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...
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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 |
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