Abstract
Plastic optical components are light in weight, easy to manufacture, and amenable to mass production. However, plastic injection molded parts are liable to shrinkage and warpage as a result of the pressure and temperature variations induced during the molding process. Consequently, controlling the process parameters in such a way as to minimize the geometric deformation of the molded part and improve the performance of the optical component as a result remains an important concern. The present study considered the problem of optimizing the injection molding parameters for the plastic lens barrel of a bilateral telecentric lens (BTL) containing four lens assemblies. The study commenced by using CODE V optical software to design the lens assemblies and determine their optimal positions within the barrel. Taguchi experiments based on Moldex3D simulations were then performed to determine the processing conditions (i.e., maximum injection pressure, maximum packing pressure, melt temperature, mold temperature, and cooling time) which minimize the coaxiality of the plastic barrel. Finally, CODE V and grayscale analyses were performed to confirm the optical performance of the optimized BTL. The Taguchi results show that the coaxiality of the plastic lens barrel is determined mainly by the maximum packing pressure and melt temperature. In addition, the CODE V and grayscale analysis results confirm that the optimized BTL yields a better modulus transfer function, spot diagram performance, and image quality than a BTL produced using the general injection molding parameters.
Highlights
Received: 18 December 2021Plastic provides an ideal material for the fabrication of optoelectronic product accessories and supports due to its light weight, low cost, high mechanical strength, ease of processing, and good potential for mass production
The validity of the optimized design was confirmed by comparing the CODE V results for the modulus transfer function (MTF), spot diagram (SD), and 2D imaging simulation (IMS) of the proposed optical device with those of an ideal bilateral telecentric lens (BTL) device with no coaxiality or concentricity errors and device molded using the default processing conditions for the selected
Flow chart showingFigure the main steps in showing the optical andininjection optimization tion procedure for the BTL
Summary
Plastic provides an ideal material for the fabrication of optoelectronic product accessories and supports due to its light weight, low cost, high mechanical strength, ease of processing, and good potential for mass production. The successful realization of plastic optical components involves many challenges, including optical design, integrated mechanism design, process parameter design, and product inspection and analysis. While injection molding has significant advantages in terms of a high throughput, a low unit cost, and good repeatability, the quality of the molded components is extremely sensitive to the processing conditions, e.g., the injection pressure, packing pressure, melt temperature, mold temperature, packing time, and cooling time. Determining the processing conditions which optimize the quality of the molded products (the dimensional tolerance, surface finish, mechanical strength, etc.) is extremely complex
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