Fundamental study on releasability of molded rubber from mold tool surface

Abstract

In compression or injection molding of rubber products, small pieces of residual rubber often remain on the metal mold surface after releasing the product. This is caused by excessive localized adhesion to the mold surface. Therefore, cleaning of metal mold surface must be often performed, which results in longer molding cycle time, and the lifetime of metal mold is often reduced. In this study, the separation forces between molded rubber and metal mold surfaces are measured with a tensile tester to evaluate the releasability of molded rubber from the metal mold surface. Mold surfaces treated by various surface coatings and surface modification methods including EB polishing were tested and compared. Experimental results show that the separation force between molded rubber and metal mold surfaces depends on the true contact area between them and the chemical composition of the metal mold surface. The separation force decreases with a decrease in contact area. The chromium content at the metal mold surface significantly reduces the separation force. EB polishing is one of the most effective surface treatments for metal molds since the real contact area can be decreased while also decreasing the surface roughness of the tool surface in a short time. Electron beam melting is also shown to be an effective method of distributing chromium uniformly on the metal mold surface.