Sustainability Assessment of the Injection Molding Process and the Effects of Material Selection

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Utpal Roy ◽  
Yunpeng Li
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Manufacturing Cost ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Safety Hazards ◽  
Material Information ◽  
Process Material

This paper discusses the use of the proposed Material Information Model (MIM) [1] in assessing the sustainability of the Injection Molding (IM) process, and clarifies how to use the material information (based on the characteristics of different types of polymers) to quantify the material impacts. The assessment criteria include energy/water consumption and waste (pollution) production during the process and the effects of other materials during production (like the use of additives) that may add to environmental burdens. This paper addresses issues mainly at the IM process level taking the followings into account — pollution and manufacturing cost, energy and water consumption, waste management, operation safety, hazards to the plastic manufacturing personnel and other environmental impacts — to develop requisite process metrics for measuring the sustainability performances of the IM process. The ideas discussed in the paper lead to the development of computational approaches for selecting the “best” process-material combination.

Design and Experimental Validation of a Process Chain for Thin Components Manufacturing by Micro Injection Molding Process

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Bellantone ◽  
Fulvio Lavecchia ◽  
Rossella Surace ◽  
Onofrio Spadavecchia ◽  
Francesco Modica ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Micro Milling ◽  
Surface Finishing ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Manufacturing Cost ◽  
Process Chain ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Micro Injection Molding ◽  
Micro Features

Abstract Micro applications, especially in biomedical and optical sectors, require the fabrication of thin polymeric parts which can be commonly realized by micro injection molding process. However, this process is characterized by a relevant constraint regarding the tooling. Indeed, the design and manufacturing of molds could be a very time-consuming step and so, a significant limitation for the rapid development of new products. Moreover, if the design displays challenging micro-features, their realization could involve the use of more than one mold for the fabrication of a single thin part. Therefore, a proper integration of different manufacturing micro technologies may represent an advantageous method to realise such polymeric thin micro features. In this work, a micro-manufacturing process chain including stereolithography, micro milling and micro injection molding is reported. The mold for the micro injection molding process was fabricated by means of stereolithography and micro milling, which allowed to produce low-cost reconfigurable modular mold, composed by an insert support and a removable insert. The assessment of the proposed process chain was carried out by evaluating the dimensions and the surface finishing and texturing of the milled mold cavities and molded components. Finally, a brief economic analysis compares three process chains for fabricating the micro mold showing that proposed one reduces manufacturing cost of almost 61% with the same production time.

Development of Material Information Model for the Injection Molding Process and Product

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Utpal Roy ◽  
Bicheng Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Information Model ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Model Framework ◽  
Material Data ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Material Information

Injection molding (IM) has been the most widely used manufacturing process for making plastic products mainly due to its high efficiency and manufacturability. The design of injection molding systems relies heavily on material data and related information. The availability of right material information at right time is of utmost importance for the design, operation and maintenance of the injection molding process. In this paper, a concise, and conceptual Injection Molding Material Information Model (IM-MIM) is proposed to support necessary computer-based modeling, calculation and management of material data. In this paper, we study different steps of the IM process from the information-modeling viewpoint to identify the role and influence of material properties and behaviors in decision-making process. We further developed a four-level IM-MIM model framework, which provides a foundation for different material-related activities or analyses. Several key components in the IM-MIM, which consists of the material data, physical and behavioral properties, thermodynamic and transport properties, and other material information like rheological and mechanical properties, are presented in detail.

Evaluation and Analysis of Distortion of Complex Shaped Ti-6Al-4V Compacts by Metal Injection Molding Process

2012 ◽  
Vol 520 ◽  
pp. 187-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Virdhian ◽  
Toshiko Osada ◽  
Hyun Goo Kang ◽  
Fujio Tsumori ◽  
Hideshi Miura
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Processing Technique ◽  
Metal Injection Molding ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Manufacturing Cost ◽  
Atactic Polypropylene ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Specific Strength ◽  
Thermal Debinding

Titanium and its alloys have been widely used for medical and aerospace applications because of their excellent attributes of high specific strength, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility. However, it is not easy to produce the complex shaped parts due to their poor castability and machinability. Metal injection molding (MIM) is one of suitable processing technique to produce the complex shaped parts in order to reduce the manufacturing cost. In this study, complex shaped Ti-6Al-4V compacts was prepared by MIM process for airplane application. The effects of high molecular binder content and different compact’s set-up during thermal debinding on the distortion of complex shaped compacts were measured and evaluated. The binder with 10 % APP (Atactic polypropylene) was found to have better shape retention for the parts. Furthermore the results indicate that high distortion occurs at early stage of thermal debinding process. The use of supports during thermal debinding can significantly reduce the distortion of the final parts.

Characterizing Energy Consumption of the Injection Molding Process

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jatinder Madan ◽  
Mahesh Mani ◽  
Kevin W. Lyons
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Injection Molding ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Minimum Energy ◽  
Sustainable Manufacturing ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Manufacturing Processes ◽  
Science Standards ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Measurement Science

Presently available systems for sustainability assessment do not fully account for aspects related to a product’s manufacturing. In an effort to make more sustainable decisions, today’s industry seeks reliable methods to assess and compare sustainability for manufacturing. As part of the Sustainable Manufacturing program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), one of our objectives is to help develop the needed measurement science, standards and methodologies to evaluate and improve sustainability of manufacturing processes. As a first step towards developing standard reference sustainability characterization methodologies for unit manufacturing processes, in this paper we focus on injection molding with energy as the sustainability indicator. We present a science-based guideline to characterize energy consumption for a part manufactured using the injection molding process. Based on the study, we discuss the selection of process parameters and manufacturing resources, determination of cycle time, theoretical minimum energy computations, and estimated energy computations for characterizing the injection molding process.

A Simulative Study Into Injection Molding of Parts With Elastic Hinges by Applying Selective Heating

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Mrozek ◽  
Przemysław Poszwa ◽  
Paweł Muszyński ◽  
Roman Staniek
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Mold Temperature ◽  
Polymer Chains ◽  
Internal Stresses ◽  
Production Cycle ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Manufacturing Cost ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Narrow Channels ◽  
Molten Polymer

In the conventional injection molding process a constant temperature of the mold is required depending on the type of injected polymer. Cooling process usually takes 2/3 of the entire production cycle time, so reduction of cooling time should lead to the decrease of the manufacturing cost. In practice, lower mold temperature can lead to the occurrence of the unwanted defects. The most common defects include short shots, diesel effect, visible weld lines, excessive internal stresses and warp. Those defects are more common and evident when injected parts are fitted with thin elastic hinges, where flow of the molten polymer through the very narrow channels causes the shear of polymer chains. In this work, a concept and simulative studies of selectively heated injection molds are presented. The idea of the novel technology is to heat only certain regions of the cavity where molten polymer cools down rapidly or where cavity cross-section is very narrow. It can be achieved with induction heating technology. The results showed that apart from the hinge geometry, the forming temperatures played an important role in shearing of polymer chains. The changes of analyzed parameters also influenced how material filled the cavity.

scholarly journals Characteristic of micro injection molding process. Standard injection molding, material selection, micro injection molding machines

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 32-36
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Janowski
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Fast Time ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Micro Injection Molding ◽  
Plastic Properties ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Characteristic Features ◽  
Plastic Parts

The growing needs for miniaturization of plastic parts motivates to the development of micro injection molding technology. Characteristic features of this process such as: low manufacturing costs, short process duration, the ability to produce details of various dimensions and a wide range of plastic properties allow to mass dissemination of this technology. Research on micro injection molding develops in a very fast time, which gives high hopes for a successful overcoming of the real limitations of this technology. This gives a great perspective on the development of the possibility of using micro injection parts e.g. in the automotive industry, including the bus production process. This paper presents the conventional injection molding process – i.e. the process essence, the injection molding cycle and the construction of a conventional screw-type injection molding machine. The next part of this article focuses on the characteristics of micro injection molding technology. The essence of material selection and micro-part characteristics for the process were presented. Furthermore, injection molding machines for this process were characterized.

Micro Test Specimens for Compound Engineering with Minimum Material Needs

2015 ◽  
Vol 825-826 ◽  
pp. 928-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Doerffel ◽  
Gábor Jüttner ◽  
Roland Dietze
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Material Properties ◽  
Test Specimen ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Micro Injection Molding ◽  
High Fiber ◽  
Ductile Materials ◽  
Carbon Nano Tubes

The use of micro test specimens is a good way to characterize micro injection molding processes and the resulting material properties. The material properties of microparts may differ from standard injection molding parts, due to an overrepresentation of the surface layers with high fiber orientation and divergent morphology. In order to characterize the distribution and agglomeration of fibers and particles for the manufacturing of micro injection molding parts of functionalized polymer compounds, it is essential to manufacture the test specimens and the part using the same process. The distribution and size of these particles e.g. Carbon-Nano-Tubes (CNT) or piezo ceramic particles is dependent on the polymer plastication process during injection molding. Therefore the use of micro test specimens is a requirement for precise material selection and engineering.Due to the minimum material needs, micro test specimens are also useful for the comparison of the material properties of new polymers and compounds, which were produced in amounts of 20 g to 100 g. Another application is the testing of highly elastic and ductile materials with strains over 100%. By using micro test specimens it is possible to test high strains with low elongations in a short time.A new innovative micro test specimen has been developed at the Technische Universität Chemnitz in cooperation with the Kunststoff-Zentrum in Leipzig, that is especially designed for the testing and dimensioning of plastic microparts with weights less than 0.1 g. The main feature of the new specimen and testing process is the combined positive and force-fitted locking, which enables a precise positioning of the micro specimen and an even application of the clamping force. In order to achieve reproducible clamping, testing and handling of the sample, the clamping and testing process are spatially separated. The shape of the test specimen enables a parameter optimization for the micro injection molding process.

Filling Behavior of Polymer Material into Sub-^|^mu;m Structure in Injection Molding Process

2013 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
pp. 105-111
Author(s):  
Chisato Yoshimura ◽  
Hiroyuki Hosokawa ◽  
Koji Shimojima ◽  
Fumihiro Itoigawa
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Polymer Material ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Molding Process
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