Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybernetics, Kunming, 12-15 July 2008

OPTIMIZATION OF PLASTIC INJECTION MOLDING PROCESS VIA

TAGUCHI’S PARAMETER DESIGN METHOD, BPNN, AND DFP
W.C. CHEN1, M.W. WANG2, G.L. FU3, C.T. CHEN4
1
Graduate School of Industrial Engineering and System Management, Chung Hua UniversityNo. 707, Sec. 2, Wu Fu Rd.,
Hsinchu 30012, Taiwan
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Aapplied Sciences415 Chien Kung Road,
Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
3
Graduate Institute of Technology Management, Chung Hua University, No. 707, Sec. 2, Wu Fu Rd., Hsinchu 30012,
Taiwan
4
Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Ta Hwa Institute of Technology, 1 Tahwa Rd., Chiunglin,
Hsinchu 307, Taiwan
E-MAIL: wenchin@chu.edu.tw

Abstract: process, PIM is one of the more complex processes due to

This research integrates Taguchi’s parameter design
method, back-propagation neural networks (BPNN), and
Davidon-Fletcher-Powell (DFP) method to optimize the
process parameter settings of plastic injection molding.
Taguchi’s parameter design method is used to arrange an
orthogonal array experiment and to reduce the number of
set-test cycles. Injection Time, Velocity Pressure Switch
Position, Packing Pressure, and Injection Velocity are selected
as process control parameters and product weight is selected
as the single product quality. The experimental data of
Taguchi’s parameter design method are used for effectively
training and testing BPNN. Then, BPNN is combined with
DFP to search out the final optimal process parameter settings.
Finally, a confirmation experiment is performed to confirm
the effectiveness of the final optimal process parameter
settings. The experimental results show that the proposed
effective process parameter optimization approach can avoid
shortcomings inherent in the application of trial-and-error
processes or the conventional Taguchi parameter design
method. Furthermore, the proposed approach can effectively
assist engineers in determining optimal initial process
parameter settings and achieving competitive advantages on
product quality and costs.
Keywords:
Plastic injection molding; Back-propagation neural
networks; Taguchi’s parameter design;
Davidon-Fletcher-Powell method
1. Introduction
Plastic injection molding (PIM) is one of the most
important plastic production methods. Even though many
people regard it as a simple and common manufacturing
the many delicate adjustments required. Product quality
depends on material selection, mold design, and process
parameter settings. The injection molding process includes
four phases: plasticization, injection, packing, and cooling
[1]. In previous injection molding research, many process
parameters, such as the melting temperature, mold
temperature, injection pressure, injection velocity, injection
time, packing pressure, packing time, cooling temperature,
and cooling time, were all found to influence product
quality[2],[3]. In dealing with optimal initial process
parameter settings, Huang and Tai [4] employed six process
parameters (mold temperature, melt temperature, gate
dimension, packing pressure, packing time, and injection
time) to determine the optimal initial process parameter
settings for injection-molded plastic parts with a thin shell
feature and under a single product quality (warpage). Wu
and Liang [5] employed six process parameters (mold
temperature, packing pressure, melt temperature, injection
velocity, injection acceleration, and packing time) to
discuss the effects of process parameters on the weld-line
width of an injection-molded plastic product. Chiang and
Chang proposed four control process factors (mold
temperature, melt temperature, injection pressure, and
injection time) to determine the optimal initial process
parameter settings for an injection-molded plastic part with
a thin shell feature in a model with multiple quality
characteristics. Previously, engineers used trial-and-error
processes, which depend on the engineers’ experience and
intuition, to determine initial process parameter settings for
the injection molding process [6]. However, trial-and-error
processes are costly and time consuming, not optimal for

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 Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybernetics, Kunming, 12-15 July 2008
complex manufacturing processes [7]. In research by Hsu
[8], it was also argued that with a trial-and-error process, it
is impossible to verify actual optimal parameter settings.
Subsequently, Taguchi’s parameter design method was
employed to complete the determination of the initial
process parameter settings in industrial applications.
However, Taguchi’s parameter design method can only find
the best set of specified process parameter level
combinations, which include the discrete setting values of
the process parameters. The application of a conventional
Taguchi’s parameter design method is unreasonable when
the variable of a process parameter is continuous, and
cannot help engineers obtain optimal initial process
parameter setting results [9]. An unsuitable process
parameter setting can cause many defective products and
unstable product quality during the injection molding
process. Therefore, efficient analytical methodologies and
tools are necessary to efficiently and rapidly analyze
process parameters and control the product quality.
To deal with these challenges, many researchers of
injection molding processes have investigated the
application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) on quality
prediction [10],[11],[12],[13],[14]. The main reason for
using ANNs is that neural networks have the ability to learn
arbitrary nonlinear mappings between noisy sets of input
and output data. When the quality predictor is precise, the
quality controller can adjust the controllable parameters
closer to the target values of the injection molding process
and an efficient model can be obtained. In finding the
optimal parameter settings of injection molding processes,
ANNs are frequently combined with genetic algorithms
(GA) [14],[15],[16],[17],[18]. GA is employed in the
process optimization with the fitness function based on the
ANN quality predictor.
Previously, researchers showed that product weight is
a critical quality attribute, and a good indicator of
manufacturing process stability for PIM [19],[20]. Yang and
Gao [21] revealed that product weight is an important
quality index for injection-molded products because the
product weight has a close relation to other quality
properties (e.g., surface properties and mechanical
properties), particularly dimensional properties (e.g.,
dimensions and thickness). They also claimed that the
performance of a manufacturing process and its quality
control can be monitored through the product weight.
Kamal [19] showed that the control of injection molded
product weight is of great commercial interest and can
produce great value for production management. Since
injection molding is commonly used in the production of
plastic housing components, product weight is a feasible
single quality characteristic that can be used for product
quality control of plastic housing components.
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Determination of the process parameter settings for
plastic injection molding directly affects the quality of the
injection-molded product. Unsuitable process parameter
settings can cause many production problems (e.g. many
product defects, long lead time, much scrap, high
production costs, etc.), reduce any competitive price
advantage, and decrease the company’s profitability.
Therefore, for the plastic injection molding of housing
components under this single quality characteristic
consideration (weight), this research proposes an effective
approach for process parameter design optimization to help
manufacturers in the achievement of competitive advantage
on product quality and product cost. The proposed approach
that integrates Taguchi’s parameter design, BPNN, and DFP
methods can effectively help engineers in the determination
of optimal initial process parameter settings. The approach
proposed herein has three phases. First, Taguchi’s parameter
design method is applied to determine the preliminary
optimal initial process parameter settings, and then, BPNN
is applied to build the prediction model. Second, BPNN and
DFP method is applied to search out the final optimal
process parameter settings. Third, a confirmation
experiment is performed to verify the effectiveness of the
final optimal process parameter settings. The final optimal
process parameter settings are not limited to discrete values
as in Taguchi’s parameter design method, and can
determine settings for production that not only approaches
the target value of the select quality characteristic more
closely, but with less variation.
2. Optimization methodologies
The optimization methodologies that include
Back-propagation Neural Networks, and
Davidon-Fletcher-Powell method are briefly introduced as
follows.
2.1. Back-propagation neural networks
The use of Neural Networks (NNs) has been well
accepted in the arenas of telecommunication, signal
processing, pattern recognition, prediction, process control,
financial analysis, etc [22]. Numerous literatures mention
that Back-propagation Neural Networks (BPNN) has the
advantage of fast response and high learning accuracy
[14],[23],[24],[25],[26]. The superiority of a network’s
function approach depends on the network architecture,
parameters, and problem complexity. If inappropriate
network architecture and parameters are selected, then the
analysis results may be undesirable. Conversely, the
analysis results will be more significant if good network
architecture and parameters are selected. The BPNN
 Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybernetics, Kunming, 12-15 July 2008
consists of input layer, hidden layer, and output layer. The
parameters for the BPNN include: number of hidden layers,
number of hidden neurons, learning rate, momentum, etc.
All of these parameters have significant impact on the
performance of a neural network. In this research, the
steepest descent method (or gradient descent learning
algorithm) is used to find the weight change and to
minimize the error energy function. The activation function
is a hyperbolic tangent function. According to previous
studies[27],[28], there are a few conditions for network
learning termination: (1) when the root mean square error
(RMSE) between the expected value and network output
value is reduced to a preset value; (2) when the preset
number of learning cycles has been reached; (3) when
cross-validation takes place between the training samples
and test data. The first two methods are related to the preset
values. This research adopts the first and second approach
by gradually increasing the network training time to
gradually decrease the root-mean-square error (RMSE)
until the RMSE is stable and acceptable. The RMSE is
defined as follows:
1 N
RMSE = ∑
N i =1
(d i − yi )2
where N, di, and yi are the number of training samples,
the actual value for training sample i, and the predicted
value of the neural network for training sample i,
respectively.
2.2. Davidon-Fletcher-Powell method
Fletcher and Powell [27] had revised Davidon’s variable
metric method and proposed the Davidon-Fletcher-Powell
(DFP) method. The DFP method is an improved alternative
to Newton’s method, which is too costly for many
applications. DFP is often called the quasi-Newton method
[28]. In the DFP method, it is not necessary for practitioners
to actually evaluate the Hessian matrix as they must for the
Newton method. The DFP method uses a symmetric
positive definite Mn×n matrix as an estimate for the inverse
Hessian matrix of Newton’s method. For any given initial
starting value vector of parameter variable, the
M (k ) matrix will converge to the inverse Hessian matrix
after k iterative computations. Consequently, the DFP
method has advantages of faster convergence and less
computation than Newton’s method when it is applied in
nonlinear optimization problems.
3. Proposed approach
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This section presents the proposed process parameter
optimization model for multiple-input single-output (MISO)
plastic injection molding process under four process control
factors, and one response to demonstrate the effectiveness
and implementation of the proposed approach. The
presented approach integrates Taguchi’s parameter design
method, BPNN, and DFP to obtain the optimal process
parameter settings. Taguchi’s parameter design method is
used to arrange an orthogonal array experiment and to
reduce the number of set-test cycles. Subsequently, the
signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) is employed to determine
the initial process parameter settings that have minimal
sensitivity to noise with the consideration for the major
quality characteristic. Injection Time, Velocity Pressure
Switch Position, Packing Pressure, Injection Velocity are
selected as process control factors. Product weight is
selected as the only response for plastic injection-molded
standard piece for the case study. The experimental data of
Taguchi’s parameter design method are used for effectively
training and testing BPNN that finely map the relationship
between the input process control factors and the output
response. Then, BPNN is combined with DFP to search out
the final optimal process parameter settings. Finally, a
confirmation experiment is performed to confirm the
effectiveness of final optimal process parameter settings.
The flow chart for the proposed approach is shown in Fig.
1.
3.1. Experimental equipment
The product in this illustrative example is a plastic
injection-molded push-button housing piece which is
shown in Fig. 2. Injection Time, Velocity Pressure Switch
Position, Packing Pressure, Injection Velocity are selected
as process control factors. Table 1 shows the five process
control factors and parameter setting range. Product weight
is selected as the only response for the plastic
injection-molded push-button housing piece case study. The
experimental material for this illustrative example is
polypropylene (PP). The injection molding machine was a
N issei ES-400 (for sp ecif ications, see Tab le 2)
a nd Mettler AE-100 electronic equipment was used to
measure product weight with accuracy to 0.00005 g.
 Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybernetics, Kunming, 12-15 July 2008
Figure 1. The flow chart of the proposed approach
Figure 2. Push-button Housing and Sprue
Table 1. Product Parameter Setting Range
Injection Time (sec)
VP Switch (mm) 7.5 ~ 8.3
Packing Pressure (MPa)
Injection Velocity (mm/sec)
Injection Pressure (MPa)
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Table 2. Specifications of the Nissei ES-400 injection
molding machine
Maximum shot weight 35 g
Maximum pressure 255 MPa
Maximum velocity 210 mm/s
Maximum ram position 92 mm
Screw diameter 22 mm
Clamping force 44 US tons (40 tons)
Clearance between tie bars 12.2 x 12.2 in (310 x 310
mm)
Clamping stroke 9.4 in (240 mm)
Minimum mold thickness 6.7 in (170 mm)
Maximum daylight 21.3 in (540 mm)
(opening)
3.2. Implementation of Taguchi’s parameter design
method
Taguchi’s parameter design method normally selects
an appropriate formulation of the S/N ratio and calculates
the S/N ratio for each treatment. There are three types of
S/N ratios: nominal the best, the larger the better, and the
smaller the better. Most engineers choose the highest S/N
ratio treatment as the preliminary optimal initial process
parameter setting. Since the response of the experiment was
the weight of the injection-molded plastic housing, and the
company’s production consulting team had concluded that
the target product weight was10.58g with a tolerance of
0.048g, nominal the best was applied to calculate S/N ratio
for each treatment.
According to the four selected control factors and their
levels, this research applies L25(56) orthogonal array to
assign four factors into the rows, with injection time,
velocity pressure switch position, packing pressure and
injection velocity assigned to rows A, B, C, and D,
respectively. There are in total twenty-five treatments with
different level combinations of four factors. Five
replications are taken to increase analytical data amount, for
adding sensitivity to statistical analysis. In total one
hundred twenty-five sample data were collected. During the
collection of samples, ten shots of each treatment were
made before the official sample collecting job started to
ensure that the injection molding process was operations
stably. Table 3 shows control factors and the setting of level.
1.3~1.7 From experimental treatments, response statistics and S/N
ratio, the responses average and standard deviation of each
35~55 treatment with five replications, and S/N ratio can be
40~52 obtained. The initial optimal process parameters that have
150 the highest S/N ratio are determined from factor levels.
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 Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybernetics, Kunming, 12-15 July 2008

According to the experimental results, A 2 B 2 C 3 D 4 has Min F ( X ) = ( yo − yt ) 2

the highest S/N ratio. Therefore, the optimal initial process s.t.
parameter settings are injection time, VP switch position,
packing pressure and injection velocity set to 1.4, 7.7, 45 PLi ≤ x i ≤ PU i i = 1,2,3" n
and 49, respectively. where X = ( x1 , x 2 , x3 " x n ) is the process control
Table 3. Control factors and the setting of level parameters, y o is the predicted value (weight), and y t is
Variabl Level the target value. xi is the notation of parameter i , n is
e Control
Notatio Factors the total number of parameter, PLi and PU i are lower
1 2 3 4 5
n and upper search range of parameter n , respectively. This
Injection 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. research develops a Visual Basic program of BPNN and
A
Time (sec) 3 4 5 6 7 DFP algorithms to effectively determine the final optimal
Velocity process parameter setting of illustrative example. The target
Pressure 7. 7. 7. 8. 8. value of product weight is 10.58g. The initial parameter
B
Switch 5 7 9 1 3 (0)
variable setting ( X ) of DFP is the preliminary initial
Position (mm) process parameter setting that has been obtained from
Packing Taguchi’s parameter design method.
C Pressure 35 40 45 50 55
(MPa)
4. Experimental results and discussion
Injection
D Velocity 40 43 46 49 52 This study integrates Taguchi’s parameter design
(mm/sec) method, BPNN, and DFP to find the optimal process
parameter settings. Taguchi’s parameter design method was
3.3. The hybrid BPNN-DFP search approach used to arrange an orthogonal array experiment and to
reduce the number of set-test cycles. Injection Time (IT),
In this research, Taguchi’s parameter design method, Velocity Pressure (VP) Switch Position, Packing Pressure
back-propagation neural networks (BPNN), and (PP), Injection Velocity (IV) were selected as process
Davidon-Fletcher-Powell (DFP) method are employed to control parameters. Weight was selected as the only product
optimize the process parameter settings of plastic injection quality. Following the above-mentioned hybrid BPNN-DFP
molding. In the experiment, Taguchi’s parameter design search methodology, the final optimal process parameters
method was used to arrange an orthogonal array experiment and injection molding machine setting are shown in Table 4.
and to reduce the number of set-test cycles. Subsequently, To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach,
the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) was employed to this research performed two confirmation experiments. One
determine the initial process parameter settings that had experiment utilized preliminary initial process parameter
minimal sensitivity of noise with the consideration for the settings obtained from Taguchi's parameter design method.
major quality characteristic. Injection Time (IT), Velocity The other experiment utilized the final optimal initial
Pressure (VP) Switch Position, Packing Pressure (PP), process parameter settings obtained from the hybrid
Injection Velocity (IV) were selected as process control BPNN-DFP search approach. Each experiment produced
factors. Product weight was selected by the case study as thirty product samples. Three statistics average, standard
the only response for the plastic injection-molded standard deviation and process capability index were compared to
piece. The experimental data of Taguchi’s parameter design judge the best approach for determining the optimal initial
method were used for effectively training and testing BPNN process parameter settings. Comparisons between
that finely map the relationship between the input process Taguchi’s approach and the proposed model are shown in
control factors and the output response. Then, BPNN was the Table 5. According to the experimental results, the
employed as a quality predictor and combined with DFP to standard deviation of Taguchi’s approach is 0.0071. That is
search the final optimal process parameter settings. The almost two times larger than the proposed model (0.0035).
objective function of DFP is given as follows: In general, the process capability index is a major criterion
for assessing the ability of a production process to make
products that meet specifications. The practical minimum

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 Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybernetics, Kunming, 12-15 July 2008

process capability index (C ) is 1.33 in many process parameter settings of plastic injection molding.
pk
manufacturing industries. If process capability index (C ) According to the implementation results, the proposed
pk model not only effectively decreased time consuming of the
is less than 1.33, then manufacturers will not achieve a high optimal process parameter settings but also obtained
yield rate and may produce many nonconforming products. more-reliable product quality. Therefore, the proposed
Engineers always attempt to reach the highest process approach is feasible and effective for process parameter
capability index in order to obtain the lowest costs and best optimization in plastic injection molding and can facilitate
quality. Therefore, this research utilizes process capability the manufacturing industry in achieving competitive
index as the major criterion for the quality demand. The advantages on quality and costs.
results in the Table 5 showed, the Cpk of Taguchi’s
approach is 0.58; that is less than 1.33 and is almost 3 times References
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