Name:

Personal Innovation Class Default Project

TEE 229: 1Injection Molding/Casting Lab Warning: In this lab we will be using liquid resins and chemicals. These chemicals can be dangerous
to your health. When handling the chemicals, wear chemical safety gloves. Do not directly inhale chemicals. Please follow all safety instructions.
Introduction: Injection molding is one of the most widely used plastic processing techniques. Injection molding produces parts having a wide variety of sizes, shapes, complexities, and surface textures. Although injection molding is the contemporary method used in industry, we want you to have a hand on experience doing this consequently a casting molding experience will be used. Casting is similar to injection molding, however, gravity is mostly used, and in our lab hand work will be used instead of a machine. This lab is intended to: Demonstrate the use and important components of an injection/casting molding process. Give practical experience in injection/casting molding. Solidify your understanding of the fundamental concepts of injection/casting molding. Procedure Step 1: Observe, list, and sketch 5 products that were created using an injection/casting molding process. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Step 2: Brainstorm and sketch a product you want to create using a casting process. Innovative products will be given extra credit. Have the TA or professor sign off on the product, and provide the TA with a copy of your sketches. Note the product cannot be larger than 5 x 5 x 5. If you are unsure of what to make, you can select to do the PRE-APPROVED casting project making a chess piece character. Remember the pre-approved projects are B projects meaning the highest grade you can receive if you select to do one of them is a B (based on completeness, execution, and cleanliness of project, and accuracy of lab write-up). Step 3: Mold making: Injection molds are some of the most complicated molds in the polymer manufacturing world. Molds must be made to very tight tolerances for alignment and sealing. The materials must withstand very high clamping and injection pressures, as well as elevated temperatures.

Your molds will be made using a silicone base. You will mix the silicone and use it to create the actual mold. This will be demoed in class. The basic process requires that you have a product you want to reproduce, i.e., a chess piece, you would submerge that piece in the silicone, let it sit, and then extract it. The resulting silicone mold would then be used to make reproducible pieces. Silicone is a hardy material that is often used in the manufacturing process because of its relative strength and ability to absorb heat. Make or indentify an object you want to create a silicone mold for. Then mix the two compounds, extract your piece, and then create an exact replica. Take a picture of the two pieces, email those to the TA, and leave final product with the TA. List two compounds and mixture ratio used for the silicon: Part A: Part B: (ratio: (ratio: ) )

List two compounds and mixture ratio used for the casting: Part A: Part B: (ratio: (ratio: ) )

Lab Write-up: 1. What process parameters affect the part quality the most? Discuss 2 or 3 of these parameters and their specific effects on part quality. Which is the most important for cycle time? 2. Why is it important to have uniform wall thickness? How can you change your mold that has an especially thick region so its not so thick? 3. Your mold is filling completely, but you have weld-lines in your part. Give three possible adjustments or changes you can make to alleviate the problem. 4. Your part has air bubbles, and excessive flash. Whats wrong, and how could you fix it? Give 2 parameter changes.

Design Problem:
Write a rapid lesson plan outlining an idea for teaching and realistic project/activity a jr. high or high school technology and engineering classroom could do to learn and experience casting (needs to be distinctly different than what you did/we do in TEE 229). The lesson plan should include 5 parts: anticipatory set, what will be taught, activity, material, and evaluation (how the students will be graded).