Effect of Molecular Weight and Molecular Distribution on Skin Structure and Shear Strength Distribution near the Surface of Thin-Wall Injection Molded Polypropylene

In this study, the relationship between skin structure and shear strength distribution of thin-wall injection molded polypropylene (PP) molded at different molecular weight and molecular distribution was investigated. Skin-core structure, cross-sectional morphology, crystallinity, crystal orientation, crystal morphology and molecular orientation were evaluated by using polarized optical microscope, differential scanning calorimeter, X-ray spectroscopic analyzer and laser Raman spectroscopy, respectively, while the shear strength distribution was investigated using a micro cutting method called SAICAS (Surface And Interfacial Cutting Analysis System). The results indicated that the difference of molecular weight and molecular weight distribution showed own skin layer thickness. Especially, high molecular weight sample showed thicker layer of the lamellar orientation and molecular orientation than low molecular weight sample. In addition, wide molecular distribution sample showed large crystal orientation layer.

The Relationship between Bulk Property and Property Distribution in Thin-Wall Injection Molded PP at Different Molecular Weight and Molecular Weight Distribution

Thin-wall injection molded parts have been paid much attention to the lightweight saving from viewpoints of natural resources saving. In the injection molding, skin-core structure can be found in the parts. This skin-core structure affects the property of completed injection molding parts (bulk property) even if in thin-wall injection molding. However, there is a few research about the relationship between bulk property and internal property distribution in the injection molding specimen. In this study, thin-wall injection molded parts of polypropylene (PP) were prepared by 4 different molecular weight and molecular weight distribution to reveal the relationship between bulk property and property distribution. These characteristics were investigated by using tensile test, fracture toughness characterized by Essential Work of Fracture (EWF) method for bulk property and film tensile test by sliced sample for tensile property distribution. The property distribution test results revealed that the highly bulk property sample had thicker highly mechanical property layer on its surface.

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.

A strategy to obtain a high-density and high-strength zirconia ceramic via ceramic injection molding by the modification of oleic acid

Despite its unique high efficiency and good environmental compatibility, the water-soluble binder system still encounters problems achieving a desired sintered part via ceramic injection molding because of the poor compatibility and the powder-binder segregation between ceramic powders and binders. The objective of this study was to obtain a sintered part with excellent properties by introducing a small quantity of oleic acid to the surface of zirconia powders before the mixing process. As opposed to many previous investigations that focused only on the rheological behavior and modification mechanism, the sintering behavior and densification process were systematically investigated in this study. With the modified powders, debound parts with a more homogeneous and smaller pore size distribution were fabricated. Also, a higher density and greater flexural strength were achieved in the sintered parts fabricated using the modified powders.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF FEEDSTOCK MELT FILLING IN A CYLINDRICAL CAVITY WITH SOLIDIFICATION IN POWDER INJECTION MOLDING

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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.

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.

Powder injection molding of Fe-Ni soft magnetic alloys

With miniaturization and complication of the shape of electronic devices in recent years, powder injection molding (PIM) seems to be a suitable process for fabricating the higher performance soft magnetic components. In this paper, high quality Fe-50Ni soft magnetic alloy was fabricated by PIM with carbonyl iron and nickel, and the effect of sintering process on its microstructure and magnetic properties were investigated. The mechanical and magnetic properties can be obviously improved by increasing the sintering temperature or using the hydrogen atmosphere instead of high vacuum, which causes by the increase of grain size and the densification. At the optimum sintering conditions, the PIM Fe-50Ni soft magnetic alloy with high properties are obtained, whose relative density, tensile strength, Bm, Hc, μm are 97%, 465 MPa, 1.52 T, 16.62 A·m-1, 42.5 mH·m-1, respectively.

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.

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.

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.

Mechanical Properties of Carbon Epoxy Prepreg Insert Phenolic Resin Injection Moldings

This study focuses on the insert-injection molding process. The thermoset composite inserts in this study were carbon fiber/epoxy (CF/Epoxy) prepreg sheets. The injected molded part was glass fiber contained phenolic resin (GF/PF). The CF/Epoxy was placed in the mold cavity prior to injecting GF/PF onto the inserted injection molded CF/Epoxy specimens. The role of adhesion between the inserted part and injected resin on the mechanical properties was evaluated by 3 point bending and impact tests. In addition, the effect of prepreg orientation on the mechanical properties of the prepreg inserted-injection molding system was investigated. It was found that the prepreg with unidirectional orientation significantly improved flexural and impact strength of the inserted injection molding composites, providing better support and resistance to bending and impact loading. The main failure modes of the specimens were structural and adhesive failure.

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.

Injection molding of nano structured 90W-7Ni-3Fe alloy powder prepared by high energy ball milling

Blended elemental 90W 7Ni 3Fe (mass fraction, %) powder was mechanically alloyed in a planetary ball mill. Nano crystalline grains were obtained after 10 h milling. The nano structured powder was processed to full density by metal injection molding approach. Compacts from the optimal powder binder mixture were studied for molding and sintering behaviors. Milling significantly increases the maximum powder loading and homogeneity of the feedstock, and enhances the sintering densification process. When solid state sintered at 1 350～1 450 ℃, the alloy shows very fine grains (～3 μm), high tensile strength (>1 130 MPa) and almost no distortion. [

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.

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.

Simulation of the Interphase of Insert Injection Moldings

In this work, the generalizing of the finite element method (FEM) of thermoplastic prepreg insert injection molding composites was investigated. The specimens were prepared using glass fiber/polyamidc 6 (GF/PA6) inserted prepreg, and their characteristics were investigated and compared under ANSYS workbench program. The prediction of the bending initial fracture point under analytical tensile testing with interlayer on prepreg insert moldings was focused. It was found that the bending initial fracture point was applied to predict by matching the shear stress. There was obtained from analytical tensile testing and bending analysis. Therefore, it can be obtained the optimum of the clastic modulus ratio on the injection part/interlayer/insert part by using FEM via ANSYS workbench.

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.