International Journal of Mechanical and Production

Engineering Research and Development (IJMPERD)

ISSN (P): 2249–6890; ISSN (E): 2249–8001
Vol. 10, Issue 3, Jun 2020, 249–258
© TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

EFFECT OF PART GEOMETRY AND PROCESSING CONDITIONS ON WELD LINE

IN PLASTICS PRODUCT

RAJENDRAN1 & S, Dr. SATHISH. T2

1
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering,
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, TN, India
2
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, TN, India
ABSTRACT

In Plastics injection moulded parts, a weld line is a visible result of a line or blemish on the part by the merger of more
than one stream of plastics flow during processing. It is caused due to the knitting region of two upcoming flow fronts of
plastics melt. These lines are usually formed due to obstructions to flow or due to the provision of more than one entry
point of plastics melt into the component. The existence of weld lines in plastics parts is not only a surface imperfection,
but it also impacts the strength of the part by way of structural weakness. The occurrence of weld lines in the plastics
products has made the process of injection moulding a complex one. The major possible causes for the occurrence can be

Original Article
traced to the design of plastics parts geometry and the injection moulding process parameters used for manufacturing the
product. In this study, a standard specimen of the plastics part with the unique requirements like the entry of melt defined
as a gate and the obstructions to flow in terms of slots that may arise in any plastics part is being considered. The part is
analyzed under various geometrical changes and process parameters of importance like injection temperature of plastics
melt temperature of injection mould, injection time. Experiments were conducted for the various parameters to study the
effect of results obtained from analysis and manufacture. The findings are given in the conclusion that the changes in
geometry and parameters of melt injection temperature and mold temperature combination helps to get the products with
minimal weld line. Given the required melt temperatures are used, mold temperature modifications provide the better
quality weld. This has been verified in the optimized parameters which concurs with the test results and analyzed
observations .

KEYWORDS: Injection moulding, Thermoplastics, Weld line, Geometry effect, Plastics processing & Product design

Received: Mar 16, 2020; Accepted: Apr 06, 2020; Published: Apr 30, 2020; Paper Id.: IJMPERDJUN202024

INTRODUCTION

Injection moulding is a predominant conversion process for converting thermoplastics granules into useful
engineering products. By virtue of the geometry and processing conditions adopted, some unwanted defects occur
in the final moulded products. An interest on one such problem, the weld quality is always there for the injection
moulding community due to the unique challenges posed by the presence of weld lines. Of the various
manufacturing methods used for plastics, it was common knowledge that spin welding provides a better quality
joint than other methods. Whereas the possibility for a weak joint is happening mostly due to the mechanism of
moulding process itself. In this process, by virtue of the geometry of the part, wherever more than one gate for entry
of plastics material is used, there is a possibility of flow fronts meet at a possibly lower temperature which results in
a less than homogenous mix of the melt. This is one possible reason for the purpose of creation of weld lines of

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250 Rajendran & S, Dr. Sathish. T

poor quality. The other reasons are due to the inherent geometry requirements which causes the obstruction to the flow of
plastics melt like the presence of slots, inserts, openings etc., which causes the plastics melt front to divide and then rejoin
at a lower temperature due to temperature gradient happening by contact with the metal inserts. The metal inserts which are
at a relatively lower temperature than the rest of the mould components causes the melt front to lose their heat thereby at
the meeting point, a homogenous mix does not happen in comparison to other places of the product.

Figure 1: Weld Line Occurrence – Locations

At such lines, the structural integrity of the component falls below the expected requirements which causes a
rupture or fracture along the length of the weld line formation when such areas are subjected to loading. This research
paper investigates the effects of melt entry points and size apart from the changes in process parameters in order to achieve
a weld free surface or have a weld line with a better strength.

LITERATURE SURVEY

Tatiana Zhiltsova et al.[1] studied the micro molded plastics parts by indentation, and observed that the parts, made from the
material POM (Polyoxymethylene). It was tested with two sets of different processing parameters over the full length of
the welding line. Based on the observations, they observed that due to reduction in hardness and Young's modulus, there is
an increase in values along the weld line from the parallel flow fronts pointed towards the interior region of the micro part
towards the external edge. In addition, the Hardness and Young’s modulus values were found out to vary in proportion to
the changes caused due to the processing parameters.

Criens RM and Mosle H G (2004)[8] has studied and inferred the strength of knit / weld line for three different
polymeric materials . They observed that the temperatures of injection mould and plastics melt had a appreciable impact on
the strength of the weld lines. They also inferred that the effect of plastics melt temperature at nozzle changes from

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Effect of Part Geometry and Processing Conditions on Weld Line in Plastics Product 251

material to material.

Nguyen .C et al. (1998)[9] studied the flow front movements around a metal insert. On that basis, they clarified that
the history of impact of the heat related flow property of the plastics melt over the behaviour of the knit line. They
published a paper representing a condition when temperatures are not constant; the replication of the knit line creation is
due to the pile-up of two flow fronts.
[6]
Shayfull.z et. al. (2011) investigated methods of minimizing the dimensions of joining knit lines in a plate
which are thin. They also studied plastics parts about the methods to improve the cosmetic appearance. The paper
approached by comparing two different plastics materials and taguchi method to validate the details.

By these approaches, the referred literature of the weld lines, the behavioural relationship of strength and the
process methodology can be further analysed with respect to the history of flow fronts and the thermorheological
condition, which exhibits a better appreciation of various methodologies that cause weld line creation.

Majority of the work done were using multiple materials and multiple gate positions or sizes. The current work
was focused on using different inserts so as to move the position of flow deviation to occur a various places on the flow
front in order to study the effect on weld lines.

DESIGN OF GEOMETRY

A simplified specimen model as given in figure2 was considered for the analysis purpose (100x70x2mm). The flat plate
with a uniform thickness and slots located at different points across the surfaces were chosen to run the analysis and test
the results later on the formation of weld lines under different process conditions. The thickness considered is constant in
order to compare the results. The design of sprue, runners and gates are considered as per the requirements and rules of
thumb used for designing the feed system which is given in the figure 3. The reason to choose the slots at different
locations is to verify the effect of geometrical change on the final quality and location of weld lines that occur on the
product. The mould has provision made for incorporating rechangeable metal inserts for the core plate that enable the
injection of plastics melt with dissimilar slot locations. The mould release system of the injection mould is not incorporated
with standard ejector pins. The release system activates the entire contact surface area of the plastics part, eliminating the
possibility of war page of the sample. The type of melt entry gate can be varied with the changeable insert positioned
between the cavity plate and core plate without the need to dismantle the mould from the machine for changing inserts. For
experimental purposes, a superior surface finish was attained using hand polishing and the standard gates of 0.8 mm
diameter were set in the form of mould insert.

Figure 2: Specimen Part Design

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252 Rajendran & S, Dr. Sathish. T

Figure 3: Sprue, Runner and Gate Design

PROCESS MODELING

It is a known fact that adequate control of the injection moulding process ensures a product of acceptable quality. Process
control of a typical cavity pressure would follow the graph:

Figure 4: Process Modeling of Injection Moulding Process

(1)Being the Filling Cycle of Polymer Melt, (2) post – filling, (4) Holding
phase and (3) Mould Opening Phase.

The material considered for the purpose of this study was polycarbonate, an engineering plastics material and the
machine used was 20T semi-automatic injection moulding machine. Polycarbonate is a plastics material made up of
polyester formed by the condensation process of carbonic acid (HO–COOH)with bisphenol A (HO–(C6H6)–C(CH3)2–
(C6H6-OH) which is a bulky repeat unit of the polymer chain. This process also contributes to the high HDT (Tg - glass
transition temperature, the temperature below which the plastics changes into a crystalline state). PC, being an amorphous
engineering plastic has a high ductility and toughness which is contributed by the presence of carbonyl group that offers
rotational mobility. By virtue of amorphous nature, it has properties like improved resistance to impact, resistance to heat,
high transparency, inhibits the outbreak of fire, and resistance to discolouration. The impact strength which is the measure
of kinetic energy needed to initiate fracture for Polycarbonate is high. High molecular weight PC (HMWPC) has better
mechanical properties, but processing of such low melt flow rate grades are challenging. The grade of material selected for
a particular application requirement should be based on the required criteria with optimal processing characteristics and on

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Effect of Part Geometry and Processing Conditions on Weld Line in Plastics Product 253

this consideration, general purpose polycarbonate was chosen for the study.

Typical rheological properties of General purpose PC referred for analysis are:

Melt viscosities exhibit Newtonian behaviour up to shear rates of 1000 1/s and exhibit shear thickening beyond
such shear rates

HDT (Heat Deflection Temperature) : 130 -140 oC

Vicat Softening Point is around 155 oC.

Specific heat of the melt (Cp) = 1900 J/kg oK

K = 0.24 w/m oK (K – Thermal conductivity)

Tg= 144oC (Tg – Glass transition temperature

Melt temperature range: 270 – 310 oC

Mould temperature range: 70 – 120 oC

Estimated cooling time (t):T2/ 4a. T- being the nominal thickness of the part

Where a = k/ ( Cp)

Mold shrinkage: 0.1 – 0.2 mm/mm

Density of the melt ( ) = 1060 kg/m3

Estimated filling time (δ ) = 1.2 sec

Estimated cooling time: 8 sec.

EXPERIMENTAL OBSERVATIONS

Prior to injection moulding, as per the process requirements, the plastics material was subjected to drying at ~90°C for 5
(five) hours as polycarbonate is hygroscopic in nature. This helps to evaporate the excessive moisture in the material. The
injection moulding process parameters were initially kept constant as melt temperature at nozzle zone is at 290°C the
mould temperature at 80°C. The mould temperature was initially left at the standard conditions and after few short shots
were produced, it was gradually increased to 80 deg. C. The initial samples were produced intentionally as short mouldings
using various ram profile switch-over settings with a view to measure flow front meeting angle (Figure 5). This was done
to ensure that we observe the mode of initiation and progress of the flow pattern of the melt.

On producing the samples, the angle of convergence approach of the plastics melt flow front was verified on the
moulded components and it can be referred as a factor of flow path function. It was observed that at the start of the melt
flow near the entry point the flow is fairly straight forward like a line drawn through the set of concentric circles without
any weld formation. But the angle of convergence increases with the displacement distance as the distance increases. At
nearly after 24 mm displacement, a split of flow has to occur as it is encountering the insert provided for the purpose of
creation of a slot in the final product. This leads to a reduction in flow angle while measuring the angle with reference to
the point of melt entry. After the flow front crosses the insert region, it tends to deviate and merge again. At this particular

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254 Rajendran & S, Dr. Sathish. T

region, the flow angle was measured as 110°. As the length of flow increases, measuring the angle of convergence of flow
front meeting ends tends to be difficult due to the profile of melt front. It also creates a drop in the pressure and
temperature of the plastics melt by more than 15 degrees which creates a weaker weld joint at the point of meeting of
profiles. The convergence angles of meeting of melt profiles were also generated by viewing the melt fronts by imaginary
concentric arcs centered from the location of melt entry. From the results, it was inferred that the relationship between the
theoretical angles at which the flow front profile meets was lesser than the measured values. At a computed flow, distance
upto 20 mm the conformance of theoretical and experimental values fitted satisfactorily but when displacements are more,
then the experimental scale was an overestimation. There is also an occurrence of meld lines due to the flow fronts meeting
splitting and meeting at angles of less than 90 degrees. The meld lines are observed only at times of higher speeds of
injection whereas the lower speeds did not show the initiation of meld lines.

Figure 5: Short Shots of the Moulding

ANALYSIS AND RESULT DISCUSSION

Injection moulding simulation using FEM is one of the most reliable and advanced technique utilized for injection mould
design. There are many different types of program packages available for use. The elementary packages are to support part
designs, which can be used by designers, those who even do not having a deep knowledge of manufacturing plastics parts.
On the other hand, the advanced program packages are able to mimic the entire injection moulding process cycle. This
enables users to see the simulation of the moulding process within the mould on the computer screen is whether it follows
as per design expectation or not. Such software also incorporates a huge database of injection moulding machinery and
related mouldable grades of plastics materials. However, the design engineer is expected to have a through fundamental
engineering knowledge of product, mould or die design and manufacturing of plastics products to use them effectively. For
simulating an injection moulding process, in most cases 2D shell or triangular elements are utilized to designate the part of
cavity, whereas a two noded beam element or link are used to represent the sprue and other feed system including the
runners and gate. The melt front advancement calculations are computed using the control volume method. In each step of
computation, the pressure, velocity and temperature parameters are produced.

Mold flow analysis software was used for the simulation analysis of the considered part design. During the course
of analysis, two different mesh types were used and compared: 1) default finite element mesh and 2) refined mesh.
Respective mesh type was created in various lengths of elemental edge like: 1, 2, 3 & 6 mm. Default mesh means that the
mesh modelled in default settings which consist of equilateral triangles with the method that the nodes are positioned along
the predictable weld lines and was not expected to generate a linear profiled weld. One primary indicator used to check the

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Effect of Part Geometry and Processing Conditions on Weld Line in Plastics Product 255

quality of mesh is an acceptable aspect ratio range. An aspect ratio is the ratio between the longest sides to shortest side.
The importance of this aspect ratio is that it impacts the results accuracy. The suggested average aspect ratio for finite
element mid plane mesh was less than 10. While modifying the mesh as a smoothed mesh or a finer mesh, multiple steps of
procedure were deployed. First one being that increases the number of elements such that the average aspect ratio can be
reduced. This helps to get a more refined mesh, but the number of elements increases which also increases the computation
time of the analysis. On the second part, it is ensured that in the expected area of the weld line or knit line, the closer nodes
are merged manually in such a way that the resultant triangles are forming a near unbroken path of the element edge
forming like a line. The same procedure can be adopted in case of default mesh also by nearly merging the nodes which are
closer to the predicted weld line formation path. This ensures that the path of weld line creation in the experimental method
is nearly identical to the analysis settings.

The parameters were constant process settings of mould temperature at 80oC and melt temperature at 290°C
respectively. Initial short mouldings were produced without increasing the mould temperature by leaving it under normal
conditions to understand the impact of increasing the mould temperature. On completion of the work, the simulation results
and experimental computations of weld lines were compared. In general, the modified smooth mesh type results produced
were in correlation with the results of the measurements. At an aspect ratio of less than 1.5, both the analysis types, i.e.
ideal and smoothed mesh type results of measurement between flow lengths up to 24 mm were fairly closer. The values
computed with original default mesh type were not consistent when compared with the results of measurement over the
entire studied flow length as it was different in comparison to the expectations. It was witnessed that after a flow distance
of approximately 24 mm the weld line angle steeply increases as anticipated in all types of finite element mesh. But under
2 mm of mesh lengths, where there will be a shorter flow displacement, a fluctuation was evident. Due to the quality of the
mesh used, it was understandable that the default mesh used lead to inaccurate results when compared with the
experimental measurements. This is attributable to the quality of the mesh which provides an insight that in order to get a
closer result, we need to ensure that the quality of mesh is always better. It was also inferred that the angle of melt front
values changes at various length of flow. The computation showed zero degree knit line at a linear space of 15 mm,
whereas it showed ~145 ° beyond 24 mm.

While not considering the default meshing, the difference or variance from the analysis results was less than the
calculated results when the average edge length of the mesh was 2 mm. While the edges were increased in length to 2.5
mm, the aspect ratio average shows an increase which leads to the results showing the increased deviation between the data
measured from the moulding and simulation analysis.

But using the modified refined mesh, in the zone up to 24mm of flow distance, the angles of weld lines computed
approached closer to the product measurement results. In the same sense, using a higher triangular edge length at 6mm, the
disagreement between the curves was more pronounced. Although in general, the analysis results exhibited some
similarity, unpredictably, the results observed during the measurement values were in harmony for few flow lengths up to a
certain displacement ranges. On comparing the different types of mesh used at every aspect ratio, the refined mesh shows
the results which can be closely matched with the experimental values as measured from the product sample. The range of
closeness of conformance was in the range of 0.9 to 0.96. Also, it is evident that when the aspect ratio becomes higher, the
deviation in the closeness of the values is more pronounced than those in the lesser aspect ratios.

The verification of analysis simulation results of weld lines were studied by comparing various experimental

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measurement values from the occurrence of the weld line merging angles at various flow path lengths. The comparison of
results of simulation analysis was prepared with the two mesh types – default and refined. The results revealed that
smoothed mesh correlated with closer values to the measured values and default mesh had more deviations with the result
of experimentation. The process of refining the mesh with lesser aspect ratio in the predicted zone of weld line occurrence
showed an improvement in the conformal relationship of final results. But, this was not completely matching experimental
results. It leads to a conclusion that using the lower average aspect ratio of mesh indicated a better conformance than using
higher aspect ratios. On the process parameters, increase in melt temperature found some improvement in the weld line
quality but did not improve further. A combination of melt temperature and mould temperature together showed a better
quality of weld.

CONCLUSIONS

It is inferred from the results that the theoretical results are in closer correlation with the experimental results when the
process conditions are very closer. To ensure the closeness of the experimental values, the aspect ratio of the mesh has to
be suitably refined so that the results computed are closer. The effect of geometry and processing conditions showed an
appreciable effect on the location and quality of the weld lines generated. On the processing conditions, a higher melt
temperature was helpful in containing the weld appearance to a large extent. A combination of appropriate optimal melt
temperature and mould temperature together showed a better quality of weld. The scope for further work can be extended
in order to study the strength of weld line by subjecting the sample to tensile tests and identifying the areas of fracture.

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