The Comparison Between Finite Element Analysis and Experimental Results of the Cooling of Injection Moulds with Hot Runner System

In an injection moulding process, the mould cooling s ystem is very important as an efficient and uniform cooling effect can improve b oth the productivity and part quality. Due to the complexity of the process, muc h research on the mould cooling analysis and cooling design optimization has bee n focused on the core and the cavity, excluding other systems of injection mould s. However, the runner system introduces a considerable amount of heat into the mould. In recent years, more and more hot runner systems are being applied in th e moulding industry to save material and decrease losses of injection pressure. This raises the need to include the hot runner system in the cooling analysis. I n this paper, a photo frame part was studied. The mould was built with a hot run ner system. Two thermal sensors were installed: one measures the temperature of lateral surface of hot runner nozzle; the other measures the plastic temperature from the core side. A pressure sensor was also installed to measure the pressur e of the core impression. Cooling analysis was performed using ABAQUS, ananalysi s software based on the Finite Element Method (FEM). The assembly including core , cavity and plastic part was modeled. Heat conduction from hot runner to cavity and from polymer melt to the mould and force convection on the cooling channel surfaces were studied. The natural convection between the ambient air and the ex terior mould surface was ignored. The simulations were adjusted with the experim ental results to find out the heat input from hot runner and its influence on mo uld cooling. Finally, the optimal cooling design and optimal injection condition were obtained.

In an injection moulding process, the mould cooling s ystem is very important as an efficient and uniform cooling effect can improve b oth the productivity and part quality. Due to the complexity of the process, muc h research on the mould cooling analysis and cooling design optimization has bee n focused on the core and the cavity, excluding other systems of injection mould s. However, the runner system introduces a considerable amount of heat into the mould. In recent years, more and more hot runner sys...