10/22/2016

InjectionMolding:Why&HowtoDoGateSealExperiments:PlasticsTechnology
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Injection Molding: Why & How to Do Gate-Seal Experiments
74

By: John Bozzelli , Founder from Injection Molding Solutions

From: Plastics Technology
Issue: October 2010

Part of optimizing any molding process is determining the second-stage injection, or

pack and hold, parameters.
Part of optimizing any molding process is determining the
second-stage injection, or pack and hold, parameters. Most
molders deal with two parameterstime and pressure.
Lets add a third: Should you hold until the gate freezes or
not? There are other subtle issues, but lets focus on
guring out the second-stage time.

Click Image to Enlarge

Is this a critical plastic variable? No doubt about it. My

experience dates back a couple of decades, beginning at
Dow Plastics, where I was a technical representative
charged with solving customer problems. Time and again,
molders would tell me: Some parts were ne while others
failed prematurely. Theyd insist the process was the same,
yet it produced both good and bad parts.
Often it had to do with how long it took the gate to seal. It was years before I caught on
to the importance of gate seal or unseal relative to part performance. Bottom line:
before determining second-stage time you must know which way the molecules in the
part are happierwith the gate frozen or unfrozen/unsealed. It can make a vast
difference in part performance.
Before we discuss experiments and testing, and because most of us were trained to run
with the gate sealed, let me tell you a quick story. Last fall I needed to buy a new rake,
so I went down to the home center and bought one. The rst time I used iton a
relatively warm daythings went well. The next week the weather turned cold, near
freezing (I live in Michigan), and after ve minutes of raking my brand-new plastic rake
had cracked.
And guess where the crack started? Yes, at the gate. Why? Consider the plastics point
of view: First, how much pressure does it take to ll the solid area of the rake? Not that
much, since its polypropylene and not a thin wall. Next, how much pressure does it
take to ll the tines? A fair amount is needed here because the tines are harder ll.
Rakes with shorts at the end of the tines will not sell, so second-stage pressure has to
be set to make sure there are no shorts. Hold pressure might also be relatively high to
ensure there is enough pressure to ll the tines completely.
Factor in the possibility that the molder also opted for a long second-stage hold time
to ensure against shorts. As a result, molecules near the gate froze while packed tight,
and this was a gate-sealed process. Pressure at the end of the tines was lower due to
the pressure drop along the ow path, so the plastic molecules were less tightly
packed. At warmer temperatures, the molecules are not happy, but they do their job.
But at lower temps, a bit of shrinkage occurs and the molecules in the denser gate area
are ghting one another with no place to go. That produces higher stresses in the gate
area. When I added to the stress by raking, the molecules gave up and the part cracked;
the combination of the internal stress plus external stress exceeded the strength of the
plastic.
Sure, the cause of failure could have been due to other factors, like the wrong resin
grade, too much regrind, etc., but my bet would be that the processor ran with the gate
sealed. Im also betting that this entire lot of rakes will break if used in cold weather.

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InjectionMolding:Why&HowtoDoGateSealExperiments:PlasticsTechnology

There are a number of issues that inuence the resin properties near the gate, and the
only way to nd out what is best for a particular parts performance is to test the parts
with and without gate seal. To do this, nd what the part, resin, mold, and process
demand. Run a gate-seal experiment and ascertain the approximate gate-seal time. It
does not have to be exact, and its easy.
First, nd a pressure the makes the part look okay. Then change the second-stage time
and add or subtract the difference to/from the cooling or mold-closed time to keep the
total cycle time the same. Then weigh parts to four signicant gures. Do this in
several steps. Make sure you get to a second-stage time long enough that the part
weight stops increasing. Then plot the data. For cold runners it will look like the
accompanying graph. For hot runners, the slope will change. For valve gates anything
can happen.
Once you know how long it takes the gate to freeze, you have some testing to do. Make
an appropriate number of parts with a hold time known to provide gate seal and a
second set with a second-stage time known to provide parts with unsealed or unfrozen
gates. Take these to Quality Control and put them through the performance tests,
spanning the full range of use temperatures (do not worry about dimensions). You will
be surprised at how many times you see all the parts fail on one side and pass on the
other side of gate seal. And even if there is no difference in performance between
parts with the gate sealed or unsealed, you will learn that you can save money on
resin, as the parts made with the gate unsealed will be lighter than those with the gate
sealed.
You can now objectively determine second-stage time. If a sealed gate gives best
results, and you found the gate-seal time to be 5.5 sec, then set it a bit higher, say at
6.5 sec or more, to ensure gate-sealed parts. That is, providing you can get the screw
back within the cooling time so as not to extend the cycle. Even if you have to extend
cycle time and increase your costs, it is certainly less expensive than the cost of failed
parts in the eld.
If gate unsealed works best, start at a second-stage time about half of the gate-seal
time. In this case, set 2.75 sec on the hold timer, and run parts at a range of pressures
to see if you can minimize sinks and provide dimensions to specications. Once the
data is in, increase (but not close to the point of gate seal) or decrease the hold time
and/or pressure to nd the center of the process window that makes parts to
specication.
Consider the inuence of gate seal or unseal on other aspects of processing and mold
design. How critical is consistent cycle time if the process is run with the gate sealed
or unsealed? Does gate sealed or unsealed inuence the decision to use a cold or hot
runner, or a specic type of hot runner? What kind of part performance consistency
will you have if you run at the exact gate-seal time? Do the testing and get the data
before the part goes into production.

About the Author

John Bozzelli is the founder of Injection Molding Solutions (Scientic Molding) in
Midland, Mich., a provider of training and consulting services to injection molders,
including LIMS, and other specialties. E-mail [email protected] or visit
scienticmolding.com.
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Comments are reviewed by moderators before they appear to ensure they meet Plastic Technologys
submission guidelines.

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4Comments

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Jointhediscussion
Aleem2yearsago

IamfacingProblemofFlashwhenisetholdPresureetoasuitableRange.Butwhenisetthis
pressuretoZeroFlashReduce.Anysuggestionhowcanigetflashfreepart.

Reply Share
tdeligio

Mod >Aleem 2yearsago

HiAleem,
Receivedthisresponsefromthearticle'sauthor,JohnBozzelli.Goodluck!
Aleem:
Ifyouhaveashortshotandthereisflashonthepartinglineyouhaveapartingline
problemthatmustbefixedbyatoolmaker.
Somakesurethatyourarevisiblyshortafterfirststagewithnoholdpressuresetonthe
machine,thereshouldbeholdtimeon.Ifthepartisbarelyshortandyouhaveflashitis
thepartingline.Ifyouonlyflashwhenyouhaveholdpressureonthenyoustillmighthave
apartinglinematingproblemoryoudonothaveenoughclamptonnage.Thereareother
possibilitiesbutonehastobetheretosolvetheproblem.
John

Reply Share
Guest115yearsago

Anytipsondoingagatesealwithavalvegatedmold?Isitthesameasahotorcoldrunner
mold?

Reply Share
Cavaliersw>Guest115yearsago

Itisdifferent.Withthevalvegateyoucanshutthegateonendofinjectionforward.Hot
runneryoushoulddetermine"land"sealbyweightaboutthesamemannerasacold
runner.

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