Replication of micro-features on PLA: Effect of viscosity during injection molding with fast evolution of cavity surface temperature

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Liparoti ◽  
Vito Speranza ◽  
Roberto Pantani
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Cavity Surface ◽  
Micro Features ◽  
Fast Evolution

Fast cavity surface temperature evolution in injection molding: control of cooling stage and final morphology analysis

RSC Advances ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (101) ◽  
pp. 99274-99281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Liparoti ◽  
Andrea Sorrentino ◽  
Giuseppe Titomanlio
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Temperature Evolution ◽  
Cavity Surface ◽  
Cooling Stage ◽  
Morphology Analysis

New isotropic morphologies are obtained by controlling pressure and temperature evolution.

scholarly journals Replication of micro and nano-features on iPP by injection molding with fast cavity surface temperature evolution

2017 ◽  
Vol 133 ◽  
pp. 559-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vito Speranza ◽  
Sara Liparoti ◽  
Matteo Calaon ◽  
Guido Tosello ◽  
Roberto Pantani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Temperature Evolution ◽  
Cavity Surface

scholarly journals Hierarchical Structure of iPP During Injection Molding Process with Fast Mold Temperature Evolution

Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vito Speranza ◽  
Sara Liparoti ◽  
Roberto Pantani ◽  
Giuseppe Titomanlio
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Flow Fields ◽  
Electrical Heating ◽  
Cavity Surface ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Mold Surface ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Injection Molded

Mold surface temperature strongly influences the molecular orientation and morphology developed in injection molded samples. In this work, an isotactic polypropylene was injected into a rectangular mold, in which the cavity surface temperature was properly modulated during the process by an electrical heating device. The induced thermo-mechanical histories strongly influenced the morphology developed in the injection molded parts. Polarized optical microscope and atomic force microscope were adopted for morphological investigations. The combination of flow field and cooling rate experienced by the polymer determined the hierarchical structure. Under strong flow fields and high temperatures, a tightly packed structure, called shish-kebab, aligned along the flow direction, was observed. Under weak flow fields, the formation of β-phase, as cylindrites form, was observed. The formation of each morphological structure was analyzed and discussed on the bases of the flow and temperature fields, experienced by the polymer during each stage of the injection molding process.

scholarly journals Multi-Scale Simulation of Injection Molding Process with Micro–Features Replication: Relevance of Rheological Behaviour and Crystallization

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 3236
Author(s):  
Sara Liparoti ◽  
Vito Speranza ◽  
Roberto Pantani ◽  
Giuseppe Titomanlio
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Surface Properties ◽  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Rheological Behaviour ◽  
Cavity Surface ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Multiscale Approach ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Micro Features ◽  
Replication Accuracy

The possibility of tailoring key surface properties through the injection molding process makes it intriguing from the perspective of sustainability enhancement. The surface properties depend on the replication accuracy of micro and nanostructures on moldings; such an accuracy is enhanced with cavity temperature. The simulation of the injection molding process is very challenging in the presence of micro and nanostructures on the cavity surface; this does not allow for the neglect of phenomena generally considered not to influence the overall process. In this paper, a multiscale approach was proposed: in the first step, the simulation of the overall process was conducted without considering the presence of the microstructure; in the second step the outputs of the first step were used as an input to simulate the replication of the microfeature. To this purpose, a lubrication approximation was adopted, and the contribution of the trapped air, which slows down the polymer advancement, was accounted for. A modification of the viscosity equation was also proposed to describe the rheological behavior of isotactic polypropylene at very low temperatures. Concerning the microcavity filling simulation, the modification of the viscosity description at low temperatures consistently describes the process, in terms of polymer solidification. Concerning the replication accuracy, it increases with the cavity surface temperature, consistently with the experimental observations.

scholarly journals Replication of Micro- and Nanofeatures in Injection Molding of Two PLA Grades with Rapid Surface-Temperature Modulation

Materials ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Liparoti ◽  
Vito Speranza ◽  
Roberto Pantani
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Mold Temperature ◽  
Cavity Surface ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Temperature Modulation ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Fast Heating ◽  
Crystallinity Degree ◽  
Replication Accuracy

The production by injection molding of polymeric components having micro- and nanometrical surfaces is a complex task. Generally, the accurate replication of micro- and nanometrical features on the polymeric surface during the injection-molding process is prevented by of the low mold temperature adopted to reduce cooling time. In this work, we adopt a system that allows fast heating of the cavity surface during the time the melt reaches the cavity, and fast cooling after heater deactivation. A nickel insert with micro- and nanofeatures in relief is located on the cavity surface. Replication accuracy is analyzed by Atomic Force Microscopy under different injection-molding conditions. Two grades of polylactic acid with different viscosity have been adopted. The results indicate that the higher the cavity surface temperature is, the higher the replication accuracy is. The viscosity has a significant effect only in the replication of the microfeatures, whereas its effect results are negligible in the replication of nanofeatures, thus suggesting that the interfacial phenomena are more important for replication at a nanometric scale. The evolution of the crystallinity degree on the surface also results in a key factor on the replication of nanofeatures.

Direct Sinter Bonding of Metal Injection-Molded Parts to Solid Substrate Through Use of Deformable Surface Microfeatures

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Martens ◽  
M. Laine Mears
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Solid Substrate ◽  
Metal Injection Molding ◽  
Full Density ◽  
Metal Powders ◽  
Molded Parts ◽  
Primary Obstacle ◽  
Injection Molded ◽  
Sinter Bonding ◽  
Micro Features

In the metal injection molding (MIM) process, fine metal powders are mixed with a binder and injected into molds, similar to plastic injection molding. After molding, the binder is removed from the part, and the compact is sintered to almost full density. Though able to create high-density parts of excellent dimensional control and surface finish, the MIM process is restricted in the size of part that can be produced, due to gravitational deformation during high-temperature sintering and maximum thickness requirements to remove the binding agents in the green state. Larger parts could be made by bonding the green parts to a substrate during sintering; however, a primary obstacle to this approach lies in the sinter shrinkage of the MIM part, which can be up to 20%, meaning that the MIM part shrinks during sintering, while the conventional substrate maintains its dimensions. This behavior would typically inhibit bonding and/or cause cracking and deformation of the MIM part. In this work, we present a structure of micro features molded onto the surface of the MIM part, which bonds, deforms, and allows for shrinkage while bonding to the substrate. The micro features tolerate plastic deformation to permit the shrinkage without causing cracks after the initial bonds are established. In a first series of tests, bond strengths of up to 80% of that of resistance welds have been achieved. This paper describes how the authors developed their proposed method of sinter bonding and how they accomplished effective sinter bonds between MIM parts and solid substrates.

scholarly journals The Feasibility of an Internal Gas-Assisted Heating Method for Improving the Melt Filling Ability of Polyamide 6 Thermoplastic Composites in a Thin Wall Injection Molding Process

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thanh Trung Do ◽  
Tran Minh The Uyen ◽  
Pham Son Minh
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Heating Rate ◽  
Temperature Control ◽  
Cavity Surface ◽  
Heating Process ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Thin Wall ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Filling Ability ◽  
Wall Injection

In thin wall injection molding, the filling of plastic material into the cavity will be restricted by the frozen layer due to the quick cooling of the hot melt when it contacts with the lower temperature surface of the cavity. This problem is heightened in composite material, which has a higher viscosity than pure plastic. In this paper, to reduce the frozen layer as well as improve the filling ability of polyamide 6 reinforced with 30 wt.% glass fiber (PA6/GF30%) in the thin wall injection molding process, a preheating step with the internal gas heating method was applied to heat the cavity surface to a high temperature, and then, the filling step was commenced. In this study, the filling ability of PA6/GF30% was studied with a melt flow thickness varying from 0.1 to 0.5 mm. To improve the filling ability, the mold temperature control technique was applied. In this study, an internal gas-assisted mold temperature control (In-GMTC) using different levels of mold insert thickness and gas temperatures to achieve rapid mold surface temperature control was established. The heating process was observed using an infrared camera and estimated by the temperature distribution and the heating rate. Then, the In-GMTC was employed to produce a thin product by an injection molding process with the In-GMTC system. The simulation results show that with agas temperature of 300 °C, the cavity surface could be heated under a heating rate that varied from 23.5 to 24.5 °C/s in the first 2 s. Then, the heating rate decreased. After the heating process was completed, the cavity temperature was varied from 83.8 to about 164.5 °C. In-GMTC was also used for the injection molding process with a part thickness that varied from 0.1 to 0.5 mm. The results show that with In-GMTC, the filling ability of composite material clearly increased from 2.8 to 18.6 mm with a flow thickness of 0.1 mm.

Influence of Technological Parameters on Material Flow

2015 ◽  
Vol 1120-1121 ◽  
pp. 1194-1197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Stanek ◽  
David Manas ◽  
Miroslav Manas ◽  
Vojtech Senkerik ◽  
Adam Skrobak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Injection Pressure ◽  
Polymer Processing ◽  
Injection Rate ◽  
Cavity Surface ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Technological Parameters ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Processing Technologies

Injection molding is one of the most extended polymer processing technologies. It enables the manufacture of final products, which do not require any further operations. The tools used for their production – the injection molds – are very complicated assemblies that are made using several technologies and materials. Delivery of polymer melts into the mold cavity is the most important stage of the injection molding process. The fluidity of polymers is affected by many parameters Inc. mold design. Evaluation of set of data obtained by experiments in which the testing conditions were widely changed shows that the quality of cavity surface and technological parameters (injection rate, injection pressure and gate size) has substantial influence on the length of flow.

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