Influence of the Mold Material on the Injection Molding Cycle Time and Warpage Depending on the Polymer Processed

The thermal properties of the mold influence the cooling situation in the injection molding process. While there are experimental studies investigating the influence of special mold materials, they are limited to few polymers. In this work, an extensive parameter study with the simulation software A...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Thomas Lucyshyn, Lara-Vanessa Des Enffans d’Avernas, Clemens Holzer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
Series:Polymers
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/18/3196
id doaj-4354eeb942594a81b2ee31c0b5586aab
record_format Article
spelling doaj-4354eeb942594a81b2ee31c0b5586aab2021-09-26T01:03:46ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602021-09-01133196319610.3390/polym13183196Influence of the Mold Material on the Injection Molding Cycle Time and Warpage Depending on the Polymer ProcessedThomas Lucyshyn0Lara-Vanessa Des Enffans d’Avernas1Clemens Holzer2Department of Polymer Engineering and Science, Polymer Processing, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Otto Gloeckel-Strasse 2, 8700 Leoben, AustriaDepartment of Polymer Engineering and Science, Polymer Processing, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Otto Gloeckel-Strasse 2, 8700 Leoben, AustriaDepartment of Polymer Engineering and Science, Polymer Processing, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Otto Gloeckel-Strasse 2, 8700 Leoben, AustriaThe thermal properties of the mold influence the cooling situation in the injection molding process. While there are experimental studies investigating the influence of special mold materials, they are limited to few polymers. In this work, an extensive parameter study with the simulation software Autodesk Moldflow Insight was performed to analyze the influence of the polymer itself on the impact of the mold steel on cycle time and warpage. The investigated part was a box with two thickness variations. A conventional mold steel was compared with a steel grade featuring approximately double the thermal conductivity. Simulations were performed with 18 polymers covering the most common material families. The main finding of this study was that the influence of the higher mold conductivity on cycle time ranged from an almost negligible reduction (3%) up to a strong effect (24%), depending mainly on the used polymers, but also on the part thickness. For the cycle time reduction, a correlation was found, with the melt, mold and ejection temperature being the dominant influencing factors of the polymers. With this correlation, it was possible to estimate the potential of cycle time reduction for other polymers. The simulations also showed a positive influence of the higher mold thermal conductivity on part warpage.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/18/3196injection moldingsimulationthermal conductivitycycle timeMoldflowwarpage
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Thomas Lucyshyn
Lara-Vanessa Des Enffans d’Avernas
Clemens Holzer
spellingShingle Thomas Lucyshyn
Lara-Vanessa Des Enffans d’Avernas
Clemens Holzer
Influence of the Mold Material on the Injection Molding Cycle Time and Warpage Depending on the Polymer Processed
Polymers
injection molding
simulation
thermal conductivity
cycle time
Moldflow
warpage
author_facet Thomas Lucyshyn
Lara-Vanessa Des Enffans d’Avernas
Clemens Holzer
author_sort Thomas Lucyshyn
title Influence of the Mold Material on the Injection Molding Cycle Time and Warpage Depending on the Polymer Processed
title_short Influence of the Mold Material on the Injection Molding Cycle Time and Warpage Depending on the Polymer Processed
title_full Influence of the Mold Material on the Injection Molding Cycle Time and Warpage Depending on the Polymer Processed
title_fullStr Influence of the Mold Material on the Injection Molding Cycle Time and Warpage Depending on the Polymer Processed
title_full_unstemmed Influence of the Mold Material on the Injection Molding Cycle Time and Warpage Depending on the Polymer Processed
title_sort influence of the mold material on the injection molding cycle time and warpage depending on the polymer processed
publisher MDPI AG
series Polymers
issn 2073-4360
publishDate 2021-09-01
description The thermal properties of the mold influence the cooling situation in the injection molding process. While there are experimental studies investigating the influence of special mold materials, they are limited to few polymers. In this work, an extensive parameter study with the simulation software Autodesk Moldflow Insight was performed to analyze the influence of the polymer itself on the impact of the mold steel on cycle time and warpage. The investigated part was a box with two thickness variations. A conventional mold steel was compared with a steel grade featuring approximately double the thermal conductivity. Simulations were performed with 18 polymers covering the most common material families. The main finding of this study was that the influence of the higher mold conductivity on cycle time ranged from an almost negligible reduction (3%) up to a strong effect (24%), depending mainly on the used polymers, but also on the part thickness. For the cycle time reduction, a correlation was found, with the melt, mold and ejection temperature being the dominant influencing factors of the polymers. With this correlation, it was possible to estimate the potential of cycle time reduction for other polymers. The simulations also showed a positive influence of the higher mold thermal conductivity on part warpage.
topic injection molding
simulation
thermal conductivity
cycle time
Moldflow
warpage
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/18/3196
work_keys_str_mv AT thomaslucyshyn influenceofthemoldmaterialontheinjectionmoldingcycletimeandwarpagedependingonthepolymerprocessed
AT laravanessadesenffansdavernas influenceofthemoldmaterialontheinjectionmoldingcycletimeandwarpagedependingonthepolymerprocessed
AT clemensholzer influenceofthemoldmaterialontheinjectionmoldingcycletimeandwarpagedependingonthepolymerprocessed
_version_ 1716869307308179456