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Abstract— Warpage is a common issue related with injection from the temperature difference between the surfaces, the heat
moulding process and frequently be the main target by mould distribution, shear stress, shrinkages and mechanical properties
designers to eliminate. The existence of warpage is considered a caused by the orientation of materials. Huang and Tai [4]
defect and shall be minimized. Therefore many researches and
examined the effects of warpage that is seen in thin shell parts
publications were made on this topic, to study the behavior of
warpage occurred at moulded parts particularly on plastic parts. produced by injection molding using simulation software.
In this study, two parts of plastic products was decided as a Taguchi method used to determine the optimum value of
model. One is a thin plate and another one is a thin shell. injection parameters and this led to a finding that packing
Polycarbonate/Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (PC/ABS) pressure is the most significant factor that affects warpage and
thermoplastic is used as a plastic material. Taguchi Method is gate locations as well as filling time have only small effects
applied to determine the optimum value of injection molding
over warpage. Taguchi method was also applied by Tang [3] in
parameters and Moldflow Plastic Insight software is used to
simulate the injection molding process. The temperature designing a plastic injection mould to reduce warpage. The
differences on core and cavity plates are considered in simulation thin plate mold was fabricated and at the same time gate
and the experimental shows that the differences mould dimension and mould temperature factors were eliminated
temperature helps to minimize the warpage value. This finding is while ANOVA was used to determine the significant factor
definitely a good way to prevent stress on a critical point of affected the warpage mainly. As a result, melting temperature
warped parts after assembly process.
was found to be the most important factor that contributes to
Index Term— Injection moulding; Plastic Injection Mould; the existence of warpage. Results acquired by Liao et al. [5]
Warpage; Taguchi Method; ANOVA also agrees that packing pressure is the most influential
parameter in injection moulding process. His study was done
purposely to determine the reactions of a thin walled part
I. INTRODUCTION according to shrinkage and warpage issues where mould
THE warpage The warpage issue is one of common effects on temperature, melt temperature, packing pressure and injection
moulded parts after taken out from an injection molding speed were taken as the injection parameters [6]. From the
process. It is important issue to predict the warpage issue research, it is found that packing pressure is a big factor
before manufacturing takes place. Many researches and contributes to the occurrence of warpage. Basic design
publications were made on this topic, both on theoretical principles for assembly suggest that removing the fastener on
simulation and on experimental results to study the behavior of the product for to reduce costs. For that reason, a snap fit
warpage occurred at moulded parts particularly on plastic concept is introduced to replace fasteners where it can reduce
parts. Jacques [1] underwent a simulation on the thermal the assembly time by eliminating the screwing process [7].
warpage resulted from unequal cooling on a plate of However, there is an issue identified on the snap fit concept
amorphous polymer, and it is understood that the warpage which is the gap around the product is uneven because of this
issue comes from the bending moment due to the asymmetrical concept cannot close the assembled gap tightly as compared to
stress distribution over the thickness of plastic parts. The screwing method. The situation become worse when the snap
thinnest spot on moulded parts is normally the most affected fit concept is to bind between warped parts. Although this
area of warpage due to its relatively small second moment of situation can be improved by adding more snap fits, but the
area in bending. Warpage is also studied by Matsuoka et al. [2] more snap fits in a design, the higher number of side pull and
using simulation and experimental studies. It can be predicted lifter is needed and this therefore increases the cost of
fabricating mould. As far as this issue is concerned, the
Fig. 2. Feed system design for thin shell plate (three-plate mold)
III. EXPERIMENT
There are many factors affecting the injection molding
process, which may include types of plastic material used,
types of mold base material, types of cavity insert material,
types of machine, the shape of the product, the selection of
coolant runners as well as selection of the coolant liquid.
However, to make the experimentations and simulations
achievable according to the scope of research, only some
major factors are considered. Thus, the analysis is carried out
under the following assumptions:
i. Gate dimension factor is eliminated because the gating
systems design for every part is different.
ii. The temperature of the environment is assumed constant.
iii. The coolant is pure water.
iv. Only the effects of the filling, packing, and cooling
processes are discussed.
v. The layout of the cooling channels is assumed to maintain
a constant temperature everywhere in the mold. The
effects due to the shape and size of the mold and product Taguchi method is used in the design of the experiments in
are neglected due to varieties of product’s shapes. this research. There are six factors identified to control the
vi. The plastic material used in all of the simulations is the injection process; cavity temperature (A), core temperature
amorphous thermoplastic PC/ABS blend, Cycoloy (B), melt temperature (C), filling time (D), packing pressure
C2950HF from GE. Its viscosity is between 102 and 104 (E), and packing time (F). Each factor consists of five levels
poise where the shear rate is in the 102-103 s-1 range. The where an orthogonal array L25 56 is chosen and all parameters
range of melt temperature is between 220 and 400oC have been identified. These three factor-level, orthogonal array
approximately. variance and parameters control factors are shown in Table II,
The basic physical and mechanical properties of PC/ABS are III and IV respectively.
shown in Table I. TABLE II
THE FIVE LEVEL OF EFFECTIVE FACTOR FOR
TABLE I EXPERIMENT VARIANCE
THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF PC/ABS
Level
Factor
Specific heat, Cp (J/kgoC) 1871 1 2 3 4 5
Glass transition temperature, Tg (oC) 112 Cavity temperature, A (°C) 45 55 65 75 85
Thermal expansion coefficient, α (mm/moC) 74 Core temperature, B (°C) 45 55 65 75 85
Elastic modulus, E (MPa) 2.63 x 103 Melt temperature, C (°C) 230 245 260 290
275
Poisson's ratio, υ 0.23 Filling time, D (s) 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Thermal conductivity, K (w/moC) 0.27 Packing pressure, E (MPa) 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Packing time, F (s) 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
The parts to be simulated are inclusive of both cavities
divided into 12000 pieces of triangular elements for the thin TABLE III
L25 ORTHOGONAL ARRAY VARIANCE
plate and 18192 pieces of triangular elements for thin the shell
plate. The meshes of the parts are shown Fig. 7 and 8. Trial Control Factor
Signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio is calculated according to Table No. A B C D E F
4. The deflection of the thin plates and thin shell plates 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
obtained from the experiment is used to calculate the signal-to- 2 1 2 2 2 2 2
noise (S/N) ratio to acquire the best setting of parameters 3 1 3 3 3 3 3
arrangement. From this method, the percentage of contribution 4 1 4 4 4 4 4
has been calculated to determine which of the factor will affect 5 1 5 5 5 5 5
the warpage significantly. 6 2 1 2 3 4 5
7 2 2 3 4 5 1
8 2 3 4 5 1 2
9 2 4 5 1 2 3
10 2 5 1 2 3 4
11 3 1 3 5 2 4
12 3 2 4 1 3 5
13 3 3 5 2 4 1
14 3 4 1 3 5 2
15 3 5 2 4 1 3
16 4 1 4 2 5 3
17 4 2 5 3 1 4
18 4 3 1 4 2 5
19 4 4 2 5 3 1
Fig. 7. Cooling channel design for thin plate 20 4 5 3 1 4 2
21 5 1 5 4 3 2
22 5 2 1 5 4 3
23 5 3 2 1 5 4
24 5 4 3 2 1 5
25 5 5 4 3 2 1
TABLE IV TABLE V
THE COMBINATION PARAMETERS FOR THE CONTROL SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS FOR
FACTORS THIN PLATE
Trial Control Factor
No. A B C D E F
Trial Control Factor Thin Plate
1 45 45 230 0.1 50% 0.6
No. Max,
2 45 55 245 0.2 60% 0.7 A B C D E F z S/N
3 45 65 260 0.3 70% 0.8 1 45 45 230 0.1 50% 0.6 0.0073 42.7327
4 45 75 275 0.4 80% 0.9 2 45 55 245 0.2 60% 0.7 0.0076 42.3807
5 45 85 290 0.5 90% 1.0 3 45 65 260 0.3 70% 0.8 0.0066 43.6051
6 55 45 245 0.3 80% 1.0 4 45 75 275 0.4 80% 0.9 0.0060 44.4370
7 55 55 260 0.4 90% 0.6 5 45 85 290 0.5 90% 1.0 0.0057 44.8812
8 55 65 275 0.5 50% 0.7 6 55 45 245 0.3 80% 1.0 0.0053 45.5129
9 55 75 290 0.1 60% 0.8 7 55 55 260 0.4 90% 0.6 0.0061 44.2946
10 55 85 230 0.2 70% 0.9 8 55 65 275 0.5 50% 0.7 0.0081 41.8310
11 65 45 260 0.5 60% 0.9 9 55 75 290 0.1 60% 0.8 0.0065 43.7366
12 65 55 275 0.1 70% 1.0 10 55 85 230 0.2 70% 0.9 0.0059 44.5842
13 65 65 290 0.2 80% 0.6 11 65 45 260 0.5 60% 0.9 0.0070 43.0980
14 65 75 230 0.3 90% 0.7 12 65 55 275 0.1 70% 1.0 0.0059 44.5842
15 65 85 245 0.4 50% 0.8 13 65 65 290 0.2 80% 0.6 0.0066 43.6051
16 75 45 260 0.2 90% 0.8 14 65 75 230 0.3 90% 0.7 0.0061 44.2946
17 75 55 275 0.3 50% 0.9 15 65 85 245 0.4 50% 0.8 0.0078 42.1610
18 75 65 230 0.4 60% 1.0 16 75 45 275 0.2 90% 0.8 0.0089 41.0122
19 75 75 245 0.5 70% 0.6 17 75 55 290 0.3 50% 0.9 0.0073 42.7335
20 75 85 260 0.1 80% 0.7 18 75 65 230 0.4 60% 1.0 0.0075 42.4949
21 85 45 290 0.4 70% 0.7 19 75 75 245 0.5 70% 0.6 0.0079 42.0482
22 85 55 230 0.5 80% 0.8 20 75 85 260 0.1 80% 0.7 0.0069 43.2239
23 85 65 245 0.1 90% 0.9 21 85 45 290 0.4 70% 0.7 0.0064 43.8722
24 85 75 260 0.2 50% 1.0 22 85 55 230 0.5 80% 0.8 0.0068 43.3536
25 85 85 275 0.3 60% 0.6 23 85 65 245 0.1 90% 0.9 0.0091 40.8197
24 85 75 260 0.2 50% 1.0 0.0067 43.4775
The warpage data obtained from the simulation process are 25 85 85 275 0.3 60% 0.6 0.0067 43.4775
also analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the TABLE VI
level of confidence is set at 0.05. The results are used by SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS FOR THIN SHELL PLATE
comparing it with the results obtained from the SN ratio
Trial Control Factor Thin Shell Plate
method. In addition, the interaction effect of factors is Max,
No.
identified and the contribution of each factor to the total effect A B C D E F z S/N
is to be calculated. From this method, the percentage of 1 45 45 230 0.1 50% 0.6 0.0073 42.7327
contribution has been calculated to determine which of the 2 45 55 245 0.2 60% 0.7 0.0076 42.3807
factor will affect the warpage most significantly. 3 45 65 260 0.3 70% 0.8 0.0066 43.6051
4 45 75 275 0.4 80% 0.9 0.0060 44.4370
5 45 85 290 0.5 90% 1.0 0.0057 44.8812
IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
6 55 45 245 0.3 80% 1.0 0.0053 45.5129
In determining the S/N ratio, the smaller the better quality
7 55 55 260 0.4 90% 0.6 0.0061 44.2946
characteristic has been targeted.
8 55 65 275 0.5 50% 0.7 0.0081 41.8310
9 55 75 290 0.1 60% 0.8 0.0065 43.7366
10 55 85 230 0.2 70% 0.9 0.0059 44.5842
11 65 45 260 0.5 60% 0.9 0.0070 43.0980
12 65 55 275 0.1 70% 1.0 0.0059 44.5842
13 65 65 290 0.2 80% 0.6 0.0066 43.6051
MSD is the mean square deviation, represents the 14 65 75 230 0.3 90% 0.7 0.0061 44.2946
observation and is the number of tests in one trial. Table 5 15 65 85 245 0.4 50% 0.8 0.0078 42.1610
and 6 show the S/N for the thin plate and thin shell plate 16 75 45 275 0.2 90% 0.8 0.0089 41.0122
obtained from the experiment. 17 75 55 290 0.3 50% 0.9 0.0073 42.7335
18 75 65 230 0.4 60% 1.0 0.0075 42.4949
19 75 75 245 0.5 70% 0.6 0.0079 42.0482
20 75 85 260 0.1 80% 0.7 0.0069 43.2239
21 85 45 290 0.4 70% 0.7 0.0064 43.8722
22 85 55 230 0.5 80% 0.8 0.0068 43.3536
23 85 65 245 0.1 90% 0.9 0.0091 40.8197
24 85 75 260 0.2 50% 1.0 0.0067 43.4775
25 85 85 275 0.3 60% 0.6 0.0067 43.4775
109006-8686 IJET-IJENS © December 2010 IJENS
IJENS
International Journal of Engineering & Technology IJET-IJENS Vol:10 No:06 129
TABLE VII
THE RESPONSE TABLE OF S/N RATIO FOR THIN PLATE
Level A B C D E F
Fig. 11. S/N response for melt temperature
1 43.607 43.246 43.492 43.019 42.587 43.232
Level A B C D E F
TABLE IX
BEST SETTING OF COMBINATION PARAMETERS
TABLE XI
ANOVA TABLE FOR THIN SHELL PLATE
Source f S V F P(%)
Cavity
temperature, (°C) 4 0.03177 0.0079425 - 9.63
Core
temperature, (°C) 4 0.00468 0.00117 - 1.42
Melt
temperature, (°C) 4 0.08632 0.02158 - 26.16
Pooled error 0 0
For error,
Total 24 0.32998 100
V. CONCLUSION
There are many plastic products produced by injection
Percentage contribution (P) for factor A,
molding and some factors must be determined in order to
design a mould such as feed system, cooling channel position,
gate size. These factors have effects on the quality of product
produced and by the help of simulation technology, it reduces
time taken to test moulds by simulating it in software as
compared to traditional trial and error concept which also
TABLE X requires higher costs. In addition, Taguchi method helps to
ANOVA TABLE FOR THIN PLATE simplify the experiment in identifying the best setting
parameters to produce parts with minimum defects.
Source f S V F P(%) Previous studies used fixed temperature value for mold
Cavity temperature (cavity temperature and core temperature). For
temperature,(°C) 4 5.418 x 10-6 1.354 x 10-6 - 24.59
Core
instance, Tang [3] and Huang and Tai [4] maintained same
temperature, (°C) 4 3.258 x 10-6 8.145 x 10-6 - 14.78 temperature for cavity and core temperature in simulation and
Melt experimental of warpage on thin plate and thin shell plate. In
temperature, (°C) 4 3.538 x 10-6 0.8845 x 10-6 - 16.06 contrast, this research focuses the effect of difference value of
Filling time, (s) 4 2.122 x 10-6 0.5305 x 10-6 - 9.63 temperature on core and cavity on thin plate and thin shell
Packing plate.
pressure, (MPa) 4 4.306 x 10-6 1.077 x 10-6 - 19.54 The conclusions of the research are as follows.
Packing time, (s) 4 3.394 x 10-6 0.8485 x 10-6 - 15.4
Pooled error 0 0 100
Total 24 22.038x10-6
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