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Characteristics analysis and mold design for ultrasonic-assisted injection molding

  • Yi-Jen Yang EMAIL logo , Chung-Ching Huang , Shih-Kai Lin and Jie Tao
Published/Copyright: June 17, 2014
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Journal of Polymer Engineering
From the journal Journal of Polymer Engineering Volume 34 Issue 7

Abstract

This study investigated the use of ultrasonic technology in assisted injection molding (AIM) and mold design. An ultrasonic device installed in a mold was employed to vibrate a melt, thereby converting kinetic energy into thermal energy. This method enabled maintaining the desired temperature in the melt flow, preventing a high level of shear and the formation of a thick frozen layer surrounding the skin layer; thus, the injection molding efficiency was enhanced and the residual stress inside the injection-molded component was reduced. In this study, a flat sample (75 mm×47 mm×1 mm) of an ultrasonic-assisted injection mold was developed. An ultrasonic oscillation device 45 mm in diameter was placed in the center of the cavity and used to vibrate a polycarbonate melt at a frequency of 20 KHz. In addition, cavity pressure sensors were positioned at the front and rear of the vibration region to analyze the melt flow behavior under ultrasonic-AIM (UAIM) conditions. The results showed that ultrasonic oscillations can reduce the amount of melt pressure lost through the cavity. The pressure loss of the flat sample used in UAIM was approximately 29% lower than that of the sample used in conventional injection molding (CIM; nonultrasonic-assisted injection); the power of UAIM did not yield substantial effects. Direct ultrasonic oscillations destroyed the melt flow and thermal stresses, therefore, the region exhibited a low stress distribution. Compared with using CIM, using UAIM reduced the average residual stress by 27%. Ultrasonic oscillation affected the surface roughness during melt solidification. When the ultrasonic power was <70%, no substantial increase in surface roughness was observed; however, when the ultrasonic power >70%, the surface roughness was 10 times higher compared with that observed using CIM.

Keywords: pressure loss; residual stress; roughness; ultrasonic-assisted injection molding (UAIM)
Corresponding author: Yi-Jen Yang, Mold and Die Engineering Department, National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, 415 Chien-Kung Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 807, R.O.C., e-mail: ,

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Received: 2013-12-26
Accepted: 2014-5-6
Published Online: 2014-6-17
Published in Print: 2014-9-1

©2014 by De Gruyter

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https://doi.org/10.1515/polyeng-2013-0328
Keywords for this article
pressure loss; residual stress; roughness; ultrasonic-assisted injection molding (UAIM)

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. Editorial improvements at the Journal of Polymer Engineering
  4. Original articles
  5. Cationic copolymerization of 1,3-pentadiene with α-pinene
  6. In vitro degradation of polyglycolic acid synthesized by a one-step reaction
  7. Synthesis of a novel class of mixed-type surfmers and their properties in water
  8. Unique viscosity mutation of multi-generation hyperbranched waterborne polyurethane
  9. Preparation and characterization of oxidized starch-graft-poly(styrene-butyl acrylate) latex via emulsion polymerization
  10. Peroxide vulcanization of natural rubber. Part I: effect of temperature and peroxide concentration
  11. The stimuli-response characters of hydrogels prepared using ultrasound
  12. A new conductometric biosensor based on horseradish peroxidase immobilized on chitosan and chitosan/gold nanoparticle films
  13. A new approach for the development of textile waste cotton reinforced composites (T-FRP): laminated hybridization vs. coupling agents
  14. Effects of the surface treatment of wollastonite on the tensile and flow properties for reinforced polypropylene composites
  15. Effect of the quenching temperature on the mechanical and thermophysical properties of polycarbonate pigmented with titanium dioxide
  16. Processing and characterization of poly(lactic acid) blended with polycarbonate and chain extender
  17. Characteristics analysis and mold design for ultrasonic-assisted injection molding
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