PLASTIC INJECTION MOLDING

AKASH DEEP.B.N
1SJ03ME121
Plastic Injection Molding
O Overview
O Injection Molding
O Injection Molding machine
O Injection molding processes
O Injection molding materials
O Injection molding problems and solutions
O Typical applications and Products
Overview
 Injection molding is the most widely used polymeric fabrication
process.
 It is the primary process for manufacturing thermo plastic
products.
 Injection molding can be used to form a wide variety of products.
Complexity is virtually unlimited, sizes may range from very
small to very large, and excellent control of tolerances is also
possible.
 The major reasons that injection is so popular is that it produces
light weight parts of specific color with built in surface texturing.
 Most polymers may be injection molded, including
thermoplastics, fiber reinforces thermoplastics, thermosetting
plastics, and elastomers.
Injection molding
 Injection molding is a method to obtain molded products by injecting
plastic materials molten by heat into a mold, and then cooling and
solidifying them.
The method is suitable for the mass production of products with
complicated shapes, and takes a large part in the area of plastic
processing.

Advantages of Injection Molding

 High production rates
 Wide range of materials can be used
 Low labor costs
 Minimal scrap losses
Types of Injection Molding Machines

 Hand injection molding machine

 Piston type injection molding machine
 Reciprocating type injection molding
machine
Injection Molding Machine
 Injection molding machine is divided into 3 units
i.e. a clamping unit, an injection unit and mold.

 The functions of the clamping unit are opening

and closing a die, and the ejection of products.
There are 2 types of clamping methods, namely
the toggle type shown in the figure below and the
straight-hydraulic type in which a mold is directly
opened and closed with a hydraulic cylinder.
The functions of the injection unit are to melt
plastic by heat and then to inject molten plastic
into a mold.
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The injection system consists of a hopper, a reciprocating screw and
barrel assembly, and an injection nozzle, as shown in Figure 1. This
system confines and transports the plastic as it progresses through the
feeding, compressing, degassing, melting, injection, and packing stages.
 FIGURE 1. A single screw injection molding machine for
thermoplastics, showing the plasticizing screw, a barrel, band heaters to
heat the barrel, a stationary platen, and a movable platen.
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The reciprocating screw is used to compress,
melt, and convey the material. The reciprocating
screw consists of three zones (illustrated below)




 
 




FIGURE 2. A reciprocating screw, showing the feeding
zone, compressing (or transition) zone, and metering
zone.
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FIGURE 3. (a) Nozzle with barrel in processing position. (b) Nozzle with
barrel backed out for purging.

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The mold system consists of tie bars, stationary and moving platens, as
well as molding plates (bases) that house the cavity, sprue and runner
systems, ejector pins, and cooling channels, as shown in Figure 4. The
mold is essentially a heat exchanger in which the molten thermoplastic
solidifies to the desired shape and dimensional details defined by the
cavity.
Mold System

3 plate mold 2 plate mold

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The delivery system, which
provides passage for the
molten plastic from the
machine nozzle to the part
cavity, generally includes:
ÿ a sprue
ÿ cold slug wells FIGURE 6. The molded system
ÿ a main runner includes a delivery system and molded parts.
ÿ branch runners
ÿ gates.
Injection molding processes
The Injection molding process
basically is divided into 6 major
steps
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 The injection molding cycle can be divided
into several stages. They aremold closing,
filling, packing, cooling, mold opening and
ejection as shown here.
 Cooling Time is a major fraction of the total
cycle time.

Materials for injection molding

ÿ Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
ÿ Polyethylene
ÿ Polypropelene
ÿ Polystyrene
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 Injection molding is widely used in a wide variety of
industries: automotive, appliance, computer,
communication and industrial equipment. Examples of
injection molded parts in the automotive industry include
sail panels, radiator end caps, door panels, lamp housings,
and fuel rails.

Automobile parts Automotive Sail Panel Radiator End Cap Fuel Rails with Injectors
Injection Molding Problems and
Solutions
Fault Solution
Air trap Reduce injection speed,
Proper venting.
Black streaks Lower the barrel temp.
Clean the injection unit.
Flash Adjust the clamp force.
Reduce the injection pressure.
Short shot Increase the injection value.
Sink mark Increase the cooling time.
Conclusion
 As the injection molding technology is now
living its most rapid development times. The
most important factors behind this situation is
 There is no potential competitors
 Injection molding is especially suitable for mass
production.
 The profitable molding in today¶s competitive
market depends on precise clamping action
coupled with both high plasticizing performance
and reliability integrated with complete plant
operating performance.
References
 Injection Molding Hand Book
 Dominick V Rosato
 Donald V Rosato

 Theory of Molds
 R S Nagesh
 WWW.Google.com