Injection Moulding

Basics of injection moulding and

machinery
Molding Cycle
 Feeding of materials
• First the molder receives plastic resin in the form of small chopped pellets.
• These are fed into the hopper of an injection-moulding machine, where they fall into an augur-type screw
channel, which feeds the pellets forward inside the heated barrel.
• It is necessary to provide a flow-way in an injection mould to connect the nozzle (of the injection machine)
to the each impression. This flow-way is termed as feed system. Normally feed system comprises of
1) Sprue.
2) Runner.
3) Gate
1) Sprue
The sprue is the channel along which the molten plastic first enters the mould. It delivers the melt from the
nozzle to the runner system. The sprue is incorporated in a hardened steel bush which has a seat designed to
provide a good seal with the nozzle.

The sprue has to demold easily and reliably and therefore has to be tapered. The taper is generally 2° in most
cases.
2) Runner
• The runner is the flow path by which the molten plastic travels from the sprue
(i.e. the moulding machine) to the gates (i.e. the cavity).
• To prevent the runner freezing off prematurely, its surface area should be small
so as to minimize heat transfer to the mould.
• However, the cross sectional area of the runner should be large enough so that it
presents little resistance to the flow of the plastic but not so large that the cycle
time needs to be extended to allow the runner to solidify for ejection.
The following factors must be considered while designing a runner system.

• Cross section of runner.

• Size of the runner.
• Runner layout.
3) Gate
• Gate is the small orifice which connects the runner to the cavity.
• It has a number of functions. Firstly, it provides a convenient weak
link by which the moulding can be broken off from the runner system.
• In some molds the degating may be automatic when the mold opens.
• The gate also acts like a valve in that it allows molten plastic to fill the
mould but being small it usually freezes off first.
• The cavity is thus sealed off from the runner system which prevents
material being sucked out of the cavity during screw-back.
 Pre-Plasticization
•  Plasticizing is melting the material so that it is soft and can be
deformed easily in the plastic state.
• The cycle begins with the extruder plasticizing the resin and
accumulating it in the forward section of the barrel.
• The heater bands maintain the melt's temperature as the shot it built
up. The mould is closed.
• The cycle is typically timed so that there is minimal time between the
closing of the mould and the next shot.
• Injection of the Resin into the Closed Mold.
 Types of Injection Molding Machines
• Machines are classified primarily by the type of driving systems they use: hydraulic,
mechanical, electrical, or hybrid.
Hydraulic
• Hydraulic presses have historically been the only option available to molders until Nissei
Plastic Industrial Co., LTD introduced the first all-electric injection molding machine in
1983. Hydraulic machines, although not nearly as precise, are the predominant type in
most of the world, with the exception of Japan.

Mechanical
• Mechanical type machines use the toggle system for building up tonnage on the clamp
side of the machine. Tonnage is required on all machines so that the clamp side of the
machine does not open (i.e. tool half mounted on the platen) due to the injection pressure.
If the tool half opens up it will create flash in the plastic product.
Electric
• The electric press, also known as Electric Machine Technology (EMT), reduces operation
costs by cutting energy consumption and also addresses some of the environmental
concerns surrounding the hydraulic press. Electric presses have been shown to be quieter,
faster, and have a higher accuracy, however the machines are more expensive.

• Hybrid injection (sometimes referred to as "Servo-Hydraulic") molding machines claim to

take advantage of the best features of both hydraulic and electric systems, but in actuality
use almost the same amount of electricity to operate as an electric injection molding
machine depending on the manufacturer.

• A robotic arm is often used to remove the molded components; either by side or top entry,
but it is more common for parts to drop out of the mold, through a chute and into a
container.
The Mould
• Figure 2.7 shows the layout of a typical simple mould, which has two
identical cavities.
• Melt from the nozzle enters via the sprue, which has a divergent taper
to facilitate removal when frozen.
• Opposite the sprue is a cold slug well, which serves both to accept the
first relatively cold portion of injected material, and to allow a re-
entrant shape on the end of an ejector pin to grip the sprue when the
mould opens.
• The remaining melt flows along a system of runners leading to the
mould cavities.
• The gates at the entries to the cavities are very narrow in at least one
direction, so that the mouldings will be readily detachable from the
runners after removal from the mould.
• When the two halves of the mould shown in figure 2. 7 part, the
mouldings, runners and sprue are obliged to remain with the left-hand
half.
• Final removal is then effected by movement of the ejector pin from
left to right, which releases the trapped cold slug well.
• In larger and more complicated moulds, more sophisticated systems
of ejector pins and other devices are used.
• Also, multiplate moulds and more elaborate runner systems may be
necessary.
• As melt comes into contact with the cold metal, it freezes to give a
thin layer of solid.
• Low polymer thermal conductivity ensures that the growth of this
layer is slow.
• At moderate rates of injection, the flow spreads outward in all
available directions away from the gate, with a core of hot melt
flowing between solidified skins.
• At much higher injection rates, however, the melt 'jets' through the
gate and across the mould cavity, filling the far side first in a very
irregular manner.
• This filling mechanism is to be avoided, because the properties of the
finished moulding are inferior.
• The sandwich moulding process takes full advantage of the skin
formation in the normal mechanism of mould flow.
• Two different polymers are injected, one after the other, through the
same gates, the first one forming the outer skin of the finished article,
and the second one its core.
• Thus, a cheap weak core can be injected inside a skin of higher-quality
material.
• A remarkable uniformity of skin thickness can be achieved in
practice.
 Moulding Defects
• Moulded plastics will also have crack initiation sites created
by moulding defects such as weld lines, gates, etc and by
filler particles such as pigments, stabilisers, etc.
• And, of course, stress concentrations caused by sharp
geometrical discontinuities will be a major source of fatigue
cracks.
• Fig. 2.72 shows a typical fatigue fracture in which the crack
has propagated from a surface flaw .
 Multistage Screw/Plunger
• The 3-stage type screw of the single flight is usually used.
• The screw design consists of the basic design based on the premises of
smooth conveyance of pellet, plasticization for melting, and compression,
and measurement with a little unevenness.
• Supply (feed section): Stroke is designed long for conveying and melting
the pellet, and increasing plasticization quantity.
• Compression (compression section): Return the air and water involved in
the feed section to the hopper side and deaerate.
• In addition, a sufficiently melting mechanism is required.
• Measurement (metering section): In order to suppress the measurement
unevenness, the measurement stroke is designed long, 4D ~ 5D or more
• In the same figure, L/D is 20, the ratio of Feed (F) / Compression (C) /
Metering (M) is divided into 60/20/20, pitch H is almost equal to
screw diameter D, and compression ratio C.R. of the screw is
2.0:1~2.5:1.
• The screw that its surface is covered with thick film hard Cr coating is
good.
• When the glass fiber reinforced material is used, there is a problem of
abrasion, but constantly preparing spare screw and regularly
exchanging after recoating are recommended.
• The screw that processed nitriding treatment is hard to be worn due to
its high hardness.
• On the other hand, for transparent product and colored product (except
the black) avoiding the burn, because it is easy to cause the burn in PC
molding, it had better use the screw that processed with (Ni+Cr),
(Co+Cr), TiC treatment at the surface though it is a little expensive.
 Clamping Units
• Clamping Systems in order to keep the mould halves tightly closed
when the melt is being injected under high pressures it is necessary to
have a clamping system.
• This may be either (a) hydraulic or (b) mechanical (toggle) - or some
combination of the two.
• In the hydraulic system, oil under pressure is introduced behind a
piston connected to the moving platen of the machine.
• This causes the mould to close and the clamp force can be adjusted so
that there is no leakage of molten plastic from the mould.
• The toggle is a mechanical device used to amplify force.
• Toggle mechanisms tend to be preferred for high speed machines and
where the clamping force is relatively small.
• The two main advantages of the toggle system are that it is more
economical to run the small hydraulic cylinder and since the toggle is
self locking it is not necessary to maintain the hydraulic pressure
throughout the moulding cycle.
• On the other hand the toggle system has the disadvantages that there is
no indication of the clamping force and the additional moving parts
increase maintenance costs.
• Levers were used to clamp the mould and inject the melted plastic
with the result that the pressures which could be attained were not
very high.
• Subsequent improvements led to the use of pneumatic cylinders for
clamping the injection which not only lifted some of the burden off the
operator but also meant that higher pressures could be used.
• The next major development in injection moulding, i.e. the introduction
of hydraulically operated machines, did not occur until the late 1930s
when a wide range of thermoplastics started to become available.
• However, these machines still tended to be hybrids based on die casting
technology and the design of injection moulding machines for plastics
was not taken really seriously until the 1950s when a new generation of
equipment was developed.
• These machines catered more closely for the particular properties of
polymer melts and modern machines are of the same basic design
although of course the control systems are very much more
sophisticated nowadays.
 PROCESS CONTROL
• To control and monitor these machines, equipment suppliers are using
state - of - the - art computer process control units.
• These units record and store multiple processing parameters for many
molds; the exact processing parameters can be recalled each time the
tool is run.
• The controllers monitor, compare, adjust, and maintain processing
conditions with preselected processing windows, and they can be
connected with mainframe computers to control and monitor the
manufacturing process accurately.
• These control units constantly compare and adjust the machines ’
processing variables through closed and open loop process control
systems.
• They can also be networked with the auxiliary equipment to provide a
total work cell control system.
• They can signal problem areas when the process variables go beyond
their capability, so that an operator may solve the problem.
• Thus, they are excellent controllers and monitors of the processing
cycle.
• These machines have built - in sensors to monitor certain aspects of
the mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical equipment components.
• Such aspects include how the components respond and function while
providing feedback to the process controller.
• These machines can now monitor processing parameters for material
set - up in the mold to yield the minimum cycle production times for
producing quality parts.
• The process controllers operate in real - time parameters to control
part quality and respond to processing problems as they occur so they
can be solved immediately.
ELECTRICAL INJECTION
MOLDING
HYDRAULIC INJECTION MOLDING
MACHINE
• Hydraulic machines usually use hydraulic pumps and control valves to adjust 
their flows and pressures, so they can offer higher injection rates, larger 
drive torque, and longer hold time. 
• Hydraulic IMMs are mainly used in high-power and ultra-high-power loads, 
because hydraulics have an energy density roughly five times higher than 
that of electric motors.
• In hydraulic driving source, conventional hydraulic IMM consists of a fixed
pump and a pressure and flow (P/Q) proportional valve, where the pressure
and flow are adjusted by P/Q proportional valve.
• If an asynchronous motor driven by a constant pump is used, the flow is
only adjusted by a proportional throttle valve according to system
requirements.
• Extra oil flows back into the tank through the bypass of the proportional
overflow valve .
 Pneumatic Injection-moulding Process
• The Pneumatic injection-moulding process is best suited for producing
articles made of thermoplastic materials.
• Here, the equipment cost is relatively high but the main attraction is the
amenability of the pneumatic injection-moulding process to a high
production rate.
• In pneumatic injection molding, a definite quantity of molten
thermoplastic material is injected under pressure into a relatively cold
mold where it solidifies to the shape of the mould.
• The pneumatic injection – moulding machine is shown in the process
consists of feeding the compounded plastic material as granules,
pellets or powder through the hopper at definite time intervals into the
hot molten plastics.
• Pressure is applied through a pneumatically driven piston to push the
molten material through a barrel into a mould fitted at the bellow the
nozzle.
• The molten plastic material from the Hooper is then injected through a
nozzle material. The mould used, in its simplest form, is a two-part
system. One is a movable part and the other stationary.
• The stationary part is fixed to the end of the cylinder while the
movable part can be opened or locked on to the stationary part.
• By using a mechanical locking device, the mould is proper held in
position as the molten plastic material is injected under a pressure as
high as 1500kg/cm.
• The locking device has to be very skillfully designed in order to
withstand high operating pressures.
• Further more, a proper flow of the molten material to the interior
regions of the mold is achieved by preheating the mould to an
appropriate temperature.
• Usually, this temperature is slightly lower than the softening
temperature of the plastic material under going moulding.
• After the mould is filled with the molten material under pressure, then it
is cooled by cold water circulation and then opened so as to eject the
molded article.
• The whole cycle could be repeated several times by the same procedure.
• The double acting pneumatic cylinder is used to inject the molten plastic
material into the die.
• The flow control valve is used to control the flow of air in to the cylinder.
• The direction control valve is used to control the direction of piston
movement.
 Gas Assist Injection Molding
• The gas assist injection molding process is a low pressure,
conventional injection molding process that forces a short shot of
material to fill a mold by using pressurized nitrogen gas to displace the
material in pre-destined thick area while forming hollow sections in
the part.
• Gas assist injection molding is a process that produces large plastic
parts with complex designs and superb cosmetic surface finishes.
• The process is especially ideal for large handles, equipment covers,
doors, bezels, cabinets and skins.
• Gas assist injection molding is a low pressure process that requires the
injection of pressurized nitrogen gas into the interior of a mold.
• The gas flows through strategically placed gas channels to displace the
material in the thick areas of the part by forming hollow sections
 Economic Aspects
• There are three variable inputs in reinforced plastic production: raw materials,
labor, and energy.
• Raw materials include plastic resins, reinforcing materials, and fillers. Labor and
energy are used throughout production as well as for final product transport.
• Prices for thermoset resins have increased since 1996, while most thermoplastic
prices have fallen over the same period.
• Among thermoset resins, unsaturated polyester and phenolics are close in price,
while epoxy has a higher price than both. PVC and polypropylene are the least
expensive thermoplastics, while the price of nylon is more than four times greater
than these two..
• For 1997, the price of fiberglass, the most common reinforcement, is
approximately $1.11 per pound.
• The price of carbon is the most expensive and is primarily used in high
performance applications ($10 to $30 per pound).
• Frequently the design problem is concerned with a change from
traditional materials-metal, wood, leather, fabric, etc.-to a polymeric one.
• This transition is fraught with hidden dangers that are usually associated
with (i) the different ranges of physical characteristics of the material; (ii)
the opportunities and/or the necessity of using thinner sections; and (iii)
the strength/creep properties of polymers.
• Metals and timbers have elastic characteristics which give a regular
extension under load until a point is reached at which it is apparent that
the article is giving way and is about to break.
• Thermoplastics do not exhibit this behaviour. They will give way
progressively, often under very light loads without breaking, and yet they
have little ability to recover their original shape when the load is removed.