Abstract
This paper presents the development of metallic thermoresistive thin film, providing an innovative solution to dynamically control the temperature during the injection molding process of polymeric parts. The general idea was to tailor the signal response of the nitrogen- and oxygen-doped titanium-copper thin film (TiCu(N,O))-based transducers, in order to optimize their use in temperature sensor devices. The results reveal that the nitrogen or oxygen doping level has an evident effect on the thermoresistive response of TiCu(N,O) films. The temperature coefficient of resistance values reached 2.29 × 10−2 °C−1, which was almost six times higher than the traditional platinum-based sensors. In order to demonstrate the sensing capabilities of thin films, a proof-of-concept experiment was carried out, integrating the developed TiCu(N,O) films with the best response in an injection steel mold, connected to a data acquisition system. These novel sensor inserts proved to be sensitive to the temperature evolution during the injection process, directly in contact with the polymer melt in the mold, demonstrating their possible use in real operation devices where temperature profiles are a major parameter, such as the injection molding process of polymeric parts.
Highlights
There is an increasing effort to develop new materials to be used in injecting parts—from noncritical products to very challenging technical parts for the automobile industry—with biocompatible fibers [1,2,3]
A set of TiCu(N,O) thin films was sputtered with increasing the N2 + O2 contents
Clear zigzags chevrons are observed in the TiCu thin film prepared without N2 + O2 flow (Figure 4a1 ), and this behavior is maintained until the samples are prepared with a flux of 8 sccm of N2 + O2 (Figure 4a1 to e1 )
Summary
There is an increasing effort to develop new materials to be used in injecting parts—from noncritical products to very challenging technical parts for the automobile industry—with biocompatible fibers [1,2,3]. One of the critical parameters of a mold is the temperature control system [6]. This system is the main driver of cycle time; the more efficient, the shorter the time required to inject a part. Its impact on the quality of the molding, through the control of the cooling, is still relatively high [7]. For the effective control of the injection process, it is necessary in some cases to raise the temperature of the molding zone so that it Materials 2020, 13, 1423; doi:10.3390/ma13061423 www.mdpi.com/journal/materials
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