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Extruder Mold
Pressure Inject
Pack gate solidifies
Extrude Solidify
part solidifies
Open Mold
Eject Part
Close Mold
1
Injection Molding
2
Injection Molding
ECONOMICS
Injection molding machine is expensive.
t = cycle time
3
Injection Molding
THE INJECTION MOLDING WINDOW
6
Injection Molding
PACKING STAGE
When the mold is full, flow stops, so there is no longer a pressure drop.
This is why injection molding machines are so large. They have to keep
the mold closed!
11
Injection Molding
SIZING AN INJECTION MOLDING
MACHINE
Packing pressure ∼
= 108 Pa
Clamping force F = P ∗ A
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Injection Molding
CRITIQUE OF OUR MOLD-FILLING
CALCULATION
Our calculation was fairly nasty, yet we made so many assumptions that
the calculation is useless quantitatively.
Assumptions:
1. Constant volumetric flow rate - otherwise keep time derivatives in the
three Navier-Stokes Equations.
13
Injection Molding
BALANCING RUNNER SYSTEMS
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Injection Molding
CONSEQUENCE OF IMBALANCED
RUNNER SYSTEMS
2
Injection Molding
INCOMPRESSIBLE CONTINUITY
EQUATION FOR LIQUIDS
Cartesian coordinates: x, y, z
dVx dVy dVz
+ + =0
dx dy dz
Cylindrical coordinates: r, θ, z
1 d 1 dvθ dvz
(rvr ) + + =0
r dr r dθ dz
Spherical coordinates: r, θ, φ
1 d 2 1 d 1 dvφ
2
(r vr ) + (vθ sin θ) + =0
r dr r sin θ dθ r sin θ dφ
~ · ~v = 0
All are simply ∇
3
Injection Molding
Example: use Hagen-Poiseuille Law to balance the runners
8µLQ
Hagen-Poiseuille Law: ∆P =
πR4
Suppose: RAB = RBC = RCD = RDG ≡ R
2
QBC = Q
3
1
QCD = Q
3
1
QBE = QCF = QDG = Q
6
All lengths are equal, define K ≡ 8µL/π
4
Injection Molding
Pressure drops are additive:
KQBC KQCF
∆PBF = 4
+ 4
RBC RCF
2 KQ KQ
= 4
+ 4
3 R 6RCF
1 1
First Result: ∆PBG = ∆PBF ⇒ 4
=
6RCF 2R4
R
RCF = = 0.76R
31/4
KQ
∆PBE = 4
6RBE
1 7
Second Result: ∆PBE = ∆PBG ⇒ 4
=
6RBE 6R4
R
RBE = = 0.61R
71/4
5
Injection Molding
EXTREME EXAMPLE OF RUNNER
BALANCING
6
Injection Molding
CONVENTIONAL INJECTION MOLDING
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Injection Molding
INJECTION MOLDING DEFECTS
Weld lines
Figure 7: Cold flow fronts recombine to make a visible line that can be
mechanically weak.
Figure 8: Use of ribs instead of a solid section. Solid section (left) and thin
section (right). 10% shrink can be expected.
8
Extrusion
Figure 1: An extruder has two roles: Pumping & Mixing.
1
Extrusion
Unwind helical screw into a flat cartesian coordinate system.
Choose coordinate system that moves with the screw. Then effectively
have the barrel moving with velocity ~vb .
vy = 0 vx = vx (x, y) vz = vz (x, y)
Continuity
dvx
=0 ⇒ vx = vx (y)
dx
N.-S.:
dP d2 vx dP
=µ 2 =0
dx dy dy
2
d vz d2 vz
dP
=µ +
dz dx2 dy 2
B.C. at y = 0, ~v = 0, vx = vz = 0
at y = H, ~v = ~vb , vx = −vb sin θ, vz = vb cos θ
2
Extrusion
y h yi
vx = vb sin θ 2−3
H h
independent of viscosity!
2
at y = H, vx = 0 Observed in experiment
3
5
Extrusion
PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION
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Single-Screw Extrusion
THE EXTRUDER CHARACTERISTIC
A. W. Birley, B. Haworth and J. Batchelor, Physics of Plastics:
Processing, Properties and Materials Engineering, Hanser
(1992) Chapter 4.
(on reserve in Deike Library)
1
Single-Screw Extrusion
THE EXTRUDER CHARACTERISTIC
DRAG FLOW – the Couette flow between the rotating
screw and the stationary barrel
Z H
Volumetric Flow Rate from Drag QD = W v(y)dy (4.2)
0
W Vz Z H W Vz H 2 W Vz H
QD = ydy = = (4.3)
H 0 H 2 2
2
Single-Screw Extrusion
THE EXTRUDER CHARACTERISTIC
π
QD = W HDN cos θ ≡ αN (4.6)
2
The drag flow effectively pumps the polymer through the
extruder.
QD is proportional to the rotation speed N .
Proportionality constant α only depends on screw geometry.
3
Single-Screw Extrusion
THE EXTRUDER CHARACTERISTIC
PRESSURE FLOW – the Poiseuille flow suppressing
flow through the extruder
Extruders usually have some FLOW RESTRICTION (like a
die) at the end of the extruder. This creates a pressure gradient
along the screw that works against the flow through the screw:
W H 3 ∆P β
QP = − ≡ − ∆P (4.7)
12µ L µ
Q = QD + QP (4.8)
QP = 0 and Q = QD
4
Extrusion
Velocity along the axial direction of the extruder is a vector sum of vx
and vz .
va = vx cos θ + vz sin θ
No flow restriction (pure drag flow)
Optimum Pumping
vz = vb cos θ(y/H)2
vz = 0 at y = 0 and at y = H/2
8
Single-Screw Extrusion
THE EXTRUDER CHARACTERISTIC
In general the die restricts the flow somewhat, but not
completely. Combining equations 4.6, 4.7, and 4.8, we get the
EXTRUDER CHARACTERISTIC:
β
Q = αN − ∆P (4.13)
µ
5
Single-Screw Extrusion
THE DIE CHARACTERISTIC
There is a simple relation between pressure drop and volu-
metric flow rate in the die.
∆P
Q=K (4.21)
µ
πR4
Circular Die: K= Hagen-Poiseuille Law
8L
W H3
Slit Die: K=
12L
6
Single-Screw Extrusion
EFFECT OF PROCESS VARIABLES
7
Residence Time Distribution
Without disturbing the steady-state flow, insert a dye marker uniformly
across the cross sectional area of the input, at time t = 0.
∆P 2
R − r2
P1 > P 2 vr = vθ = 0 vz =
4µL
Residence time depends on radial position because velocity depends on radial
position.
L 4µL2
t= =
vz ∆P [R2 − r2 ]
Shortest residence time at centerline of pipe because the maximum velocity
is there.
L 4µL2
t0 = = (t at r = 0)
vmax ∆P R2
1
Residence Time Distribution
Mean residence time:
Z ∞ ∞
∞
2t20 dt 2t20
Z
t̄ = tf (t)dt = =−
0 t0 t2 t t0
t̄ = 2t0
Comparison of residence time distributions
For pipe flow: t̄f (t) = 4(t0 /t)3 = (t̄/t)3 /2
Figure 1: Extruder flow has a narrower residence time distribution than pipe
flow because the extruder has cross-channel flows and thus improved mixing.
3
TWIN-SCREW EXTRUSION
Get better axial mixing with a twin-screw than with a single-screw ex-
truder. Important for 2-phase blends.