Powder injection molding of pure titanium

An improved wax-based binder was developed for powder injection molding of pure titanium. A critical powder loading of 69 vol.% and a pseudo-plastic flow behavior were obtained by the feedstock based on the binder. The injection molding, debinding, and sintering process were studied. An ideal control of carbon and oxygen contents was achieved by thermal debinding in vacuum atmosphere （10^-3 Pa）. The mechanical properties of as-sintered specimens were less than those of titanium made by the conventional press-sintering process. Good shape retention and ±0.04 mm dimension deviation were achieved.

Structural Scheme Optimization Design for the Stationary Platen of a Precision Plastic Injection Molding Machine

The current development of precision plastic injection molding machines mainly focuses on how to save material and improve precision, but the two aims contradict each other. For a clamp unit, clamping precision improving depends on the design quality of the stationary platen. Compared with the parametric design of stationary platen, structural scheme design could obtain the optimization model with double objectives and multi-constraints. In this paper, a SE-160 precision plastic injection molding machine with 1600 kN clamping force is selected as the subject in the case study. During the motion of mold closing and opening, the stationary platen of SE-160 is subjected to a cyclic loading, which would cause the fatigue rupture of the tie bars in periodically long term operations. In order to reduce the deflection of the stationary platen, the FEA method is introduced to optimize the structure of the stationary platen. Firstly, an optimal topology model is established by variable density method. Then, structural topology optimizations of the stationary platen are done with the removable material from 50%, 60% to 70%. Secondly, the other two recommended optimization schemes are given and compared with the original structure. The result of performances comparison shows that the scheme II of the platen is the best one. By choosing the best alternative, the volume and the local maximal stress of the platen could be decreased, corresponding to cost-saving material and better mechanical properties. This paper proposes a structural optimization design scheme, which can save the material as well as improve the clamping precision of the precision plastic injection molding machine.

Water-Assisted Injection Molding System Based on Water Hydraulic Proportional Control Technique

Water-assisted injection molding（WAIM）, an innovative process to mold plastic parts with hollow sections, is characterized with intermittent, periodic process and large pressure and flow rate variation. Energy savings and injection pressure control can not be .attained based on conventional valve control system. Moreover, the injection water can not be supplied directly by water hydraulic proportional control system. Poor efficiency and control performance are presented by current trial systems, which pressurize injection water by compressed air. In this paper, a novel water hydraulic system is developed applying an accumulator for energy saving. And a new differential pressure control method is proposed by using pressure cylinder and water hydraulic proportional pressure relief valve for back pressure control. Aiming at design of linear controller for injection water pressure regulation, a linear load model is approximately built through computational fluid dynamics（CFD） simulation on two-phase flow cavity filling process with variable temperature and viscosity, and a linear model of pressure control system is built with the load model and linearization of water hydraulic components. According to the simulation, model based feedback is brought forward to compensate the pressure decrease during accumulator discharge and eliminate the derivative element of the system. Meanwhile, the steady-state error can be reduced and the capacity of resisting disturbance can be enhanced, by closed-loop control of load pressure with integral compensation. Through the developed experimental system in the State Key Lab of Fluid Power Transmission and Control, Zhejiang University, China, the static characteristic of the water hydraulic proportional relief valve was tested and output pressure control of the system in Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene（ABS） parts molding experiments was also studied. The experiment results show that the dead band and hysteresis of the water hydraulic proportional pressure relief valve are large, but the control precision and linearity can be improved with feed-forward compensation. With the experimental results of injection water pressure control, the applicability of this WAIM system and the effect of its linear controller are verified. The novel proposed process of WAIM pressure control and study on characteristics of control system contribute to the application of water hydraulic proportional control and WAIM technology.

STRESS ANALYSIS OF INJECTION MOLDED PARTS IN POST-FILLING STAGE

The linear isothermo-viscoelastic constitutive equation is established according to the principle of viscoelastic mechanics. Given the boundary conditions of the temperature field, the linear thermo-viscoelastic constitutive equation is established acording to the analysis of the thermorheologically simple. The stress analysis model is constructed on the base of some reasonable hypotheses which consider the restraint conditions of mold and the characteristics of injection molding in the post-filling stage. The mathematical model is calculated by the finite difference method. The results can help to predict the warpage of plastic products.

Injection molding of micro-porous titanium alloy with space holder technique

The powder space holder （PSH） and powder injection molding （PIM） methods have an industrial competitive advantage because they are capable of the net-shape production of micro-sized porous parts. In this study, micro-porous Ti6Al4V alloy （Ti64） parts were produced by the PSH-PIM process. Ti64 alloy powder and spherical polymethylrnethacrylate （PMMA） particles were used as a space holder material. After molding, binder debinding was performed by thermal method under inert gas. Debinded samples were sintered at 1250℃ for 60min in a vacuum （10-4 Pa）. Metallographic studies were conducted to determine densification and the corresponding microstructural changes. The surface of sintered samples was examined by SEM. The compressive stress and elastic modulus of the rificro-porous Ti64 samples were determined. The effects of fraction of PMMA on the properties of sintered micro-porous Ti64 alloy samples were investigated. It was shown that the fraction of PMMA could be controlled to affect the properties of the Ti alloy.

The Simulation and Optimization of Aspheric Plastic Lens Injection Molding

For the purpose of reducing the volumetric shrinkage and volumetric shrinkage variation, the process in injection molding of aspheric plastic lens was simulated, and several process parameters which include holding pressure, melt temperature, mold temperature, fill time, holding pressure time and cooling time were optimized by using an orthogonal experimental design method. Finally, the optimum process parameters and the influence degree of process parameters on the average volumetric shrinkage and the volumetric shrinkage variation are obtained.

Preparation of Ti-Mo getters by injection molding

Ti-Mo getters have been fabricated via metal injection molding (MIM) using three kinds of Ti powders with different mean particle sizes of 46 μm,35 μm and 26 μm,respectively. The surface morphology,porosity,and hydrogen sorption properties of Ti-Mo getters formed by MIM using paraffin wax as a principal binder constituent were examined. It has been proven that the powder injection molding is a viable forming technique for porous Ti-Mo getters. The particle size of Ti powders and the powder loading influence the porosity of getters,and this affects the sorption capacity of Ti-Mo getters. Ti-Mo getters produced with the Ti powders possessing a mean particle size of 35 μm using a powder loading of 40 vol.% have a high porosity,resulting in a good sorption capacity.

Fabrication of micro gear wheels by micropowder injection molding

The micropowder injection molding technology was investigated to fabricate the microsized gear wheels on a conventional injection molding machine. The feedstock comprised of carbonyl ferrum powder and a wax-based thermoplastic binder. Microinjection molding was fulfilled at about 423 K under 100 MPa. The heating system was applied to the die to improve the fluidity of the feedstock and subsequently the cooling system was used to enhance the strength of the green compacts after injection by decreasing the temperature of the die. The gear wheels were realized successfully with their addendum circle diameter ranging from 800 to 200 um and with the center hole as small as 60 um.

Analysis of Mechanical Properties of Injection Molded Short Glass Fibre (SGF)/Calcite/ABS Composites

Acrylonitrile-butadiene-Styrene (ABS), with and without calcium carbonate (calcite) particles,was used as the matrix for reinforcement with as-received short-glass fibres (were originallytreated by the manufacturer) and sized short-glass fibres with two amino-silane coupling agents.The calcite particle content is 0, 11.7 and 23.5 vol. pct for the matrices. The glass fiber contentis 0, 10 and 15 vol. pct. The matrix materials and corresponding composites were compoundedusing a twin screw extruder and dumbbell-shaped tensile bars were prepared with an injectionmolding process. The tensile and flexural properties as well as the unnotched and notchedCharpy impact energies of short glass fibre/calcite/ABS composites were studied in this paper.The effects of fibres, fibre surface treatments and particles on these mechanical properties ofthe composites were discussed in detail. An importarit information was obtained, which is thatthe tensile and flexural strengths of hybrid SGF/calcite/ABS composites are the same as thoseof corresponding fibre composites when the ratio of the interfacial adhesion strength betweenparticles and matrix to that between fibres and matrix is higher than certain value. otherwise theformer are lower than the latter.

Injection molding of ultra-fine Si_3N_4 powder for gas-pressure sintering

The ceramic injection molding technique was used in the gas-pressure sintering of ultra-fine Si3N4 powder. The feedstock＇s flowability, debinding rate, defect evolution, and microstructural evolution during production were explored. The results show that the solid volume loading of less than 50vol% and the surfactant mass fraction of 6wt% result in a perfect flowability of feedstock; this feedstock is suitable for injection molding. When the debinding time is 8 h at 40°C, approximately 50% of the wax can be solvent debinded. Defects detected during the preparation are traced to improper injection parameters, mold design, debinding parameters, residual stress, or inhomogeneous composition distribution in the green body. The bulk density, Vickers hardness, and fracture toughness of the gas-pressure-sintered Si3N4 ceramic reach 3.2 g/cm^3, 16.5 GPa, and 7.2 MPa·m^1/2, respectively.

Effects of heat treatment on the properties of powder injection molded AlN ceramics

The effects of two different heat-treatment atmospheres,nitrogen atmosphere and reducing nitrogen atmosphere with carbon,on the properties of Y2O3-doped aluminum nitride（AlN） ceramics were investigated.The AlN powder as a raw material was synthesized by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis（SHS） and compacts were fabricated by employing powder injection molding technique.The polymer-wax binder consisted of 60 wt.% paraffin wax（PW）,35 wt.% polypropylene（PP）,and 5 wt.% stearic acid（SA）.After the removal of binder,specimens were sintered at 1850°С in nitrogen atmosphere under atmospheric pressure.To improve the thermal conductivity,sintered samples were reheated.The result reveals that the heat-treatment atmosphere has significant effect on the properties and secondary phase of AlN ceramics.The thermal conductivity and density of AlN ceramics reheated in nitrogen gas are 180 W·m^-1·K^-1 and 3.28 g·cm^-3 and the secondary phase is yttrium aluminate.For the sample reheated in reducing nitrogen atmosphere with carbon,the thermal conductivity and density are 173 W·m^-1·K^-1 and 3.23 g·cm^-3,respectively,and the secondary phase is YN.

Optimization of Injection Molding Process of Bearing Stand Based on BP Network Method

The quality of injection plastic molded parts relates to precise geometry,smooth surface,strength,durability,and other indicators that are associated with the mold,materials,injection process,and service environment.The warpage is one of main defects of injection products,which cost much time and materials.In order to minimize warpage to ensure the precise shape of molded parts,it needs to combine design,service conditions,process parameters,material properties,and other factors in the design and manufacturing.Finite element tools and material database are used to analyze the occurrence of warpage,and analysis results contribute to the improvement and optimization of injection molding process of typical parts.To find the optimal process parameters in the solution space,experimental data are used to establish backpropagation(BP)network for predicting warpage of a bearing stand based on analysis with Moldflow.With a proper transfer function and the BP network architecture,results from the BP network method satisfiy the criteria of accuracy.The optimal solutions are searched in the BP network by the genetic algorithm with the finding that the optimization method based on the BP network is efficient.

Cycle Time Reduction in Injection Molding by Using Milled Groove Conformal Cooling

This paper presents simulation study on Milled Grooved conformal cooling channels(MGCCC)in injection molding.MGCCC has a more effective cooling surface area which helps to provide efficient cooling as compared to conventional cooling.A case study of Encloser part is investigated for cycle time reduction and quality improvement.The performance designs of straight drilled are compared with MGCCC by using Autodesk Moldflow Insight(AMI)2016.The results show total 32.1% reduction of cooling time and 9.86% reduction of warpage in case of MGCCC as compared to conventional cooling.

PHBV Crystallization under Injection Molding Conditions:Influence of Packing Pressure and Mold Temperature

Poly(3-hydroxy butyrate)-co-(3-hydroxy valerate)(PHBV)is a biobased and biodegradable polyester.This semicrystalline bioplastic could be a good candidate for the replacement of some commodity plastics derived from oil.However,the control of the conditions of its processing in order to obtain optimal properties of the finished products remains a current research subject.The objective of this work is to better understand the crystallization under injection molding conditions by inline measurements during the process.We focused on the influence of two key processing parameters,namely,mold temperature and packing pressure.The modeling of inline temperature measurements allowed an inverse estimation of the thermodynamic melting temperature of PHBV and of the heat of crystallization’s variations with processing parameters.

Antioxidation Study of Sm(Co, Cu, Fe, Zr)_z-Sintered Permanent Magnets by Metal Injection Molding

Antioxidation effects on Sm （Co, Cu, Fe, Zr）z-sintered magnets treated by different methods were studied through TGA and DTA. Microstructure of Sm（Co, Cu, Fe, Zr）z-sintered magnets was analyzed through SEM and EDS. The results indicate that the antioxidation effect of the alloy powder treated in silane solution is better than that of the other methods. The alloy powders treated in stearic acid （SA） solution and polymethyl methacrylate （PMMA） solution can prevent powders from oxidation for a short period of time. Silane solution is not suitable for metal injection molding （MIM） because it severely damages the magnetic properties and microstructure of Sm（Co, Cu, Fe, Zr）z-sintered magnets. SA solution can not only prevent powders from oxidizing in MIM, but also does not damage magnetic properties and microstructure of Sm（Co, Cu, Fe, Zr）z magnets. The oxygen content of Sm（Co, Cu, Fe, Zr）z-sintered magnets by MIM is 3300μg·g^-1.

IMPROVE THE KINETIC PERFORMANCE OF THE PUMP CONTROLLED CLAMPING UNIT IN PLASTIC INJECTION MOLDING MACHINE WITH ADAPTIVE CONTROL STRATEGY

The kinetic characteristics of the clamping unit of plastic injection molding machine that is controlled by close loop with newly developed double speed variable pump unit are investigated. Considering the wide variation of the cylinder equivalent mass caused by the transmission ratio of clamping unit and the severe instantaneous impact force acted on the cylinder during the mold closing and opening process, an adaptive control principle of parameter and structure is proposed to improve its kinetic performance. The adaptive correlation between the acceleration feedback gain and the variable mass is derived. The pressure differential feedback is introduced to improve the dynamic performance in the case of small inertia and heavy impact load. The adaptation of sum pressure to load is used to reduce the energy loss of the system. The research results are verified by the simulation and experiment, The investigation method and the conclusions are also suitable for the differential cylinder system controlled by the traditional servo pump unit.

Preparation of high nitrogen and nickel-free austenitic stainless steel by powder injection molding

High nitrogen and nickel-free austenitic stainless steel has received much recognition worldwide because it can solve the problem of ＂nickel-allergy＂ and has outstanding mechanical and physical properties. In this article, 0Cr17Mn11Mo3N was prepared by powder injection molding （PIM） technique accompanied with solid-nitriding. The results show that the critical solid loading can achieve up to 64vol% by use of gas-atomized powders with the average size of 17.4 μm. The optimized sintefing conditions are determined to be 1300℃,2 h in flowing nitrogen atmosphere, at which the relative density reaches to 99% and the N content is as high as 0.78wt%. After solution annealing at 1150℃for 90 rain and water quench, the 0.2% yield strength, ultimate tensile strength （UTS）, elongation, reduction in area, and hardness can reach as high as 580 MPa, 885 MPa, 26.0%, 29.1%, and Hv 222, respectively.

Simulation and Experiment Research on the Proportional Pressure Control of Water-assisted Injection Molding

Water-assisted injection molding（WAIM）,a newly developed fluid-assisted injection molding technology has drawn more and more attentions for the energy saving,short cooling circle time and high quality of products.Existing research for the process of WAIM has shown that the pressure control of the injecting water is mostly important for the WAIM.However,the proportional pressure control for the WAIM system is quite complex due to the existence of nonlinearities in the water hydraulic system.In order to achieve better pressure control performance of the injecting water to meet the requirements of the WAIM,the proportional pressure control of the WAIM system is investigated both numerically and experimentally.A newly designed water hydraulic system for WAIM is first modeled in AMEsim environment,the load characteristics and the nonlinearities of water hydraulic system are both considered,then the main factors affecting the injecting pressure and load flow rate are extensively studied.Meanwhile,an open-loop model-based compensation control strategy is employed to regulate the water injection pressure and a feedback proportional integrator controller is further adopted to achieve better control performance.In order to verify the AMEsim simulation results WAIM experiment for particular Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene（ABS） parts is implemented and the measured experimental data including injecting pressure and flow rate results are compared with the simulation.The good coincidence between experiment and simulation shows that the AMEsim model is accurate,and the tracking performance of the load pressure indicates that the proposed control strategy is effective for the proportional pressure control of the nonlinear WAIM system.The proposed proportional pressure control strategy and the conclusions drawn from simulation and experiment contribute to the application of water hydraulic proportional control and WAIM technology.

Phase Behaviors in Bi-phase Simulation of Powder Segregation in Metal Injection Molding

Powder segregation induced by mold filling is an important phenomenon that affects the final quality of metal injection molding （MIM）. The prediction of segregation in MIM requires a bi-phase flow model to describe distinctly the flows of metallic powder and polymer binder. Viscous behaviors for the flows of each phase should hence be determined. The coefficient of interaction between the flows of two phases should also be evaluated. However, only viscosity of the mixed feedstock is measurable by capillary tests. Wall sticking is supposed in the traditional model for capillary tests, while the wall slip is important to be taken into account in MIM injection. Objective of the present paper is to introduce the slip effect in bi-phase simulation, and search the suitable way to determine the viscous behaviors for each phase with the consideration of wall slip in capillary tests. Analytical and numerical methods were proposed to realize such a specific purpose. The proposed method is based on the mass conservation between the capillary flows in mono-phase model for the mixed feedstock and in bi-phase model for the flows of two phases. Examples of the bi-phase simulation in MIM were realized with the software developed by research team. The results show evident segregation, which is valuable for improving the mould designs.