The Injection Molding Machine

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 Injection Molding of Thermoplastics

Injection molding can be described in four general

steps regardless of the type of machine used
1. Powder or pelletized polymer is loaded and heated
to the molten state
2. Under pressure, the molten polymer is forced into
a mold through an opening called a sprue
3. The pressurized material is held in the mold until
it solidifies.
4. The mold is opened and the part removed by
ejector pins.

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Schematic of a Basic Reciprocating Screw Injection Unit

Joseph Dym, Injection Molds and Molding 2nd ed., pg. 244. 1987

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 Plasticating Screw

Joseph Dym, Injection Molds and Molding 2nd ed., pg. 248. 1987

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 Injection Molding Clamping Unit
The clamping unit must be able to keep the mold halves
closed during the pressurized injection of plastic and not
allow flashing

Common clamping mechanisms are direct hydraulic
clamping and mechanical toggle clamps, actuated by
hydraulic cylinders

Toggle clamps make use of mechanical advantage but are
opened and locked by use of a hydraulic cylinder

Today, many injection molding machines use direct hydraulic
clamping since it uses fewer moving parts and is reliable and
highly controllable

The methods by which molds are attached to clamping unit include
screw and bolt fixtures, key rods and vacuum to hold the mold,
magnetic force and friction or a combination of these.

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 Toggle and Direct Hydraulic Clamps

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 Injection Molding Molds

Injection molding molds

will consist of two
basic parts
1. The cavities and cores
2. The base which the
cavities and cores are
mounted on

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 Injection Molding of Thermosets

The processing and equipment for injection molding of thermosets

differs somewhat from that of thermoplastics since thermosets can not
be remelted once they are cured; thus they can not reside in the barrel
or nozzle for long

Thermosets are heated in the barrel of the injection molder to decrease
their viscosity; they may be quite fluid during the injection step

Thermosets are most often loaded with reinforcement like
chopped glass and graphite fibers or fillers to decrease cost,
and increase the viscosity; with fiber reinforcement low screw
pressures are desired to reduce fiber damage

Unlike injection molding thermoplastics, injection pressure is reduced
after the mold is filled; after some seconds the pressure is totally removed
and a new shot prepared

Injection is done into a heated mold in order to accelerate cross linking

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 Special Venting Barrels and Screws

Special venting screws and barrels may be used with thermosetting

and thermoplastic polymers that produce volatiles when curing or
heating. Dym, Injection Molds & Molding, pg 246
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 Molding Liquid Resins

Because the viscosity of liquid resins is much

lower compared to that of molten thermoplastics
or thermosets, they lend themselves to different
and simpler molding processes
The most commonly used liquid molding methods
are…

Reaction injection molding (RIM) and Reinforced RIM,
termed R-RIM

Resin transfer molding (RTM)

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 Reaction Injection Molding
Almost any low viscosity thermosetting liquid resin can be
used with RIM, (not just polyurethane polymers referred to
in the text)
Reactive components are initially mixed using
impingement or mechanical mixing

In either case, material must flow into the mold in a laminar
fashion to prevent air bubbles or reinforcement preforms from
moving (in the case of rigid parts)
Some of the advantages of RIM are

Tooling cost is relatively low

Ease of part removal and quick cycle times for large parts
Reference on RIM process

C.W. Macosko, RIM, Fundamentals of Reaction Injection
Molding, Hanser Publishers, New York (1989)

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 Resin Transfer Molding (RTM)
Resin transfer molding falls under liquid resin molding
(LMR) techniques and has come about as an alternative to
hand lay up, spay-up and compression molding techniques
for reinforced thermosets
The process is similar to RIM but employs vacuum in
addition to injection of resin under pressure; many
different kinds of resins are used in this process including
polyesters, epoxies, nylons and methacrylates
Process advantages include energy savings compared to
manual methods, lowered volatile emissions, fast part
production compared to manual techniques, insert
materials easily designed into finished parts

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 RTM Process
Specialized metering pumps are required to accurately
proportion the different components of the resin system
(typically a resin and catalyst) since cure times and
properties will be dependent on the ratio
A piston injector or the same metering pumps may be
employed to apply injection pressure
At the entrance of the mold, motionless mixers are
employed to mix the components in a laminar fashion to
avoid bubble formation
Molds are designed to be filled from the bottom up so as to
displace air from top vents; vents are closed once the liquid
resin saturates the fiber preform.
..\IMAGES\RTM[1].AVI

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 Motionless Mixer for RTM

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 Compression Molding
One of the simplest molding processes; consists of heating material
under pressure and temperature while in a mold cavity ( see lab
exercise #8)
Elastomers and thermosets, like phenolics and melamine compounds,
are often formed via compression molding; They can be reinforced
with glass cloth
Advantages include

Simple tooling no sprues or runners in the mold

No material waste, except possible flash

Tooling is relatively inexpensive

High part quality and consistency
Negative aspect include

Long cycle times for small parts compared to other processes

Intricate parts with small holes or sharp corners and undercuts
are not possible

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 Compression Molding Process
Powdered, granular or preform materials may be
used as a starting form; preforms are often
preferred since they already contain the
appropriate amount of material and can be easily
preheated for more efficient processing times
Under heat and pressure the material is shaped
into the mold contours; thermoset are crosslinked
and hardened in the mold

While thermoplastics can be compression molded they
are not often processed in this manner as the mold has
to be cooled before removal of the part can occur
After the curing period, the part is removed

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 Sintering
Sintering is required for materials that have such a high
viscosity they can not be processed by conventional means (for
example PTFE, UHMWPE, PBI)
The materials to be formed are initially compression molded at
room temperature
In this “green” preform state, they are heated from temperatures
ranging below the melt to well above it (since they are so
viscous they don’t sag unless very large sizes are sintered)

Sintering may be carried out in a mold as well to retain the original
shape without deformation due to sagging
Individual polymer particles will coalesce over time and fuse
together
A secondary machining step is often required to finish the part

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 Transfer Molding
Transfer molding combines elements of compression and
injection molding

It is similar to compression molding in that only one part may be
made before more material has to be loaded

It is similar to injection molding in that material is fluid during
processing and is injected into the mold from an outside chamber;
molds are very similar to injection molding molds

Advantages include: ability to mold complex parts, less flash than
compression molding, multiple parts can be molded

Disadvantages include: more material waste than compression
molding (which can’t be recycled since thermosets are typically
used), more expensive tooling than compression molding, size
limitations

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 Transfer Molding Process
A slug or charge of material is placed in the pot
(injection chamber) and heated to the process
temperature

The slug will most often be preheated to improve
processing efficiency and also improves the quality of
the part
The plunger then forces the material through the
sprue, runners and gates into the heated mold
cavity
Once the material cures sufficiently under pressure
and temperature, the entire part is ejected,
including waste sprues, runners and gates

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 Schematic of Transfer Molding Machine

Text pg 159

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 Machining Unreinforced Thermoplastics

Most thermoplastics are machined with relative ease

compared to metals but they require some special
consideration

Because thermoplastics have a large coefficient of thermal
expansion and display stress relaxation, temperature is of critical
concern when tight and repeatable tolerances are required

Tooling should be kept sharpened to minimize localized
heating of the part

Coolant is used to minimize frictional heat (air or liquid)

If the plastic part to be machined has significant residual stresses, it

should be annealed before machining

Warping will occur in parts machined from preforms having
high residual stress

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 Machining of Rigid Composites
Instead of regular edged cutting tools, it is best to use an abrasive type
of cutting tool and slow speed to machine rigid thermosetting
composites

Use of abrasive tools is preferred to minimize the possibility of

Delamination – separation of plies in layered composites

Reinforcement pull out – pull our of fibers in the matrix

Splintering - Use of a backing material is highly recommended

Crack damage

Damage to composites as a result of impact from tools or other objects
may not be apparent

Abrasive blades use hard materials like diamond and tungsten carbide to
machine composites with glass, graphite, and boron reinforcement due to
the hardness of these materials

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 Machining Safeguards
When machining rigid composites, the use of a
liquid coolant is highly recommended even if
cooling is not required

Using abrasive cutting tools creates a lot of dust

Liquid coolants and vacuum systems minimizes dust in
the air; graphite, glass, and other micron sized particles
are hazardous to breath because of the small size
Always use dust masks and eye protection when
machining any sort of plastic material

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