Abstract
Microcellular injection molding is a process that offers numerous benefits due to the internal structure generated; thus, many applications are currently being developed in different fields, especially home appliances. In spite of the advantages, when changing the manufacturing process from conventional to microcellular injection molding, it is necessary to analyze its new mechanical properties and the environmental impact of the component. This paper presents a deep study of the environmental behavior of a manufactured component by both conventional and microcellular injection molding. Environmental impact will be evaluated performing a life cycle assessment. Functionality of the component will be also evaluated with samples obtained from manufactured components, to make sure that the mechanical requirements are fulfilled when using microcellular injection molding. For this purpose a special device has been developed to measure the flexural modulus. With a 16% weight reduction, the variation of flexural properties in the microcellular injected components is only 6.8%. Although the energy consumption of the microcellular injection process slightly increases, there is an overall reduction of the environmental burden of 14.9% in ReCiPe and 15% in carbon footprint. Therefore, MuCell technology can be considered as a green manufacturing technology for components working mainly under flexural load.
Highlights
Microcellular injection molding (MuCell) is a production process that uses a blend of melted polymer and a supercritical fluid
This paper presents a deep study of the environmental behavior of a manufactured component by both conventional and microcellular injection molding
The energy consumption of the microcellular injection process slightly increases, there is an overall reduction of the environmental burden of 14.9% in ReCiPe and 15% in carbon footprint
Summary
Microcellular injection molding (MuCell) is a production process that uses a blend of melted polymer and a supercritical fluid. This blend is inserted into the barrel to create a single phase polymer-gas solution. From the point of view of product quality, warpage of the component is reduced [2] due to lower shrinkage [3]. Holding pressure can be avoided due to the uniform packing caused by cells growing. This means that internal stresses of the molded component are reduced [5]. The viscosity of the solution is lower than the polymer itself [6], so the required injection pressures and clamping forces are lower, allowing longer flow lengths when designing the mold
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