Introduction to Injection Moulding

Injection moulding is the most commonly used manufacturing process for the fabrication of
plastic parts. A wide variety of products are manufactured using injection moulding, which
vary greatly in their size, complexity, and application. The injection moulding process
requires the use of an injection moulding machine, raw plastic material, and a mould. The
plastic is melted in the injection moulding machine and then injected into the mould, where it
cools and solidifies into the final part. The steps in this process are described in greater detail
in the next section.
Working Principle
In this process, the plastic materials usually in the form of powder or pellets are fed from
hopper into the injection chamber. The piston and cylinder arrangement is used to forward
the material inserted from the hopper in to the injection chamber. The plastic material is
heated in the injection chamber with the application of heating elements. The cooling system
is also used to maintain the temperature of the injection chamber. The molten plastic material
is then injected into the mould cavity through a nozzle. The moulded part is cooled quickly in
the mould. Thereafter, the final plastic part is removed from the mould cavity. The process
cycle for injection molding is very short, typically between 2 to 60 seconds. The complete
injection molding process is divided into four stages: clamping, injection, cooling and
ejection.

Fig.1 Injection molding setup

Clamping: The two halves of the mould must be tightly closed, before the molten plastic
material is injected into the mould. One half of the mould is attached to the injection unit
(nozzle) and other half is allowed to slide on the guide ways. The clamping of mould is
operated hydraulically which it pushes the moving half part of the mould towards the fixed
part to make an air tight chamber. The force and the time required closing and open the
mould depends upon the machine capability.
Injection: During this process, the plastic material is melted by the application of heat and
Forwarded through the piston towards the nozzle and finally into the mould. The function of
Torpedo in the heating zone is to spread the molten plastic into the thin film. The molten
plastic is then injected into the mould cavity quickly. The amount of material that is injected
into the mould is referred to as the shot volume. The injection time can be estimated by the

shot volume, injection power and pressure. The schematic of injection molding process is
shown in figure.

Fig.2 Injection moulding

Injection molding machines can fasten the moulds in either a horizontal or vertical
position. The majority of machines are horizontally oriented, but vertical machines are used
in some niche applications such as insert molding, allowing the machine to take advantage of
gravity. Some vertical machines also don't require the mould to be fastened. There are many
ways to fasten the tools to the platens, the most common being manual clamps (both halves
are bolted to the platens); however hydraulic clamps (chocks are used to hold the tool in
place) and magnetic clamps are also used. The magnetic and hydraulic clamps are used where
fast tool changes are required.

The plastic injection moulding process produces large numbers of parts of high quality with
great accuracy, very quickly. Plastic material in the form of granules is melted until soft
enough to be injected under pressure to fill a mould. The person designing the mould
chooses whether the mould uses a cold runner system or a hot runner system to carry the
plastic from the injection unit to the cavities. A cold runner is a simple channel carved into
the mould. The plastic that fills the cold runner cools as the part cools and is then ejected with
the part as a sprue. A hot runner system is more complicated, often using cartridge heaters to

keep the plastic in the runners hot as the part cools. After the part is ejected, the plastic
remaining in a hot runner is injected into the next par.

1.1.

Process of Injection Moulding Machine:

Just as in die casting, the mould is specially made for each part, and the basic
elements of each mould are the same, including sprue gates Runners and vents; in addition,
the location of ejection pins is usually specified in the m old design, since there points have
visible marks (therefore ejection is usually done from the core side, and is usually mounted
into the mould half mounted on the moving platen). The cavity is divided between the two
mould halves in such a way that the natural shrinkage of the molding causes the part to stick
to the moving half. When the mould opens, the ejector pins push the part out of the mould
cavity. We look at the details of moulds in more detail below.
a. Two-Plate Mould: This consists of two halves fastened to the two platens of the molding
machine's clamping unit. When the clamping unit is opened, the mould halves separate.
Moulds can contain one multiple cavities to produce one or multiple parts in a single shot
(last example in figure 11 below). The parting surface is the surface shared by the two mould
halves.
The cooling system is made up of passages in the mould that are connected to an external
pump. Water is circulated through them to remove heat from the hot plastic. The air trapped
in the cavity passes through the small ejector pin clearances in the mould and through narrow
vents that are machined into the parting surface (typically about 0.03 mm deep and 12 to 25
mm wide).

Figure (a). A two-plate mould

b. Three-plate mould: This design (see figure below) has some advantages. The molten
plastic flows through a gate located at the base of the cup-shaped part, rather than at the side.
This allows more even distribution of melt into the sides of the cup. In the side gate design in
the two-plate the plastic must flow around the core and join on the opposite side, possibly
creating a weakness at the weld line. Secondly, the three-plate mould allows more automatic
operation of the molding machine. As the mould opens, the three plates separate; this forces
the runner to break from the parts, which drop by gravity or using air-blower into collecting
containers put under the mould.

Figure (b). A three-plate mould

1.2 Moulds with cores/cams: Many injection moulded parts have some part of the
geometry that is inaccessible to either of the mould halves. Such regions must be created
by means of extra moving parts in the mould. Figure 13 below shows a cup-shaped part
with a through-hole. One method to mould this part is by the use of a core. The figure
below shows the steps of the mould opening. Figure 14(a) shows a more complex mould
with four side action cams. Typical side-action cam design is shown in Figure 14(b); the
top (red) part is connected with the bolt on top to the moving platen. As the mould opens,
the green part is forced to slide to the right. The mould-piece that creates the insert
geometry is attached to the green piece by the blue bolt.

Figure: 1.2. Injection molding a part with side action using core

Cooling: The injected molten plastic begins to cool as soon as it comes in contact with the
mould surfaces. As the moulded part cools, it will solidify into the desired shape of the
product

Cooling time generally dominates cycle time

Ejection: The moulded part, which is attached to the rear half of the mould has to be ejected
from the mould. When the mould is opened, an ejector mechanism is used to push the part
out of the mould. Force must be applied to eject the plastic part because during cooling the
moulded part shrinks and adheres to the mould surface. A mould release agent should be
sprayed onto the mould surfaces prior to injection of the material. Once the moulded part is
ejected, the mould will be closed for the next shot to be injected. The important process
parameters that have to be considered during the injection molding
Process are: injection temperature and pressure, shot volume, mould temperature, cooling
time, ejection temperature, and cycle time. Some of the common injection molding defects
are flash, blister, warping, bubbles, unfilled Sections, jetting, sink and ejector marks. These
defects can be eliminated by optimal selection of the process parameters.
Materials Used
The injection molding process can be used to process materials such as Acetal, Acrylic,
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Cellulose Acetate, Polyamide (Nylon),
Polycarbonate, Polyester, Polyether Sulphone (PS), Polyetheretherketone (PEEK),
Polyetherimide, Polyethylene, Polyphenylene Oxide, Polyphenylene Sulphide (PPS),
Polypropylene (PP), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), and Elastomers.
Types of Injection Moulding Machines:
There are several types in the injection machine, and the difference is made by how these two
devices are arranged.
a. Horizontal injection machine both mould clamping device and injection device
compounded horizontally
b. Vertical injection machine both mould clamping device and injection device
compounded vertically
c. Two-colour injection machine
d. Rotary injection machine
e. Low foam injection machine
f. Multi material injection machine
g. Sandwich injection machine
2. Selection of injection machine:
The Selection of injection moulding machine is carried in the following aspects
Select by injection volume
Select by mould clamping pressure
Nozzle structure

Injection mechanism
Backflow prevention ring
Drying machine

Fig.2.1 Selection of molding machine from the injection capacity

Injection Molding Considerations:
Steps in designing an Injection Mould

The design of injection mould tooling requires several steps. The molding directions will
determine the number of inserts/cams required, which severely affects the cost of the tooling.
After finding the suitable molding direction, the parting lines are determined. The parting
planes form the surface of the mould halves usually, the parting planes are formed by
extending the parting line outwards, perpendicular to the molding direction. The gating
design determines where to locate the gate(s). If a multiple cavity mould is made, the relative
positions of the multiple parts are determined. The runners are designed, and sprue is located.
Then the functional parts of the mould are created next this includes the part ejection
system, systems to eject the solidified runners etc. Finally, the alignment rods that will keep
all mould components aligned during operation are designed. The following figures show a
simple example for molding a cup. Figure 2.2 shows a cup-shaped part. There is only one
possible parting line (why?). The ideal parting surface for this line is a plane. Figure 16
shows the stages of development of the mould. Note that here a plate is used to eject the cup,
rather than ejection pins [Exercise: comment on this choice].

Fig.2.2 A simple part

Fig.2.3. Stages of development of the injection mould

Fig.2.4. the mould in operation

3. Considerations in design of injection moulded parts:
There are several geometric and design considerations for parts manufactured using
injection molding. Many of these considerations have resulted in a large set of guidelines
for geometric features in the design. The two biggest geometric concerns are (i) proper flow
of the plastic to all parts of the mould cavity before it solidifies, and (ii) shrinking of the
plastic resulting in sink holes. Some examples of the first concern include: if the part
thickness is too small, plastic flow is restricted due to high friction; if the gate is too far
away from some small features of the geometry, or is there is a constriction in the path
along which the plastic will flow; another guideline is that the cross section of the part
should not change abruptly, since this leads to poor flow. Regarding the second concern,
guidelines include (a) maintaining uniform cross-section thickness throughout the part; use
of ribs and gussets to provide mechanical strength instead of using thicker sections etc.
Figure 20 shows a comparison of strength of parts of the same length but different crosssections the examples demonstrate that the use of ribs will result in lighter parts for a
given stiffness. Figures below demonstrate some of the guidelines for common moulded
geometry.

Fig.3.1 Comparison of breaking stress under bending moments on bars of different cross-section geometry

Fig.3.2 Example of improving design for injection moulded parts

The main ejection-related guideline is the same as for all casting/molding processes: providing for tapered
shapes by applying a draft angle to all part surfaces with normal vector perpendicular to the molding
direction. Another consideration in injection molding is regarding weld lines. As the plastic flows to fill
the mould, there are some regions where the advancing front of the plastic flowing from different
directions meets. At this point the two flows mix together however, the solidified plastic has slightly less
strength along the line where this occurs. Lines along which this happens are called weld lines. An
example is shown in the molding of a phone cover plate

Stages:
THE INJECTION MOULDING CYCLE
There are three main stages in the injection moulding cycle; stage 1, injection, followed by
stage 2, holding pressure and plasticating, and finally, stage 3, ejection of the moulded part.
When stage 3 is completed, the mould closes again and the cycle starts over again.

Production Cycle in Injection Moulding

Connection of the injection and mould units
Screw back I
Mould closed
Injection
Packing
Screw back II.
Ejection
Cycle (3) to (8) is repeated.
Stage 1
INJECTION OF THE PLASTIC MELTS INTO THE MOULD: In stage 1, the mould is
closed and the nozzle of the extruder is pushed against the sprue bushing of the mould. The
screw, not rotating at this point, is pushed forward so that the plastic melt in front of the
screw is forced into the mould.
Stage 2
HOLDING PRESSURE AND PLASTICATING:
When the mould is completely filled, the screw remains stationary for some time to keep the
plastic in the Mould under pressure; this is called the hold time. During the hold time
additional melt is injected into the mould to compensate for contraction due to cooling. Later,
the gate, which is the narrow entrance into the mould, freezes. At this point the mould is
isolated from the injection unit. However, the melt within the mould is still at high pressure.
As the melt cools and solidifies, the pressure should be high enough to avoid sink-marks, but
low enough to allow easy removal of the parts.
During the plastication stage, the material is pushed forward from the feed hopper through
the barrel and towards the nozzle by a rotating screw. When the gate freezes, the screw
rotation is started. The period of screw rotation is called screw recovery. The rotation of the
screw causes the plastic to be conveyed forward. As the plastic moves forward, heat from the
electric heater bands along the barrel and shear starts to melt the plastic. At the discharge end
of the screw, the plastic will be completely melted. The melt that accumulates at the end of
the screw pushes the screw backward. Thus the screw rotates and moves backward at the
same time. The rate at which plastic melt accumulates in front of the screw can be controlled
by the screw backpressure, that is, the hydraulic pressure exerted on the screw. This also
controls the melt pressure in front of the screw.
When sufficient melt gets accumulated in front of the screw, the rotation of the screw stops.
During screw recovery the plastic in the mould is cooled, but typically the cooling is not
finished by the end of screw recovery. As a result, the screw will remain stationary for some
period until cooling is completed. This period is often referred to as soak time. During this
time additional plastic will melt in the extruder from conductive heating. Also, the melted
material will reach more thermal uniformity, although the soak time is usually too short to
improve thermal homogeneity significantly.

Stage 3
EJECTION: When the material in the mould has cooled sufficiently to retain its shape, the
mould opens and the parts are ejected from the mould as shown in Fig. 2.2. When the
moulded part has been ejected, the mould closes and the cycle starts over again. The
different stages can be graphically illustrated as shown in Fig. 2.3. The top bar shows the
movement of the extruder screw, the second bar shows the action going on inside the mould
and the third bar indicates at what times the mould is open and closed. As can be seen in Fig.
2.3 the major part of the injection moulding cycle is the cooling time required for the plastic
in the mould to reduce to a temperature where the part can be removed without significant
distortion. The main variable that determines the cooling time is the thickness of the moulded
part.
5. Moulding condition:
4.1.1 Resin temperature:
When moulding NOVADURAN, resin temperature should be generally about 240
265. Liquidity will be better as the temperature rises, but extremely high temperature will
accelerate heat degradation which will end up with physicality deterioration of the moulded
article.
4.1.2 Injection and pressure keeping:
a Pressure
Injection pressure can be considered as the fill pressure (primary pressure) and the hold
pressure (secondary pressure). Generally the fill pressure will be set stronger than the hold
pressure. When low-temperature solidification, crystalline resin like NOVADURAN will
cause a big shrink, therefore the hold pressure is necessary for filling up and is closely related
to the molding shrinkage. Increasing the hold pressure is effective to resolve sink and void
problem, but if it increase too much, it might cause burr, so the attention is required.
b Injection speed
In the case of thin moulded product or multi-cavity moulded product which severe size
precision is required, faster injection speed is better. In contrast, slower injection speed is
better for thick moulded product. Also, the program control of injection speed is effective to
resolve the jetting and the flow mark.
c Injection time
Setting will differ by the molding machine, but basically should be considered as below.
Injection time (filling time + pressure keeping time) > gate sealing time. Gate sealing time is
the time when resin stops flowing by solidification at the gate part. If pressure keeping is put
away before the gate is sealed, molten resin will backflow from the gate by the tool internal
pressure, which will cause measurement and physicality variability, and warpage, sink, and
void problems, because of decrease in moulded product's filling density (packing property).
To estimate the gate sealing time, measure the weight of
Moulded product by gradually increasing the injection time, and look for the injection time
when the weight of moulded became a certain amount and stop changing.

(d) Back flow prevention

The measurement might become instable by the gas and the air generated from molten resin
when plasticization. To stabilize the measurement and improve the kneading effect, put the
screw back pressure 5 10kg/cm2 on. However, if the back pressure is too strong, it
might degrade the plasticization ability.

Fig.2 Back flow ring type equipped with nail

Fig.3 Design of Shut off Valve

As for compound reinforced PC such as glass fibre reinforced material etc. the backflow
prevention ring sometimes cracks when the load becomes large compared with the nonreinforced material. When molding without being aware of this, the uneven dimension and
the deviation from tolerance in the molding of a precise part occur due to the unstable
measurement. It is necessary to note that such a trouble easily occurs in case of overload and
insufficient purge.
Flow Related Properties:
General descriptions for shrinkage of polymers
Crystalline materials shrink about 1-4%
Amorphous materials shrink about 0.3-0.7%.
Mouldings with high degree of orientation will shrink more
The percentage shrinkage in the flow direction is usually higher.
Unfilled polymers tend to shrink more.
Generally speaking, processing parameter used to minimise orientation will reduce
the shrinkage.

3.1

Nozzle

A nozzle with the structure without PC stagnation is desirable as possible. Therefore, it is

necessary to avoid using the needle shut off nozzle and torpedo nozzle due to resin
stagnation. The open nozzle is the best for use. The open nozzle is easy to cause drooling,
stringiness, and it is difficult to prevent them but using a long-extended nozzle and adjusting
independently the temperature at two separate places of the tip and the bottom, are effective.
3.2
Heater
Since PC is moulded at high temperature, the heater with heat capacity can be heated to about
370 is used, and a band heater is usually used. When disassembling to clean the nozzle and
cylinder head and when the heater is stuck with drooling resin, the heater is disconnected. It
is necessary to note that it is easy to cause the burn when continuing molding without being
aware of heater disconnection.
4. Mould temperature
Generally, 60 to 80 is suitable for mould temperature of NOVADURAN, and this is the
most important 4 point in the molding condition. If high cycle molding is intended,
molding in temperature of about 20 to 30 is possible by using chiller temperature
controller, but require attention because it might cause deformation by the residual strain
inside the moulded product, and dimension change by after contraction might be bigger
Depending on the usage environment (high temperature atmosphere). It is effective to raise
the mould temperature to about 120, when dimension stability is required since assumed to
use under a high temperature atmosphere, or high level of surface gloss is necessary.
4.1 Temperature control and setting:
Typical processing temperatures for commercial thermoplastics include as follows:
Material
Temperature
LDPE
150-280 oC
HDPE
170-290 oC
UPVC
160-200 oC
PP
200-260 oC
PS
180-300 oC
PMMA
190-240 oC
Nylon 6,6 270-285 oC
5. Multistep program control:
The improvement of poor appearance of the mouldings, the reduction of size unevenness
between the molding shots, and the measures against sink marks, warpage and flash can
be achieved by controlling the injection rate, holding pressure, screw rotation speed and
back pressure with multistep program control at the time of injection. The effect of
multistep program control in PC and its control system are indicated in Fig. 1 3-1. The
outline is introduced below.

Table: 1. Effect of multistep control (in case of PC)

Fig. 3 Outline of multistep program control system

Fig.4 Injection Moulding cycle time

Control of the injection rate:
Since the poor appearance is resulted from the change of rate of the flow front, the measures
can be done by controlling the injection rate. The relationship between the flow rate and the
defective phenomena is summarized in Table. It can be understood that the injection rate
should be set to an appropriate range because there is a problem even if the flow rate is too
fast or too slow.

Table: 2 Flow rate and defective phenomena

2.3 THE MOULD

Each mould, sometimes referred to as a tool, is built to exact specifications of the part or
parts required by the customer. The mould typically consists of two mould halves. Usually
one mould half contains the cavity and forms the outer shape of the part. This part of the
mould is called the cavity side. The other mould half contains a protruding shape and forms
the inner shape of the part, this mould part is called the core. When the core is clamped
against the cavity, the hollow space that is formed defines the shape of the part to be
moulded. The plastic is usually injected into the mould from the cavity side.
The mould cavities are cut to dimensions larger than the desired part dimensions to
compensate for the plastic shrinkage which occurs during cooling. The cavity dimensions are
equal to the part dimensions plus some shrink factor supplied by the material manufacturer.
There are usually two shrink factors given, one for dimensions in the direction of the flow
and the other for dimensions perpendicular to the direction of the flow. Estimating shrinkage,
however, is not straight forward. It is often difficult to predict the melt flow path in parts with
complex geometries and therefore, it is not clear which shrink factor to apply. Part shrinkage
is also influenced by the process conditions.
Mould unit
The advantages of the toggle system are:
Giving high speed of closing and opening the mould.
Comparatively simple.
Low cost
The disadvantages are:
No indication of the clamping force.
More difficult to control
Wear on the joint of the toggle system
Closing/opening forces are small.
More maintenance is required.
THE RUNNER SYSTEM
A mould basically consists of properly designed sprue, runner, gate, and cavity. The sprue is
the channel, cut in the stationary platen that transports the melt from the plasticiser nozzle to
the runner. Once the plastic melt enters the mould, it flows through a distribution system,
called the runner system, and then through the gates into the mould cavities. In a so-called
cold runner system, a new runner is moulded in each moulding cycle and the runner is ejected

together with the moulded parts. The plastic of the runner can often be reprocessed and
moulded again. In the design of the runner system the objective is to have the plastic reach all
gates at the same time. This is an important issue in multi-cavity moulds. In a rectangular
runner system, the number of cavities is a multiple of two. In a circular runner any number of
cavities can be used. The gate connects the runner to the actual part. The cross section of the
gate is usually small so that the runner can be easily removed from the part and does not
leave a large gate mark on the part.
Sprue:
The sprue is the first part in the mould unit which receives molten polymer injected from the
nozzle.
Gate system:
Gates should be kept as small as possible in order to:
Obtain rapid cooling and reduce the cycle time.
Allow the moulding to be separated
Increase shear rate as the melt enters the gate, reducing the melt viscosity.
Polymer melts flow in a mould:
This involves the flow of polymer melts in a mould cavity during a non-steady cooling, the
temperature of the melt in the cavity progressively decreasing as the melt flows in (filling
process occurring in the mould cavity).
The flow in the mould involves:
1. Fountain flow
2. Multi-layers of the flow
Skin layer
Shear layer
Core layer
Each layer has its own characteristics which control the properties of the moulding.
6. MOULD COOLING
During the moulding cycle, heat is first required to be put into the material and then that heat
must be removed as quickly, and as consistently as possible, if the rapid production of
consistent products is to be obtained. As most modern injection moulding machines are screw
machines, heat input is relatively easy. Heat removal from the plastics material contained in
the mould is, however, difficult as plastics material contains a lot of heat and has a low
thermal conductivity.
Cooling allows the plastic to solidify and become dimensionally stable before ejection. Heat
that has been transferred to the mould by the molten plastic is carried away by a coolant that
circulates through cored passages in the mould. Coolant temperature and flow rate determines
the efficiency of heat removal. Cooling the moulded components uniformly may mean either,
cooling the mould with different flow rates of cooling medium in different areas or, using the
same flow rate throughout the mould but with different temperatures of cooling medium. The
objective is to cool the components as quickly and as uniformly as possible, while ensuring
that defects such as poor surface finish and changes in physical properties are not
encountered.
The design of the mould cooling passages also affects the ability to remove heat from the
mould. The mould surfaces closest to the cored passages will cool first. Differences in mould
temperature distribution will affect reproducibility of moulding parts.

Determination of Freeze Time in Injection Moulding:

Cooling cycle is the longest period in injection moulding. The aim is to keep the cooling
cycle as short as possible.
Parameters involved in cooling process include:
1. Melt temperature
2. Mould temperature
3. Mould thickness
Effects of processing conditions on the freeze time, changing one thing at a time:
Doubling the specimen thickness from 4 mm to 8mm gives the freeze time of 21.7
seconds (100%increase).
Doubling the mould temperature from 28oC to56oC gives the freeze time of 13.7
seconds (27%increase).
Changing the polymer materials (this refers to the difference in the value of thermal
diffusivity at a given temperature) from LDPE to polystyrene having a thermal
diffusivity value of 1.0x10-7 m2s-1 gives the freeze time of 15.2 seconds (41%
increase).
What do you predict about cooling curves of following polymers?
Semi-crystalline polymers
Amorphous polymers
Effects of processing conditions on shrinkage:
i.Mould temperature
ii.Injection pressure
iii.Hold-on pressure
iv.Hold-on time
v.Gate size
vi.Additives

Non-uniform shrinkage:
Caused by:
Non-uniform cooling
Geometry of the moulding (having various wall thicknesses of the moulding)
Non-uniform shrinkage is also related to:
Internal flow
Warpage
Cold flow
Internal and residual stresses

Crystallinity and density

They are dependent on cooling characteristics.
In practice, since the cooling rates across the moulding thickness are
Not uniform the crystalline sizes are expected to be different.
As the degree of crystallinity rises, the density increases.
7. PROCESS VARIABLES
Each process variable can be categorized into one of the five main types such as speed,
pressure, time, temperature and stroke. The relationship between the five is of an interactive
nature as each variable cannot be readily isolated. This relationship can be simply
demonstrated, for example, upon increasing the hydraulic back pressure, the linear retraction
speed of the screw (during recovery) changes causing an increase in the screw recovery time,
the melt temperature and/or homogeneity. As a result of the increase in the melt temperature
further changes occur to the mould fill time, the injection pressure, the mould temperature,
the product ejection temperature and the product dimensions. Hence, by increasing a pressure
variable (for example, the hydraulic back pressure) three other main variable types are
collectively influenced. More important, the process and subsequently the moulded
components are affected.
When changes to a particular process variable or machine setting do occur (which
significantly affect the stability of the moulding process so that defective components are
produced) it is important that the correct process variable should be controlled so as to rectify
the disturbance. For instance, the selection of the wrong hopper throat temperature can cause
short mouldings to be produced which then misleads the moulder into altering other variables
(for example the holding pressure and/or, the shot volume and/or, the mould filling speed
etc.) to overcome the short moulding problem. As the initial selection was incorrect, the
process remains unstable but, in changing another variable type, the moulder is led to believe
that the problem is resolved. However, in reality defective and/or inconsistent parts will
continue to be produced throughout the production run.
The following headings highlight typical process variables which need to be monitored
and/or controlled during each cycle. Each of the listed variables will not be discussed in detail
to highlight the importance of each variable with respect to the stability of the process.
Process variables can be categorized as follows:
Effects of Processing Variables on Production:
i.
Melt temperature
ii.
Mould temperature
iii.
Mould design
iv. Injection speed (injection time)
v. Screw rotation speed
vi.
Injection pressure
vii.
Hold-on pressure
viii.
Back pressure
ix.
Mould clamping speed
x.
Polymer used

SPEED RELATED PROCESS VARIABLES

Mould opening and closing speeds
Injection speed
Screw rotation speed
Screw recovery speed
Component retraction speed
Pressure Related Process Variables
Injection pressure
Holding pressure
Hydraulic back pressure
Time Related Process Variables
Injection time
Holding pressure time
Pause (dwell) time
Cooling time
Cycle time
Temperature Related Process Variables
Melt temperature
Mould temperature
Barrel temperature
Cooling water temperature
The extent of the variability encountered is a good indicator of the level of inherent
stability present within the moulding process. Hence, the smaller the variation the more
consistent and stable is the process.
Parameters affecting the thickness of each layer:
1. Mould temperature
2. Initial melt temperature
3. Flow rate (injection speed)
4. Thermal conductivity of polymers
5. Mould thickness
Applications
This process can be used to manufacture thin walled plastic housing products which require
many ribs and bosses on the interior surfaces. These housings are used in a variety of
products including household appliances, electronics, and automotive dashboards. Other
common thin walled products include different types of open containers, such as buckets. It is
also used to produce several daily use items such as toothbrushes or small plastic toys, many
medical devices, including valves and syringes.
The advantages and disadvantages of the injection molding process are given below:
As you plan your project, it helps to have a basic understanding of plastic injection
molding, its advantages and its design limitations. Injection molding is a popular

manufacturing process used to create plastic parts by injecting heated material into a specific
mould.
Advantages
There are several advantages when using injection molding over other plastic molding
process. It allows plastic-molding companies to be able to produce more complex products
in different shapes and designs that otherwise would be too difficult or impossible to make
the cost of the product would be considerable higher as well. With the injection molding
process molding companies will be able to mass produce parts and create the product at the
same time. Injection molding creates a high production output while having a low labour cost
and it is an easy process to repeat. Injection molding allows for workload to be cut down
there isnt much to do after the molding process, because the product is essentially finished. It
also helps to save resources for plastic molding companies, because the company will be able
to recycle material or any unused molding plastic or scraps. Those items can be melted down
and reground for possible future use, therefore the company has very little wasted material.
Another advantage to injection molding is the flexible design and the wide range of materials
that can be used. Not only can injection molding help save a plastic molding company money
and time it also allows for mass production in a more efficient way, that way productivity
may increase, but there are still some minor disadvantages to injection molding
Higher production rate
Close tolerances on small intricate parts
Minimum wastage of material
Complex geometry can be easily produced
The process is accurately repeatable.
Complex designs are possible.
No preheating & preforming of material are required.
No finishing and painting are required.
High product rate is obtainable.
Labour cost is low.
Disadvantages
Even though there are a lot of advantages to injection molding there still are some minor
disadvantages when it comes to this process. The designs will have to be created before any
process may begin, this could put production behind schedule or cost more money for the
company. There are also some limitations to what types of designs can be made with this
process. Though there are some minor disadvantages, the main concern is the cost of the
injection molding machine, the process could possibly be a setback for certain companies
who dont have a set of rule to follow, lastly there are some limitations as to what may be
designed when using the injection molding process.
Tooling cost higher
High setup cost
Large undercuts cant be formed