1

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 INJECTION MOULDING Injection moulding is nowadays the most popular method to produce three dimensional parts of different kinds of polymeric materials. It is a fast process and is used to produce large numbers of identical items from high precision engineering components to disposable consumer goods. It is a suitable method for thermoplastics, thermosets, thermoplastic elastomers, elastomers, short fiber and particulate filled polymers. Today, more than one-third of all thermoplastic materials are injection moulded and more than half of the polymer processing equipment is for injection moulding.One of the most common methods of shaping plastic resins is called injection moulding. Injection moulding is accomplished by large machines called injection moulding machines. Plastic raw material is fed to the machine through the hopper along with masterbatches (if required).The resins enter the injection barrel by gravity though the feed throat. Upon entrance into the barrel, the resin is heated to the appropriate melting temperature. The resin is injected into the mould by a reciprocating screw or a ram injector. The reciprocating screw offers the advantage of being able to inject a smaller percentage of the total shot (amount of melted resin in the barrel). The ram injector must typically inject at least 20% of the total shot while a screw injector can inject as little as 5% of the total shot. Essentially, the screw injector is better suited for producing smaller parts. The mould is the part of the machine that receives the plastic and shapes it appropriately. The mould is cooled constantly to a temperature that allows the resin to solidify and be cool to the touch. The mould plates are held together by hydraulic or mechanical force. The clamping force is defined as the injection pressure multiplied by the total cavity projected area. Typically moulds are overdesigned depending on the resin to be used. Each resin has a calculated shrinkage value associated with in. The figure1.1shows the various phases of an injection moulding cycle as follows.

Various phases of an injection moulding are 1. Mould closing phase 2. Injection phase 3. Holding phase 4. Cooling phase 5. Mould opening phase and 6. Ejection phase.

Figure1.1 Injection Moulding Cycle

1.2 INJECTION MOULDING TOOL In Injection moulds the material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a moulding tool so called as moulds, where the material cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity. After a product is designed, usually by a designer or an engineer,mouldsare made by a mouldmaker or toolmaker from metal, usually either steel or aluminium, and precision-machined to form the features of the desired part. The process consists of high pressure injection of the raw material into a mould which shapes the polymer into the desired shape. Moulds can be of a single cavity or multiple cavities. In multiple cavity moulds, each cavity can be identical and form the same parts or can be unique and form multiple different geometries during a single cycle. Moulds are generally made from tool steels for a variety of applications. The below figure 1.2 shows the moulding tool loaded in an injection moulding machine

Figure1.2 Injection Moulding Machine loaded with moulding tool

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is intended to explain the background research and analysis carried out prior to the beginning of the project. The main objective of this literature review is to ensure that the most-up-to date knowledge in the project area has been taken into consideration.

2. TYPES OF INJECTION MOULDS The moulds are the most important component of the injection moulding process. It will determine the finish size of the parts that is producing, the surface finish of thefinal product and dictate just how well the injection moulding process will run.

2.1 Cold Runner Injection Moulds The majority of plastic injection moulds built using the cold runner type. In a coldrunner mould, the plastic melt is injected into the mould through a sprue and runner whereit enters each cavity in the mould. During the cooling stage of the injection mouldingcycle, the plastic in the cavities, sprue and runner solidify. The sprue and runner becomescrap in this type of injection mould. They are then ground into small pieces or pelletsand mixed with the virgin plastic for reuse. Cold runner injection moulds are moreeconomical to build than hot runner moulds, however they can be less economical to runif the amount of plastic in the sprue and runner exceeds 35% of the plastic that isinjected into the part cavities.(L.Sors and I.Balazs. 1989). 2.1.1 Two and Three-Plate Moulds Mould for plastic injection moulding can be categorized into two main categories, that are two plate mould and three plate mould. Each type has a different design, functionand structure. The selection types of mould depend on types of product, function andproduction capacity. The cost of mould fabrication also depends on the types of mould.

2.1.2 Two-Plate Moulds This kind of mould is used for parts that are typically gated on or around theiredge, with the runner in the same mould plate as the cavity. Two-plate mould can divided into three categories, that is cold runner, hot runner and conventional. Thetwo-plate mould which is separated by one line called parting line into two side, coreside and cavity side. Core side holds the ejector assembly, core insert which is moving after which plastic is injected into the mould and the ejection bar will push the ejector pin and the ejectorpin then push the part out from the mould after cooling phase. Cavity side is a fixed side, which holds the feed systems (sprue, runner and gate). Plastic material is injected from the machine nozzle into a sprue bush and through the runner to the cavity. Mould temperature controlled by temperature controllers. That have five medium usually used to control the mould temperature that is chiller (3C to 35C), normal water (35C to 45C),hot water (45C to 90C), hot oil (90C to 250C) and ethylene glycol (90C to 250C),(A.B. Glanvill and E.N. Denton. 1985. 2.2 Injection moulding machine Injection moulding is a method of forming a plastic product from powdered thermo- plasticsbyfeeding the material through the machine component called the hopper to a heated chamberin order to make it soft and force the material into the mould by the use of the screw. In thiswhole process pressure should be constant till the material is hardened and is ready to beremoved from the mould. This is the most common and preferable way of producing a plasticproducts with any complexity and size. Injection moulding permits mass production and manufacturing of high precision of plastic parts. 2.3 The injection moulding process The injection moulding processing stages starts with the feeding of a polymer through hopper tobarrel which is then heated with the sufficient temperature to make it flow. The molten melt is injected under high pressure into the mould and the process iscommonly known as Injection, After injection pressure is applied to both platens of theinjection moulding machine(moving and fixed platens) in-order to hold the mould tool togetherafterwards the product is set to cool which helps it in the solidification process.

After the productgets its shape the two platens will move away from eachother inorder to separate the mould toolwhich is known as mould opening and finally the moulded product is ejected or removed from the mould, the above processes are repeated for the next moulding cycle. The nextmoulding cycle starts with the retraction of the ejector plate, followed by closing ofthe mould. The injection unit melts the polymer resin and again injects the polymer melt into the mould. The ram fed injection moulding machine uses a hydraulically operated plunger to push the plastic through a mould. The melt converges at a nozzle and is injected into the mould. The plastic melt is forced into the mould in three stages, Stage 1: Fill stage During this stage, the mould cavities are filled with molten resin and thematerial is forced forward, it passes over a spreader, or torpedo, within thebarrel, which causes mixing. This stage is determined by an injection velocity, pressure and time. Injection velocity is the rate at which the plunger moves forward. Stage 2: Pack stage As the melt enters the mould, it cools and introduces shrinkage. The pack is necessary to force more melt into the mould to compensate for shrinkage. Stage 3: Hold stage When no more material can be forced into the mould, melt can still leak backthrough the gate. The hold stage applies forces against the material in thecavity until the gate freezes to prevent leaking of the melt. In some machines,pack and hold are combined into a single second or holding stage. Once the mould is filled and packed and the gate has cooled, the injection moulding machineswitches to the cooling stage.Each stage is governed by a particular pressure and time duration, as can be seen in the below figure.

Figure 2.1: Typical temperature and pressure cycle of Injection moulding

2.4 Various elements of Injection moulding machine The injection moulding machine consists of the hopper, screw, the barrel, nozzle etcThe below figure 2.2 shows the various elements of a machine in detail.

Figure2.2: Various elements of Injection moulding machine

2.4.1 Hopper In the moulding process the plastic materials are supplied in the form of small pellets. The hopperfunctions as the holder of these pellets. The pellets are then gravity fed from the hopper to thebarrel. 2.4.2 The barrel The main use of the barrel is to give support for the screw. The barrel consists of heater bandswhich function as a heat generator and temperature recorder for each section of the barrel. 2.4.3 The Screw Also known as the reciprocating screw is used in compressing, melting and conveying the plasticmaterial. The Screw consists of three zones The feeding zone, the transition zone and themetering zone. In the feeding zone there will be no change to the plastic materials and they willremain as pellets and will be transferred to the next zone which is the transition zone. In this zonemelting of the pellets will occur and the molten plastics will be transferred to the next zonewhich is the metering zone , In this zone the molten material will be ready for injection. 2.4.4 The Nozzle The main function of the nozzle is in connecting the barrel to the sprue bushing and in turn forms a seal between the mould and the barrel. Its essential that the nozzle temperature should beset to the materials melt temperature. 2.5 Moulding tool A mould is simply a machined steel plate with cavities into which plastic resin is injected to form a part. A mould consists of two halves into which the impression of the part product to be moulded is cut. The mating surfaces of the moulded halves are accurately machined so that noleakage of plastic can occur at the split line. If leakage occurs it is called flash and it needs some secondary operations to make the product

acceptable.The below figure 2.3 shows the image of a two plate mould and table 2.1 shows the various mould elements and their functions.

Figure 2.3Image of a simple two plate mould

MOULD COMPONENTS

FUNCTION

Table 2.1: Mould elements and their functions.

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Mould base Guide Pins Sprue bushing

Hold cavities in a fixed position relative tomachine nozzle Maintain proper alignments of two halves of themould

Provides means of entry into mould interior Gates Runners Cavity and Core Water channels Vents Ejector mechanism Ejector return pins Control flow to cavities Convey molten plastics from sprue into cavities Control size, shape and surface texture of mouldedarticle Control temperature of mould surfaces and the product Facilitates escaping of trapped air and gas Eject rigid moulded article from cavity or core Return ejector pins to retracted position as mould closes

2.7. CLASSIFICATION OF MOULDS Wide range of moulds can be classified under these four categories: i. ii. iii. iv. The cold runner two plate moulds The cold runner three plate moulds The hot runner moulds The insulated runner moulds The cold runner mould is the simplest type of mould which consists of two plates, the cavity and the core. The main reason for being called two plate moulds is that they consist of one parting line and the mould splits into two halves. This makes it ideal to place the runner system on the parting line.The cold runner three plate moulds consist of three plates - the stationary plate, the middle plate and the moving plate. The stationary plate also known as the runner plate is where the sprue and half of the runner are placed. The middle plate commonly known as the cavity plate it consists of half of the runner and also the gate and the remaining plate is the moving plate also named the force plate contains the

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product produced from the mould and the ejector system which is applicable in the removal of the moulded part. The main reason for using this mould is because of their flexibility in gating locations. 2.8GATES Gates are a transition zone between the runner system and the cavity. The location of gates is of great importance for the properties and appearance of the finished part. The melt should fill the entire cavity quickly and evenly. For gate design the following points should be considered. i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. Locate the gate at the thickest section Note gate marks for aesthetic reasons Avoid jetting by modifying gate dimensions or position Balance flow paths to ensure uniform filling and packing Prevent weld lines or direct to less critical sections Minimize entrapped air to eliminate burn marks Commonly used gate types include Sprue gate, Edge gate, Tab gate and Fan gate. Sprue gate is recommended for single cavity moulds or for parts requiring symmetrical filling. This type of gate is suitable for thick sections because holding pressure is more effective. A short sprue is favoured, enabling rapid mould filling and low-pressure losses. A cold slug well should be included opposite the gate. The disadvantage of using this type of gate is the gate mark left on the part surface after the runner (or sprue) is trimmed off. Freeze-off is controlled by the part thickness rather than determined the gate thickness. Typically, the part shrinkage near the sprue gate will be low; shrinkage in the sprue gate will be high. This results in high tensile stresses near the gate. 2.8.1 Edge gate The edge gate is suitable for medium and thick sections and can be used on multicavity two plate tools. The gate is located on the parting line and the part fills from the side, top or bottom. 2.8.2Tab gate

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A tab gate is typically employed for flat and thin parts, to reduce the shear stress in the cavity.The high shear stress generated around the gate is confined to the auxiliary tab, which is trimmed off after moulding. The figure 2.4 gives a detailed view of thetab gate.

Figure 2.4: Image ofTab gate

2.8.3Fan gate A fan gate is a wide edge gate with variable thickness. This type is often used for thick-sectioned mouldings and enables slow injection without freeze-off, which is favoured for low stress mouldings or where warpage and dimensional stability are main concerns. The gate should taper in both width and thickness, to maintain a constant cross sectional area. This ensures that the melt velocity will be constant, entire width is being used for the flow. The below figure 2.5 shows the detailed view of the fan gate.

Figure 2.5: Image ofFan gate

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2.8.4Sprue gate Sprue is the way the molten plastic flows into the mould by injecting the molten material fromthe nozzle of the machine into runner system and then into the mould. To allow smooth material flowthe design of sprue should be round, smooth and tapered. Its not wise to make the sprueextremely long since it is a scrap. The figure 2.6 shows the detailed view of the sprue gate.

Figure 2.6: Image of Sprue gate 2.9RUNNER SYSTEMS The runner system is a manifold for distribution of thermoplastic melt from the machine nozzleto the cavities. The sprue bushing and runners should be as short as possible to ensure limitedpressure losses in the mould. Correctly designing a runner system will induce benefit in the following areas i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. Deliver melt to the cavities Balance filling of multiple cavities Balance filling of multi-gate cavities Minimize scrap Eject easily Maximize efficiency in energy consumption Control the filling/packing/cycle time

2.10EJECTION SYSTEM

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The method of ejection has to be adapted to the shape of the moulding to prevent damage. Ingeneral, mould release is hindered by shrinkage of the part on the mould cores. Large ejection areasuniformly distributed over the moulding are advised to avoid deformations. Several ejector systems can be used like ejector pins, sleeve, blades, airvalve and stripper plate. In case of cylindrical parts like bosses a sleeve ejector is used to provide uniform ejectionaround the core pin. Blades are poor ejectors for a number of reasons they often damage parts and are prone to damage and require a lot of maintenance. Blade ejectors are most commonlyused with ribbed parts. 2.11COOLING SYSTEM Cooling is very important to remove heat efficiently and dissipate the heat of the mouldingquickly and uniformly and also to cool the product. For efficient moulding, the temperature of the mould should be controlled and is achieved by passing a fluid through a suitably arranged channel in the mould.Adequate mouldtemperature control is important for consistent moulding. Setting the right mould temperature will help to achieve optimal properties of engineering plastics. Some of the effects of mould temperature have impact on the mechanical properties, Shrinkage behaviour, warpage, surface quality and cycle time. 2.11.1 Cooling Layout There is no precise rule on which cooling layout has to be made as long as the flow is uniform. But in manymulti-cavity moulds the cooling channel layout are partly in parallel and partly in series. a) Series cooling b) Parallel cooling c) Series-parallel cooling 2.12VENTING SYSTEMS It is the process of removing trapped air from the closed mould and volatile gases from theprocessed molten plastic.Inadequate venting can cause corrosion in the mould, discolouration of product due to compression of trapped air as plastic resin tries to force it

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out, may cause poor weld line strength and volatile gases will be absorbed by theplastic causing voids, blisters, bubbles and variety of other defects. 2.13STEEL SELECTION FOR MOULD PLATES The most common steel types that are used for the fabrication of Injection moulds are a) Pre-hardened mould steels b) Through-hardening mould steels c) Corrosion resistant mould steels 2.13.1 Pre-hardened mould steels These steels are mostly used for large moulds and moulds with low demands on wear resistance. The surface hardness can be increased by flame hardening or Nitriding. Pre-hardened mould steelsare used for large moulds and moulds with moderate production runs. These steels are delivered inthe hardened and tempered condition, usually within the 270-350 Brinell hardness scale. No heattreatment is necessary before is put into use.

2.13.2Through hardened mould Steels These steels are mostly used for long production runs, to resist abrasion from certain mouldingmaterials and to counter high closing or injection pressures. These steels are usually rough machined, hardened and tempered to the required hardness andoften polished or photo-etched. Wear resistance is especially important when filled or reinforced plastic materials are used.Resistance to deformation and indentation in the cavity, gate areas and parting lines helps tomaintain the part quality.Better polish ability is important when high surface finishing is required on the moulded part. 2.13.3 Corrosion resistant mould steels If a mould is likely to be exposed to corrosion risk, then stainless steel is strongly recommended.The increased initial cost of this steel is often less than the cost involved in a single re-polishingor re-plating operation of a mould from conventional steel. 2.14 MOULDING TOOL FAILURES

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The root cause of the injection moulding failures is sequenced into two areas. It is classified as follows.Classification of tooling failure, which involves all the possible causes, related to tooling problems like insufficient venting, incorrect gating point, improper matching or butting of parting surface, unbalanced ejector location, improper cooling layout and so on. One of the causes of the weld line and warpage is related to tooling failure, which involves insufficient gate location and number of gate, improper cooling to maintain constant mould temperature and unbalanced ejector location etcThe main tooling based problems where explained below 2.14.1 Small Gates Explanation: Gates that are too small will cause excessive restriction to the flow of the molten plastic as it passes through. This restriction may cause additional physical stress to the plastic molecules as they are stretched and squeezed again going through the gate area. The stress gets released after ejection and the parts will warp. Solution: Optimize gate size and shape. The material supplier can provide data on proper sizing and shape, or use a computer finite element analysis program to help make the determination. 2.14.2 Mould Temperature Too Low Explanation: Generally, a hot mould will allow a material to stay molten longer than a cold mould and cause the molecules to stay fluid longer before they cool and solidify. If the mould is too cold the molecules will solidify before they are packed and will shrink at differing, uncontrolled rates. This is a prime cause of warpage. Solution: Increase the mould temperature to the point at which the material has the proper flow and packs out the mould with maximum fill. Start with the material suppliers recommendations and adjust accordingly. Allow 10 cycles for every 10-degree change for the process to re-stabilize. 2.14.3 Uneven Mould Temperatures Explanation: The plastic molecules must cool and shrink evenly to resist warpage. If the mould is not cooling the plastic in a uniform manner the molecules will have varying cooling and shrinking characteristics and this will cause warpage.

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Solution: Check the surfaces of the mould that are in contact with the molten plastic. Use a fast-acting pyrometer to determine if there is more than a 10 degree difference between any two points, even between the two mould halves. A difference greater than 10 degrees will cause too great a difference in shrink rates and warpage will occur. 2.14.4Non-Uniform Ejection Explanation: It is possible that either the ejection system of the mould or the press will not be operating properly. If the part is warm enough and the ejection force is not even and exactly perpendicular to the part, stresses will be set up in the part as it tries to resist the ejection activity. These stresses will cause warpage of the part as it cools after being ejected. Solution:Inspect and adjust the ejection system(s) as required. Make sure all adjusting devices are locked down to eliminate slipping, and that all components are properly lubricated. It may be necessary to use a guided ejection system that utilizes leader pins and bushings to keep the system in line and even. 2.14.5 Improper Gate Location Explanation: If certain materials are injected directly across a flat cavity surface they tend to slow down quickly because of frictional drag and cool off before the cavity is properly filled. The flow front breaks into many streams and they have difficulty welding back together before they solidify. Solution: Relocate, or redesign, the gate so that the molten plastic is directed against an obstruction such as a core pin. This will cause the material to disperse and continue to flow instead of slowing down. 2.14.6 Excessive Gate Land Length Explanation: The area that surrounds the gate itself is called its land. It determines the distance a material must travel in a restricted state immediately before it enters the cavity. The length of this travel (land) should be no more than 1/8''. The land acts like a tunnel when the mould is closed and if the tunnel is too long the material begins to cool off

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before it can get to the cavity. This causes the material to split into streams that can create knit line conditions. Solution: Decrease the gate land length. It is best to construct the mould so that the gates are located in replaceable inserts. That way they can be replaced easily at times when adjustments are needed. The insert should include the land area. This land length should be no less than 0.030'' and no greater than 0.125''.

2.15MACHINE BASED FAILURES: The following are the possible chances of errors that occur in an injection moulding machine that can have affect in the quality of a product produced. 2.15.1 Inadequate Injection Pressure Explanation: If too little injection pressure is used the plastic material will tend to cool and solidify before the mould is packed out. If no packing is achieved the individual molecules are not held tightly together and have space to move while the part is cooling. Also, if the injection hold time is not long enough, the packing process is minimized and the molecules can relax before full solidification occurs. In both case, as the part cools it is uncontrolled and the plastic is allowed to move because it is not being constrained. Each area of the part cools at a different rate and warpage will occur due to the differences. Solution: Increase the injection pressure or time applied. This will ensure the total part is cooling while constrained and the tendency for warpage will be minimised. 2.15.2 Inadequate Residence Time Explanation: Residence time is the amount of time a material must spend being exposed to heat in the barrel. The time is determined by the ability of the specific resin to

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absorb heat enough to be properly processed. Inadequate residence time will result in under-heated material, which causes the material to be stiff. It will cool off before the mould is packed and individual molecules will be unconstrained while they solidify. Molecules that are not constrained during cooling will shrink at differing rates throughout the part and warpage will occur. Solution: Increase the residence time by adding time to the heating portion of the cycle. While increased cycle time may add cost to the final product, each material requires a specific minimum amount of time to absorb heat in the barrel, and if the time is not long enough warped parts will occur.

2.15.3 Barrel Temperature Too Low Explanation: When barrel temperatures are too low, the material will not have a chance to heat to the proper flow temperature. The cold material gets pushed into the mould but solidifies before the molecules are packed and constrained. This results in warpage as the molecules shrink at varying rates. Solution: Increase the barrel temperature. This will allow the material to come to proper heat and it will fill the mould before solidification takes place. The molecules will be packed and constrained as they cool, thus shrinking at uniform rates, minimizing the chance of warpage. 2.15.4 Nozzle Temperature Too Low Explanation: The nozzle, being the final transfer point between the heated barrel and the mould, is a critical area and must be scrutinized whenever splay patterns occur. If the nozzle is too cold, the plastic material may slow down as it travels through the area and the molecules will not get packed under constraint. They will shrink at varying rates and cause warpage. Solution: Increase the nozzle temperature 10 degrees at a time until the warpage disappears. If splay still appears, reduce the temperature of the nozzle, and make sure the nozzle being used is of the proper design for the material being moulded. There are many

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different nozzle designs and some may interfere with proper flow if they are not designed for the material in use. 2.15.5 Excessive Stress Build-up Explanation: The injection moulding process tends to build up physical stress in a moulded part due to the stretching and squeezing action that takes place on the individual plastic molecules as they are heated, expanded, cooled and contracted. They must be allowed to relax and recover in a constrained position before they solidify or the stress will be locked in. It will then be released as the part cools after being ejected from the mould and warpage will occur. Solution: Increase the barrel temperature and decrease injection pressure until the stress is minimized. It can never be eliminated but lower pressure will result in lower stress. And, higher barrel temperatures allow the use of lower injection pressures. 2.15.6 Inadequate Back Pressure Explanation: The back pressure control is used to impart a resistance to the molten material being prepared in the barrel for the upcoming cycle. This resistance is used to help preheat the material and also control the density of the melt before it is injected into the mould. If the back pressure setting is too low, the material may not be brought to the proper temperature and the knit line areas will be more evident due to their inability to reunite. Solution: Increase the back pressure to raise the melt temperature and improve the ability for the fronts to unite. This is best accomplished by starting at the minimum of 50 psi and increasing in 10-psi increments until the knit lines improve. Do not exceed 300 psi. The higher the back pressure, the hotter the plastic, and excessive back pressure will thermally degrade the plastic. 2.15.7 Injection Pressure or Speed Too Low Explanation: If the injection speed or pressure is too low, the molten plastic will not be pushed into the mould cavity fast enough to fill and knit at converging flow fronts because it cools down and solidifies too soon.

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Solution: Increase the injection pressure or speed. While these two parameters are related, it is not proper to adjust them both at the same time. Adjust them each independently and monitor the results closely to determine whether or not the other needs adjustment. As a rule-of-thumb, it is best to make adjustments in increments of no more than 10% of the original setting. 2.15.8 Excessive Non-Return Valve Clearance Explanation: The non-return valve, found in the front section of the screw and barrel assembly, keeps molten plastic from slipping back over the injection screw when the screw is pushed forward during the injection phase of the process. The valve lies between the outside diameter of the screw and the inside diameter of the barrel and creates a seal between the two. If there is too much clearance (due to wear), the sealing effect is lost and slippage occurs. This results in a reduction in volume of plastic that gets injected into the mould and non-fill occurs. Solution: Inspect the non-return valve mechanism and replace worn or damaged components. This wear is normal but is accelerated by moulding materials that have reinforcements, such as glass in them. The valve should be inspected at least every three months. 2.15.9 Bridging In Feed Throat Explanation: As material is fed from the hopper to the heating cylinder, it passes through the feed throat of the machine. This area must have a temperature maintained at around 100 to 150 degrees Celsius, depending on the plastic being moulded, to prepare the material for higher heat in the barrel. But, if the temperature is too high, the plastic pellets begin to get sticky and bond together. This will form a blockage in the feed throat and material will not be allowed to fall through. It forms a bridge across the feed throat opening. Solution: Decrease the feed throat temperature. The material supplier can provide the proper temperature value for a specific material. Make sure there is no obstruction in the water line used for cooling the feed throat.

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2.15.10 Insufficient Barrel Capacity Explanation: If the mould is running in a machine that does not have a large enough barrel, the material in the barrel may not be allowed to stay there long enough to absorb enough heat. The cold material will not flow as far as a hot material would and non-fill will occur. Increasing the heat may only degrade the plastic. Solution: Place the mould in a machine that utilizes the 20% to 80% rule. This states that, ideally, a barrel should be sized such that 50% of the capacity is used every shot, but based on heat sensitivity of the material being used, that ratio can be between 20% for most materials and 80% for heat sensitive materials.The below table 2.2 explains the various moulding defects that arises in an injection moulded product and its possible rectification solutions. Table 2.2Moulding Defects and possible solutions

SL No

Moulding Defects

Causes

Possible Solution

Increase shot size Increase cavity or hold pressure Melt or mould temperature too high (if gate freeze-off too slow) Part is under filled 1 Sink Marks or has excessive shrinkage in thicker sections Cool sink area faster Open gates Reduce wall thickness of intersecting rib or boss Improper gate locations or design Increase hold time Reduce fill rate

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Incomplete mould fill (short shot) Maintain adequate cushion Part is under filled 2 Voids or has excessive shrinkage Poor venting Improper gate location Injection rate too high Excessive part thickness (+ 0.25 in. or 0.64 cm.) Excessive shrinkage Increase cavity pressure and hold time Part oversized or not enough shrinkage Decrease cavity pressure Volume decreases as plastic cools and crystallises or part is not fully packed out due to gates freezing off too soon or insufficient cooling time Maintain adequate cushion Increase hold time Delay gate sealing to allow pack out (increase melt temperature) Mould or melt temperature too high (gates not freezing off) Improperly balanced cavity and core temperatures Runners or gates too small Wall thickness variation The convergence of flow fronts past an Poor 4 weld-Line Strength obstacle or merging flow fronts in multigated moulds results in a weak, interfacial bond Change gate location Increase peak cavity pressure (fill faster) Increase mould and melt temperatures Increase hold pressure and time

Shrinkage

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Decrease peak cavity pressure (decrease fill rate and/or use profile injection) Decrease melt temperature Insufficient clamp force, mould surface 5 Flash is deflecting, mould shutoff surfaces not seating properly Increase clamp force Clean mould surfaces Check mould surface for flatness Check integrity of mould shutoff Change gate location Use larger press Decrease peak cavity pressure (decrease fill rate and/or use profile injection) Clean vents, increase size or number of vents Reduce melt temperature Part ejected too hot (increase cycle time) Mould at high temperatures, pressures, and moderate fill rates Decrease injection fill rate Non-uniform stress due to excessive orientation and/or shrinkage Improperly balanced core and cavity temperature Moulded in stress due to low stock temperature and cold mould Minimize hot spots in mould Improperly balanced multiple gates Flow too long, insufficient gates Change gate location low

Compressed air in 6 Burning the mould degrades resin

Warp

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Increase injection fill rate Increase melt temperature Increase mould temperature and cool time Over packing (decrease hold pressure and time) Degraded material (excessive melt

Excessive orientation, 8 Brittle Parts degradation of resin, over packing, contamination, or improper design

temperature or long residence time in barrel) Contamination from other polymers Use of incompatible carrier resins in colour concentrates or other additives Unintentional nucleation from pigments Improper design; inadequate radii at corners, notches, or threads Increase cavity pressure Fill speed and/or packing time too low

Poor Appearance (Flow marks, low gloss, 9 rough surface, jetting, orange peel, etc.) Flow front slipssticks on mould surface, jets, or Pulsates

Increase melt and/or mould temperature Cool more slowly Mould temperature non-uniform or too low Insufficient lubrication (internal lubricant or on tool surface) Excessive mould lubricant (e.g. grease bleeding out of the mould) Dirty mould surface (clean and/or polish) Poor pigment dispersion Increase venting Improper gate location or design

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Over packing, injection pressure too high reduce Under packing, excessive shrinkage see solutions to Short Shot Improperly balanced mould temperatures (colder on movable half) Reduce cycle time (sticking on cores) Over packing, Sticking in Mould excessive shrinkage, tool design causes, physical attachment to the core or cavity Increase cycle time (sticking in cavities) Insufficient knockouts Remove undercuts Increase draft angles Surface irregularities in the mould (polish cavity surfaces) Highly polished core surface (vacuum lock), polish to a coarser finish, apply a surface coating, or increase venting

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Gate Blush, 11 Delamination Melt fracture or Cracking at the Gate

Adjust injection decrease)

speed

(increase

or

Modify gate geometry (e.g. gate too small, land too long) Add cold slug wells in runners Increase melt and/or mould temperature Excessive melt temperature or residence time in barrel Improper venting

BlackSpecks 12 Degradation or Discoloration

Possible contamination Excessive screw RPM Excessive back-pressure Excessive shear created by the use of a mixing screw

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Increase shot size Inadequate cushion Increase fill speed, pack pressure, and/or injection time Under filled part 13 Short Shot Increase melt and/or mould temperature Plugged gates, runners, or vents Inadequate melt flow rate (use higher MFR material) Undersized gates, runners, and vents

Increase gate size (reduce orientation) Gate Stringing Plastic strings on parts located at the gates formed during ejection Decrease melt cooling time temperature, increase

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Decrease drop tip temperature Increase mould opening speed (break strings upon ejection)

2.16DESIGNING METHODOLOGY In this part, appropriate designing methods are discussed toaccomplish the mould design for the required product. The appropriate steps in designing a mould are, i. ii. Product design Mould design

2.16.1 Software assistance Software is used in designing the required product with accurate dimensions in minimum time spam. i. ii. 2D and 3D modelling, assembly and part designing - AutoCAD and Solid edge Analysis and simulation of the various phases of injection under varying temperature and pressure - Mould flow

28

iii.

Location of injection point for the required product which in turn gives adequate filling of cavity - Mould flow Manufacturing, simulation and machining time approximation MasterCAM

iv.

2.16.2 Mould design When making a mould design, the following parts should be included, back plate for cavity and core side, ejector plate, retaining plate, guiding pillars, spacer blocks, cavity plate and core plate.Designing a mould is a very complicated and important part of the injection moulding process. When designing a mould, the designer needs to take many factors into account in addition to theactual shape of the mould. Warpage, shrinking, venting, residual stress and runner size are some ofthe factors that need to be provided importance in the design stage itself. Themould base includes a back plate that holds themovable side of the mould like spacer block, support plate, cavity plate and ejector mechanism to the movable platen of the Injection machine.Then it is the ejector plate often referredto as the ejector-covet plate which provides backup for pins set into the ejectorretaining plate.The retaining comes on top of the ejector plate and functions in holding ejector pins. The travelspace for the ejector plates and ejector pins is provided by the spacer block. To give the plates strength and rigidity it is smart to add a support plate. The support plate isfollowed by the core plate which holds the core element which is the mating half of the cavity.The core plate is inserted to the cavity which is where the plastic material is formed. To securethe stationary side of the mould to the machine it is necessary to have the clamping plate or alsoknown as back plate for the core.The Section view helps improve the visualization of the mould designs, clarify multi-viewdrawings and facilitate the dimensioning of drawings. The section views areused to reveal interior features of an object that are not easily represented using hidden lines.The section view will clearly reveal where every part lies.

2.17SCOPE AND OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

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In this work, the design and development of a moulding toolhas to be done. To achieve that, first we need to develop the CAD model of the product first. Then we have to develop themoulding tool starting from core and cavity for the product. By duplicating the required product model on the core and cavity for the required dimensions, and building the mould in a step by step manner,the product is obtained. The main objective of the project is to, 1. To develop a Moulding tool for the product as per the requirements. 2. To have a hands on exposure on the Mould manufacturing and related techniques. 3. To learn,the problems encountered in manufacturing a product and ways of rectifying it.

2.18METHODOLOGY OF THE PROJECT The project consists of two main steps. First step is to design and development of Injection mould, and the second step is processing and trouble shooting of Fresnel

lens.The detailed methodology of the project as follows. Step1 1. Literature review of Fresnel lenses. 2. Product design of Fresnel lens using Unigraphics software. 3. Design of Injection mould for Fresnel lens 4. Fabrication of Injection mould.

30

Step 2 1. Moulding of Fresnel lens Using Injection Moulding machine. 2. Trouble shooting the problems encountered during processing by implementing remedial measures. 3. Optimising the processing parameters to obtain the desired quality product.

CHAPTER 3

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND DESIGNING

3.1 FRESNEL LENS FUNCTION AND APPLICATION Fresnel lens design allows a substantial reduction in thickness of the lens while maintaining the same function of focussing the light passing through it as the conventional ones. The Fresnel lens reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional spherical lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections known as Fresnel zones. In theory there are infinitely many such zones. In the first (and largest)

31

variations of the lens, each zone was actually a separate prism. Though a Fresnel lens might appear like a single piece of glass, closer examination reveals that it is many small pieces In each of these zones, the overall thickness of the lens is decreased, effectively dividing the continuous surface of a standard lens into a set of surfaces of the same curvature, with stepwise discontinuities between them. A Fresnel lens can be regarded as an array of prisms arranged in a circular fashion, with steeper prisms on the edges and a nearly flat convex centre.

Figure 3.1 Principle behind Fresnel lens

Since plastic Fresnel lenses can be made larger than glass lenses, as well as being much cheaper and lighter, they are used to concentrate sunlight for heating in solar cookers, in solar forges, and in solar collectors used to heat water for domestic use. New applications have appeared in solar energy, where Fresnel lenses can concentrate sunlight (with a ratio of almost 500:1) onto solar cells. Thus the active solar-cell surface can be reduced to a fraction compared to conventional solar modules. This offers a considerable cost-saving potential by low material consumption, and it is possible to use high-quality and expensive solar cells, which achieve a very high efficiency under concentration due to thermodynamic effects.

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Figure 3.2Schematic diagram of Fresnel lens

3.2 DESIGNING OF THE PRODUCT MODEL The product model is designed by using AutoCADsoftware. The model is having an overall dimension of140mmx140mmx40mm. The overall product geometry is a square in which the product useful area forms a circle of 100mm diameter. The product consists of ten concentric circles in which their mean radius converging from centre to the periphery. Each of the concentric circle acts as convex lenses which focuses the parallel beams passing through to a common focal point.

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Figure 3.3 3D model of Fresnel lens

CHAPTER 4
MOULDING TOOL DEVELOPMENT

4.1FLOW CHART FOR DESIGNING METHODOLOGY The flow chart described below help us to design the moulding tool by considering the various input parameters of the product. Since the diameter of the product is more than 30 mm, it is good to have a single impression mould. Since the product is having a weight of 72 grams with feeding system, the injection machine should be able to make the product in one shot and hence the machine with 180 tonne of clamping force and 150 grams of shot

34

weight is being selected.The mould is selected to be a cold runner mould. The mould is a single impression cold runner mould. Since the whole product sets itself in the core insert of the mould, there is no parting line here.Since the product is a transparent flat one, it is better to select a film kind of gate to reduce warpage in the product. Since the product is acrylic and single impression only, we can go for a water kind of cooling of the insets. The ejection system is of a simple pin type ejection system. The venting system is provided with a small groove on the core insert. The auxiliary mould elements such as Injection back plates, Ejection back plates, and Spacer blocks are provided with mild steel whereas the inserts are provided with pre-hardened tool steels and ejection pin assemblies are made with wear resistant Nitriding steels. The shrinkage for the acrylic products is calculated to be 0.4-0.8%. Hence recommend design tolerance are provided in the designing of the part design of the product itself. The runner system is designed to be of semi-circular type, which will more flow of the material with minimum restriction to the flow. Thecooling channel designed here is of core type in which channels of appropriate diameter is drilled into the core plate to enhance the cooling efficiency which results in reduced cycle time of the product and also reduce the problems of warpage and shrinkage or else the product is exposed to sudden cooling atmosphere which causes problems of warpage and shrinkage. The figure 4.1 explains the methodology of designing a product.

Part design, Requirements, Quantity ordered, No. of Pieces/Time

Number of cavities Selection of Injection Moulding M/c

Types of mould Cold runner Layout of cavities Hot runner

Star arrangement

Symmetrical arrangement

In-line arrangement

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Types of ejection

Pin

Blade Stripper
Ring

Stripper
plate

Air

Sleeve

Valve

Types of venting

Parting line

Core insert

Ejector pin

Porous metal pin

36

Figure 4.1Flow chart for methodological designing of Injection moulds

4.2PRODUCT AND TOOL RELATEDDETAILS The product is made by poly-methyl methacrylate having injection temperature in the range of 200 to 260 degree-Celsius and having shrinkage value of 0.4 to 0.8 percentage. The various details of the product and the designed moulding tool are explained below. Table 4.1 Table showing product and moulding tool details PRODUCT RELATED DETAILS
Product dimension 140 mm X 140 mm X 40 mm.

37

Diameter of the Fresnel lens Material used

100 mm poly-methyl methacrylate

TOOL RELATED DETAILS

Type of mould Injection moulding temperature range Injection moulding pressure range Mould shrinkage value Clamping tonnage Material drying temperature Type of gate Runner type Type of ejection Diameter of runner Total number of impressions single Two plate mould 200-260 degree Celsius 1200 kg/cm2 0.4 - 0.8 percentage 180 tonnes 70 degree Celsius film gate hemispherical pin type 6 mm

4.3TWO DIMENSIONAL MODEL OF THE MOULDING TOOL The below figure shows the two dimensional model of the mould base from the plan, Inverted plan and cut section views. INVERTED PLAN VIEW

38

PLAN VIEW

SECTIONAL FRONT VIEW

Figure 4.2Two dimensional model of the Moulding tool

4.4CORE INSERT The core insert forms the male part of the mould. The products after moulding sticks to the core and is removed by ejector pins. Figure 4.3 shows the isometric view of the core insert.

39

Figure 4.3Isometric view of Core insert The Core Insert is made by pre-hardened steel (P20) material. The drafted model is machined on the surface of the insert as per the product drawing. The machined surfaces are chrome plated to provide mirror finish. The Fresnel lens area is of 100 mm diameter. It will consist of ten concentric circles and their successive variation of diameter shrinks from the centre towards the end.Cooling channels are made as per the product geometry to optimise cooling efficiency. The duplication of the 3D model is made on the core plate along with necessary feeding system and ejection system. Cooling channels are provided to optimise the cooling efficiency to enhance the quality of the product as well as to remove cooling related defects.

4.5MOULD BASE OR MOULDING TOOL ASSEMBLY Theassembly of various moulding plates such as core and cavity inserts, top and bottom plates, spacer block, ejection and its backing plates are so called as mould base

40

assembly. Figure 4.4 shows the isometric view of the mould base assembly or the moulding tool.

Figure 4.4Isometric view of the moulding tool The below paragraph will clearly depicts the function of the various elements which forms the moulding tool. A core plate along with cavity plate helps to mould the plastic melt into a certain shape. The section that is engaged in opening and closing movement is called a core plate, and the section that is not is called a cavity plate. Generally, the front side of a part is a cavity plate and the rear side is a core plate.The ejector plate pushes the ejector pins and returns pins and connects with ejector rods.

The mould ejector plate assembly is that the part of the mould to which the ejector element is attached. The mould ejector plate assembly is contained in a pocket, formed by

41

the ejector grid, directly behind the mould plate.Backup Plate or Support plate is used to support cavity plate and provides hole for return pin spring and cooling channel when in cavity plate cannot make it. The ejector frame assembly consists of ejector cavity mould housing removable and is attached to an ejector back plate assembly. A locating ring is attached to the injection side back plate and is placed in an opening in the stationary platen for positioning the mould parts relative to the stationary platen, and an injection nozzle assembly is placed in the opening of the stationary platen. Mould designers usually use locating ring to prevent mismatching of nozzle with mould.An eye bolt is a screw with a loop on one end and threads on the other end. The eye bolts are connected with a bar that connects both the injection side back plate and ejection side back plate. The eye bolts are commonly used to attach cables to objects, for instance attaching a string to the mould to allow the mould to hang from a crane to set on a machine. For high loads, eye bolts with forged or welded loops should be chosen, as they can withstand loads of the whole tensile load of the mould.Spacer block is mounted between the movable clamping plate (bottom plate) and the movable cavity plate to give space and allow the ejector plate to move when ejecting thepart. The required height of spacer block depends on ejector stroke that needed to eject product. The spacer height will be normally the height of the product with an addition of 5mm.The Fixed clamping plate or top plateholds the fixed side of the mould to the fixed platen of the injection machine. This plate also holds locating ring, eye bolt, and sprue bush. The plate is also screwed to the core retainer plate.The cavity insert positioning mechanism of an injection mould comprising of a top clamping plate, a cavity insert received in the mould cavity, a

restricting bar for pulling the cavity insert, and multiple screws used to lock the restricting bar and the cavity plate as an integral and fasten the restricting bar on the top clamping plate.

4.6SELECTION OF MOULD MATERIAL

42

The moulding tool or the mould baseis an assembly of various kinds of plates of varying dimensions depending on the dimension of the product to be produced. The plates normally used are core plate, cavity plate, spacer block, injection top plate, bottom plate, ejection plate, ejection back plate etc. The below table 4.2 showing the material selected to build the mould plates. Table 4.2 Tabular column showing material selection of mould plates
Mould plates Top and Bottom plates Backing plates Core and Cavity plate Steel grade selected AISI 4130 (alloy steel) AISI 1095 (carbon steel) AISI H13 (tool steel) AISI 1020 (carbon steel)

Ejector plate and Ejector retainer plate Spacer block Core and cavity inserts Sprue bushings Ejector pins, Leader pins, Return pins

AISI 1095 (carbon steel) AISI 420 (tool steel) AISI 6150 (alloy steel) AISI H13 (tool steel)

The duplication of the drawn product model on the core insert consists of ten concentric circles whose mean diameterconverges from centre to the periphery. The surface of the useful area of the lens is electroplated to achieve mirror finish. As per the product developed, the plates are of varying thickness such that the core and cavity plates having thickness of 46mm,spacers having thickness of 76 mm, ejection plate having a thickness of 26 mm, ejection back plate having thickness of 16mm,the top and bottom side plates having a thickness of 26mm.The moulding tool is having an overall dimension of 346mmX296mmX220mm.The moulding tool is a simple two plate mould having hemispherical runner and a film gate of thickness 0.7 mm and the ejection is of simple pin type ejection. 4.7FABRICATION OF MOULD

43

The mould is fabricated by using various machining techniques such as milling, drilling, pocketing, surface-finishing etc. The figure 4.5 and 4.6 shows the images of the fabricated mould.

Figure 4.5 Core andCavity side of theFabricated mould

Figure 4.6Fabricated mould

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CHAPTER 5

MOULDING OF FRESNEL LENS

5.1FRESNEL LENS PROCESSING The moulding tool developed is loaded on the Injection moulding machine to conduct product trials. The compatibility of the machine with the moulding tool is checked by comparing the machine specification with tool specification such as moulding tool dimensions, minimum mould height, distance between the tie bars, opening stroke of the machine, shot weight, plasticising capacity, clamping tonnage etc.The output of mould trial helps us to gain deep knowledge on the moulding tool development by comparing with the expected results. Purging of the mould is done to remove the contaminants from the barrel and also to make the machine ready for processing.By trial and error method the optimum pressure and temperature for the product is justified and it is found to be 1200 kg/cm2 and 260 0 C.Thetable 5.1 shownbelow the various details of the machine.

Table 5.1 Details of the Injection moulding machine FACTORS CONSIDERED

Type of machine Clamping tonnage Shot capacity of machine Maximum injection pressure Mould space (minimum) Opening stroke

SPECIFICATIONS
All electric moulding machines

180 tonnes 203 grams 1600 kg/cm2 200 mm 750 mm

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5.2MATERIAL PROCESSING PARAMETERS The below table gives the information regarding processing of the PMMA material in the 180 AD all electric injection moulding machine. Purging of the material is done by using PMMA material before conducting trials. The appropriate values for processing the material is collected from material processing data sheets. Precaution measures are taken before purging the material in order to make the machine ready for processing. Table 5.2 Material processing information
Fresnel lens mould- processing parameters Parameters Melt temperature Injection speed Injection pressure Injection time Hold on speed Clamping force Hold on time Cooling time
0

Nozzle C 265

Zone - 1 260 98 115 8 70 50 3 15

Zone - 2 240

Zone- 3 210

Zone- 4 190

mm /s bar seconds mm/s tonne s s

After successive trials, the processing parameters are optimised and the product with acceptable quality is obtained. By trial and error technique the processing parameters of the machine are optimised.

46

5.3IMAGE OF THE MACHINE DURING PROCESSING

The below figure 5.1shows the actual image of the injection moulding machine in which the mould is loaded. The machine is of all electric type with a clamping tonnage of 180 tonnes and having an injection pressure of 1600 kg/cm2.

Figure 5.1: Injection moulding loaded with mouldfor Fresnel lens

47

5.4IMAGES OF THE FINAL PRODUCT FRESNEL LENS

Figure 5.2Moulded Fresnel lens with feeding system

Figure 5.3Moulded Fresnel lens (The final product)

48

CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSION In this thesis work the design and development of a two platemould for a Fresnel lens is made.The moulding tool is developed as per the drawn product model. The tool is developed in such a way to fit within minimum possible tie bar distance and daylight of the injection moulding machine.The film gate is used to inhibit the product failures due to excessive stress build-up in the product.The developed product finds its application in solar energy conversion systems. The product is developed by using unigraphics software with all the necessary dimensions and autocad software is used in designing of all the necessary parts of the mould. It is crucial to find out, anypossible chances for defects in the product design along with appropriate decisions like selection of Injection temperature, Injection pressure, Clamping tonnage, Cooling time etc.The layout of a cooling system is crucial in obtaining the expected product from the mould.Optimum cooling of the product is enhanced by providing cooling channels at appropriate positions to reduce problems related to warpage and shrinkage. Continuous monitoring of the processing cycle is done to enhance processing efficiency by optimising processing parameters to obtain theproduct as desired.

49

REFERENCES 1) Bryce, Douglas M. (1996) Plastic Injection Moulding: Manufacturing Process Fundamentals. SME, volume I. 2) Brydson, J (1999), Plastics Materials,Butterworths 9th Edition. 3) Callister, William D, Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction, John Wiley and Sons. 4) Malloy, Robert, A (1994) Plastic Part Design For Injection MouldingAn Introduction Cincinnati,Hanser Publications. 5) Mora, JC; Polymers Product Manufacturing; Part Design, Mould Design, Process, Production Controls, & Facilities. 6) M.W, Fuh, Nee, A.Y.C, (2001) Core and Cavity Generation Method in Injection Moulding. International Journal of Production Research. 7) Peter Jones (2008) The Mould design guide, Smithersrapra limited. 8) Plastic design data book(2010)- Cipet publications. 9) Rosato Dominick, Rosato Marlene, and Rosato Donald (2000) Injection Moulding Handbook 3rd Ed. Kluwer Academic Publishers. 10) Sanjay k Nayak, A.K Rao (2010) Plastic Mould Technology, Volume-II Cipet Publications 11) Unger P, (2006) Gastrow Injection Moulds 130 proven designs. 4th Edition,Cincinnati,Hanser Publication. 12) Whelan, Tony (1994) Polymer Technology Dictionary Springer publications.

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