Abstract
The present work developed an experimental and simulation study to evaluate the influence of some operational conditions and mold design on the efficiency of an injection process used to produce polystyrene parts. The software SolidWorks Plastic was used to simulate the injection process and assess the performance of the mold considering the absence and the presence of venting. Experimental results obtained by varying the injection pressure, injection temperature as well as the mold temperature were used to validate the simulation data generated considering both mold designs. The findings revealed air entrapment at the end of the mold cavity and low process efficiency when the mold was operated with no venting, regardless the processing conditions. Simulation results indicated a remarkable increase of the process efficiency when vents were included on the parting line of the mold. In addition, the range of processing conditions which led to the highest process efficiency was virtually identified and tested in the real modified mold (with venting system). The findings revealed that the injection cycle time reduced in approximately 35% and the waste generation diminished from 65% to less than 1% when venting was included in the mold design and the optimal operational conditions were used.
Highlights
In the last decades, the consumption of thermoplastics has grown according to the demand for innovative products and due to the increase in the development of parts and components for the automotive, household and furniture industries[1]
The experimental and simulation results obtained with the mold with no venting system are shown
The study quantified the impact of the process performance when using a mold with no venting and a mold with vents machined on its parting line
Summary
The consumption of thermoplastics has grown according to the demand for innovative products and due to the increase in the development of parts and components for the automotive, household and furniture industries[1]. Nowadays, engineering projects are capable to guarantee high precision in the manufacturing of injection molds mainly due to the availability of computational tools capable to simulate the injection process of thermoplastics[3]. Computational simulation of injection processes is a powerful tool that can be used to identify and correct mistakes in injection molds as well as to include new characteristics to the product in the phase of the project. In this way, the designers are able to develop new ways to manufacture injection molds with extremely
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