooling is usually achieved by water circulating in the channels machined into the mold. Proper
cooling contributes to controlled part shrinkage, part strength, and quality. Overall, the speed of
injection molding cycle is controlled by the efficiency of cooling system.
Screw Design:
The screw driver is a typically hydraulic motor drive. Though electric drive units are becoming
quite common .one term here is very important is stroke.
The control on the injection molding machine can be set to allow the move
backward only a specified distance. The distance is referred to as stroke and is
measured in inches or millimeters. All injection molding machines have a
maximum stroke that is approximately equal to four times the diameter of the
bore of the barrel.
The screw driver stop the screw from rotating and the injection cylinder causes
the screw to move forward like a ram.
1) Clamping: Prior to the injection of the material into the mold, the two halves of the mold
must first be securely closed by the clamping unit. Each half of the mold is attached to the
injection molding machine and one half is allowed to slide. The hydraulically powered
clamping unit pushes the mold halves together and exerts sufficient force to keep the
mold securely closed while the material is injected. The time required to close and clamp
the mold is dependent upon the machine - larger machines (those with greater clamping
forces) will require more time. This time can be estimated from the dry cycle time of the
machine.
2) Injection: The raw plastic material, usually in the form of pellets, is fed into the injection
molding machine, and advanced towards the mold by the injection unit. During this
process, the material is melted by heat and pressure. The molten plastic is then injected
into the mold very quickly and the buildup of pressure packs and holds the material. The
amount of material that is injected is referred to as the shot. The injection time is difficult
to calculate accurately due to the complex and changing flow of the molten plastic into
the mold. However, the injection time can be estimated by the shot volume, injection
pressure, and injection power.
3) Cooling: The molten plastic that is inside the mold begins to cool as soon as it makes
contact with the interior mold surfaces. As the plastic cools, it will solidify into the shape
of the desired part. However, during cooling some shrinkage of the part may occur. The
packing of material in the injection stage allows additional material to flow into the mold
and reduce the amount of visible shrinkage. The mold cannot be opened until the
required cooling time has elapsed. The cooling time can be estimated from several
thermodynamic properties of the plastic and maximum wall thickness of the part.
After the injection molding cycle, some post processing is typically required. During cooling the
material in the channels of the mold will solidify attached to the part. This excess material, along
with any flash that has occurred, must be trimmed from the part, typically by using cutters. For
some types of material, such as thermoplastics, the scrap material that results from this trimming
can be recycled by being placed into a plastic grinder, also called regrind machines or granulators,
which regrinds the scrap material into pellets. Due to some degradation of the material
properties, the regrind must be mixed with raw material in the proper regrind ratio to be reused
in the injection molding process.
The time it takes to make a product using injection molding can be calculated by adding:
Twice the Mold Open/Close Time (2M)
+
Injection Time (T)
+
Cooling Time (C)
+
Ejection Time (E)
Total time = 2M + T + C + E
T = V/R
The total cycle time can be calculated using t cycle = t closing + t cooling + t ejection
Part: Casing of speedometer, cellular phone, TV, Monitor of Computer, Telephone sets,
AC, Key-boards, clocks
Material: Acrylonitryle-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS)
Part: Disposable ball pens, spoons, razor, cups & glasses for water & drinks, ice-cream
cups, Low cost CD-covers etc.
Material: Polystyrene (PS)