Injection Molding

Douglas J. Gardner Professor Wood-polymer Hybrid Composites

Injection Molding Schematic

A hot, molten polymer is injected into a cold mold. A screw apparatus can be used to inject the polymer into the mold, as shown in the schematic. After the part cools and solidifies, the mold is opened and the part is ejected.

Typical products
Automotive, appliance, computer, communication and industrial equipment Both amorphous and crystalline thermoplastic resins are used in injection molding. Short glass fibers are commonly used as reinforcements.

Basic Process Factors in Injection Molding

Material Parameters
Amorphous, Semicrystalline, Blends and Filled Systems Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT) Behavior Viscosity

Geometry Parameters
Wall Thickness of Part Number of Gates, Gate Location, Gate Thickness and Area Type of Gates: Manually or Automatically Trimmed Constraints from Ribs, Bosses and Inserts

Manufacturing Parameters
Fill Time Packing Pressure Level Mold Temperature, Melt Temperature

Amorphous, Semicrystalline, Blends and Filled Systems

The chains in an amorphous polymer are randomly distributed. Som e examples of amorphous polymers are Polycarbonate, Polyphenylene oxide and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene. In a semicrystalline polymer, chains are partially ordered to form crystallites. Some examples of such polymers are Polybutylene terephthalate and Nylon. Engineering polymers are often blends of two or more polymers. Polymers are frequently blended in a twin screw extruder Fillers such as short glass fibers, coloring agents, fire retardants etc. are frequently added to the polymers to enhance their mechanical properties or other performance characteristics. Semicrystalline polymers have the highest shrinkage followed by blends and amorphous polymers. Systems with fillers have the lowest shrinkage.

Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT) Behavior

Volumetric expansion data for polymeric materials are obtained under equilibrium. Such data represent fundamental thermodynamic properties of the material and reflect the transitions as the material moves from glassy to crystalline to melt state.

PVT Amorphous vs. Semi-Crystalline

The shrinkage of a molded plastic part can be as much as twenty percent by volume when measured between the processing temperature and the ambient temperature. Semi-crystalline polymers have higher shrinkage than amorphous polymers because of the ordering and folding of chains in a semicrystalline polymer below its freezing point.

Viscosity
Most polymer melts exhibit shear-thinning behavior, which translates to lower, viscosity with higher shear rate. Hence the viscosity of the melt varies across the thickness of the part due to the variation in shear rate. Melt viscosity decreases with temperature but the sensitivity varies among thermoplastics. For example, the viscosity of polystyrene and polypropylene are considerably more sensitive to temperature than that of polyethylene.

Geometry Parameters
The deflection of a part under a given load is a strong function of the wall thickness, decreasing as the wall thickness is increased. A ribbed part can meet part stiffness specifications with a lower wall thickness.

Geometry Parameters
The material viscosity determines the achievable flow length. Standard data charts of recommended wall thickness as a function of flow length are available as shown here. The gating scheme and the process window can be manipulated to achieve the desired flow length for a given material and the nominal part thickness.

Cooling time
Function of mold wall temperature, melt temperature, material properties and part wall thickness. An example calculation has been shown here with typical values for the different variables. Mold cooling accounts for more than two thirds of total cycle time.

Cooling time
Cooling time increases in a non- linear fashion with increasing part wall thickness. The cooling time for a semi-crystalline material like Polybutylene Terephthalate is always higher than that for an amorphous material like a blend of Polycarbonate and ABS.

Design Guidelines for Gates

Gate Location
The gate should be located at thicker sections of the part. The gate location must allow expulsion of air towards the vent. Multiple gates should be located to allow weld lines to form at appropriate positions in the part.

Gate Size
Gates must be sized such that they freeze off after sufficient packing. Jetting of polymer melt should not occur. The gate thickness is usually 50% to 75% of the part thickness.

Number and Location of Gates

Multiple gates may be used to control the pressure distribution within the cavity. This will introduce weld lines. Weld lines are formed when two melt flow fronts meet. Such regions are weaker than the other regions of the part.

Types of Gates
Manually Trimmed: 1.Direct of Pin Gate 2.Tab Gate 3.Edge Gate 4.Fan Gate Automatically Trimmed: 1.Pinpoint Tab Gate 2.Submarine or Tunnel Gate

A gate is an inlet port to the mold cavity and it provides a connection between the runner and the mold cavity. The gate being thinner than the part usually freezes first during packing. No more material can be injected after the gate freeze s off.

Flow regions inside the mold cavity.

1.Near or at the gate 2.In the cavity Hele Shaw Flow 3.Advancing front Fountain Flow

Maximum Injection Pressure Against the Fill Time

The filling is done at a constant rate of injection. To the left of the minimum in the curve, isothermal viscous flow dominates and the injection pressure drops as the fill time rises. But to the right of the minimum, heat transfer is controlling; material freezes up inside the cavity and the injection pressure rises again.

Typical Temperature History

The gate freezes off first because it is thinner than the cavity. Once the part temperature is well below the polymer solidification temperature, the part is ejected.

Typical Pressure History

At high pressures of thousands of (psi), a polymer melt is compressible, allowing additional material to be packed in the mold cavity after mold filling is complete. This is necessary to reduce nonuniform part shrinkage, which leads to part warpage. Excessive packing results in a highly stressed part and may cause ejection problems whereas insufficient packing causes poor surface, sink marks, welds and non uniform shrinkage.

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The pressure distribution inside the mold cavity changes with distance from the inlet gate. This figure shows a simple part geometry with pressure variations among the points one, two and three respectively. Further away from the gate, pressure rises slowly and it decays quicker than at the points closer to the gate. The pressure in the mold cavity should be more uniform to minimize part warpage

Effect of Packing on Linear Shrinkage

Linear shrinkage decreases with increasing pressure.

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Materials for injection molding

Material selection depends to a large extent on the functional constraints of the part. Both amorphous and crystalline thermoplastic resins are used in injection molding. Short glass fibers are commonly used as reinforcements

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Injection Molding Cycle

Closing Filling Packing Cooling Mold opening Ejection

Residual Stress

Shear stresses develop within the melt during the filling and packing stages. These flow stresses cannot relax completely when the part is cooled rapidly below the glass transition temperature, leaving residual stresses. Non-uniform cooling with gradients of temperature and crystallinity also lead to residual stresses in the molded part.

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Residual Stress Development: Mechanism

Surface layer cools below Tg and can shrink unconstrained. The thermal contraction of the next layer to cool below Tg is constrained by the solid layer above it. The final residual-stress profile through-thethickness is parabolic in shape, with compressive stresses on the outside and tensile stresses on the inside.

Using PVT diagrams to estimate shrinkage

The five states represent: A the un-pressurized melt at the injection temperature B the pressurized melt when the melt front reaches the end of the cavity C the fully packed melt at the time the gate freezes off D the solidified polymer E the polymer part when it is ejected from the mold

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Using PVT diagrams to estimate shrinkage

Goals for the Future in Injection Molding

Design for minimum number of parts (integration of parts) In mass production, minimize parts variation. Dimensional stability and reproducibility are prime goals. Design parts for multi-use Design parts for ease of manufacturing Avoid separate fasteners Avoid flexible components (e.g., rubber hoses)

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