When it comes to manufacturing, used to produce parts in large quantities.
injection plastic molding is doubtless the
single biggest innovation in the last hundred
years or more. Thanks to plastic molding, the
same parts can be made thousands, or even
millions of times with ease. Instead of having
to individually shape each individual
component, these components can be made
on a huge scale. Since every part will be
identical, you can be sure that things will
always fit together perfectly. What’s more, it
also makes waste a thing of the past- meaning
plastic molding machines really ramp up
efficiency in any manufacturing plant. So, if
your company manufactures plastic products
or components on a large scale, then plastic
molding is clearly the way to go.
Of course, the quality of plastic molding
depends entirely on two things: the machines
you use, and the plastic molds which your
components are created from. If you don’t
have the right molds, then you’ll only end up
compromising on the overall quality of the
final product. On the other hand, high-quality
molds open up a world of opportunities when
it comes to plastics manufacturing. From
moving parts to incredibly intricate sections,
hinges to springs, and much more, the
possibilities are endless.
Injection molding is the process commonly
With high mass production, injection molding
is the method that we would most commonly
see. The reason why it is not used on a
smaller scale is that the mold costs associated
with this method are fairly high, and injection
molding only becomes profitable once
between 3,000 and 10,000 pieces are
produced (depending on the complexity of
the molded part).
A mold will usually have under 100 cavities,
but a mold intended for extreme mass
production might have even more “drops”
than this. A major factor in the number of
cavities is production cost; as demands of
energy or space decrease, more cavities can
be included. However, this also increases the
fall-out risk, so most molds will include less
cavities than might be technically possible.
A significant advantage of injection molding is
that very complex parts can be created, such
as undercuts both inside and outside the part,
hinges, snap-in noses, springs, and internal
threads. This can all be created with a high
level of automation. Injection molding is also
scalable, so these parts can weigh anything
between a few milligrams and over 50
kilograms. Injection molding machines are
classified based on their clamping force. This
could be as small as 50 kN, or as much as
100,000 kN. Most machine sizes range
between 100 kN and 30,000 kN.
Since injection molds are all unique objects,
they are therefore highly valuable as
production tools, as they are essential for
production. In some cases, the molds
themselves may cost more than the
machinery that uses them.
In the center of the injection unit lies a
heated barrel, which contains a screw that
allows it to rotate and move on an axis while
it is being used in plasticizing. When injecting
and holding pressure, it also acts as a
non-rotating piston. The clamping unit moves
one half of the mold, known variously as the
“clamp”, “movable”, or “ejector” half, towards
the fixed half of the clamp. It then applies a
great deal of clamping force, to seal against
the separating force of the cavity pressure.
High amounts of pressure are needed- no less
than 200 bar, and commonly between 300
and 1,200 bar. As this force will affect parts of
the mold, it needs to be taken into
consideration during the design of the side
walls of the mold. A calculation of a mean
value of 1,000 bar is usually used in the
design process. This is necessary to allow
sufficient shrinkage compensation during the
compression of the melt.
The pellet is melted during the screw rotation,
due to the barrel heaters. At the same time,
there is a forward melt feed towards the
closed nozzle, which means the screw presses
itself backward due to the feed effect. When
it comes to the reverse motion, the screw has
to overcome the additional friction resistance
of the system. To aid with the mixing effect, to
increase the amount of heat, or to get to an
enlarged degassing effect, additional “back
pressure” will be applied. The rotation is then
turned off when the rear position
corresponding to the “metering stroke” is
reached. The melt volume in front of the
screw tip is then ready to be injected.
The check valve on the screw tip can be used
as an injection piston, to introduce melt into
the cold mold cavity until it is completely
filled. This process is called “volumetric filling”,
and the melt flow is called a “fountain flow”,
meaning stationary layers are formed when
coming into contact with the cold mold wall
as the melt passes through.
If the stationary layer is allowed to grow too
large, it can completely halt the filling process.
The melt will then “freeze off”. This could be
caused by, for example, the injection speed
being too low. A thin skin layer will naturally
form at the flow front, which is actually used
to self-seal at particularly tight gap in the
mold. This also allows “ventilation” of the
cavities in the mold design, since the melt
entering the mold has to push existing air out
of it. Venting gaps of 10 to 30 μm are possible
without flashing, since the flow front because
of the flow front skin can be about 10 μm.
Within this range, the mold can be allowed to
“breath” to improve the ventilation.
After volumetric filling, the dynamical phase,
which revolves around injection pressure,
moves on to a quasi-static phase? This
holding pressure phase allows the melt to
compress, while also affording the possibility
to deliver additional melt during the initial
cooling process, as the pressure in the cavity
is held at a constant. This post-supply of melt
is possible as long as the gate (the junction of
the runner into the cavity) is permeable, and
not yet sealed. Once this sealing point has
been reached, pressure is reduced according
to the actual cooling rate. Molded parts will
then shrink after the complete pressure
release, which is usually linked with the
separation of the plastic from the inner wall
of the cavity.
When designing the mold, it is vital to take
into account not only the material type, but
also processing conditions. Especially
important are both pressure and temperature
throughout the process, as well as during the
sealing of the gate. Raw material
manufacturers are therefore only able to give
a very rough estimate of shrinkage if they
don’t know these conditions in advance- for
example, it might be as wide as 0.5-1.5%. To
give a more precise estimate, data on both
raw materials and processing are required, so
that a process simulation can take place.
However, shrinkage values are also
dependent on the direction of molecules, and
filler orientation.
Both pressure and temperature have an
impact on the specific volume of the injection
molding compound, and therefore the final
weight of the completed molded part. This is
a simple way of determining the process
constancy: around 70% of parameter
fluctuations can be predicted using the weight
of the molded part.
Holding pressure time needs to be
somewhat longer than the sealing time, so as
to prevent back flow of the compressed mass
out of the cavity. A holding time which is too
short will impact upon the weight of the
molded part. Both the holding pressure time
and the cooling time will ensure that the
physical material has enough time to cool
properly and become stable enough to eject
from the mold. Usually, necessary cycle times
are calculated using the cooling capacity of
the mold, although they may be rarely
calculated using the “plasticizing rate” of the
material in question. Once the molded part is
set enough to absorb the amount of force
needed to eject it without being damaged, it
can then be “demolded”.
At this point, the injection unit needs to move
back. Precisely when this will happen
depends on the design of the machine nozzle,
and whether or not it has a shut-off
mechanism: with a shut-off nozzle, it will be
just after the end of holding pressure, so that
no heat flows from the nozzle to the cooled
mold, whereas without a shut-off nozzle, it
will happen at the end of the plasticizing
process.
Once the cooling phase has been completed,
the machine’s clamping force is released and
the mold opens up- this requires the ejector
half of the mold to move backwards. The
injection molded part can be reliably removed
by ensuring there is enough “break time” or
“mold open time”. There is an increasing
trend towards automated removal devices,
which use a release signal to open the mold.
All injection mold machines use a security
system known as “mold protection”, which
prevents mold damage caused by a foreign
object- this could even be a molded part from
the last cycle. Mold protection uses the force
transducer principle, which means a signal is
triggered if unexpected resistance is
experienced due to a foreign object. The
clamping motion then halts and an alarm is
triggered. For this to work, three mold
dependent positions, or zero points, need to
be set during the set-up process:
 Ejector rear position,
 Nozzle forward position, contacting the
sprue bushing,
 Closed mold position corresponding to
the depth of the mold.