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Seminar Report: Reaction Injection Molding
Seminar Report: Reaction Injection Molding
Submitted by
ASHWIN VARKEY
REG. NO.:160909372
MECHANICAL SECTION B
ROLL NO: 49
EMAIL ID:ashwinvarkey9@gmail.com
CONTENTS
Pg.no
1. INTRODUCTION 3
1.1 Types
1.2 Raw Materials
3. TOOLING 8
3.1 Mold materials
3.2 Mold design parameters
5. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 14
5.1 Taguchi method
5.2 Artificial Neural Networks (ANN)
5.3 Finite Element Method (FEM)
5.4 Linear Regression model
6. REFERENCES 19
LIST OF FIGURES
1. INTRODUCTION
The Reaction Injection Molding process (RIM) was conceived in the laboratories of
Bayer AG, Leverkusen, West Germany, about 1964. The Reaction Injection Molding
process is a structural foam molding process. This process is most suited for
1.1 Types
In this process, instead of utilising chopped and short fibres, continuous woven fibre
mat or CSM (chopped strand mat) can be applied. But if the reinforcing agents are
combined with the mixture, then the process is known as reinforced reaction injection
The reaction injection molding (RIM) method employs low-viscosity liquid polymers.
These polymers grow and thicken through a number of chemical reactions. After the
polymers have been introduced into the heated mold, they harden. Through the RIM
design process, raw materials and molding techniques can be chosen and
customized, deliver the desired weight, strength, density and hardness characteristics
that are required. The following raw materials are generally used in RIM,
lactic acid, poly vinyl alcohol, and soy based plastic, starch polymers etc.
iii. Reinforcement: Glass fiber, carbon fiber, aramid fiber, mica, plant fibers like
banana, nettle, hemp, flax (all these fibers are used in the form of short fibers,
standard injection molding. RIM is one of the advanced processing techniques for
impingement and injected into the mold cavity. The biochemical reaction starts
The mixing tool applies pressures typically between 1,400 and 3,000 psi to mix the
plastics through impingement. After the reactants incorporate, they are injected into
the mold at high speed. The mixing head stops releasing reactants when the mold is
filled to limit.
Mixhead is designed to develop turbulence in the mix chamber to carefully mix the two
components. Mix chamber is a small cylinder having components come from opposite
sides of chamber. Streams should have equal energy momentum at the time they
meet. Metered shot is removed from mixing chamber by a tightly fitting ram and flows
directly into mold .Mold is normally filled from underneath so air can easily push out
ahead of flow. Shot fills mold to about 90% and expansion during chemical reaction
of the polyol and isocyanate completes the fill. An exothermic chemical reaction
After the polymer solidifies, it is ejected from the mold in the shape of the component
required. Components react and gel within a range of 2 - 10 secs from the beginning
of injection. Mold remains closed for the time period to allow sufficient cure so part
can be removed and handled preventing damage (30 - 90 secs). Knockout pins,
automatic slides, or pneumatic devices in the mold used to help with demolding. RIM
than thermal energy, RIM produces chemical energy caused due to polymerization
reactions [3].
The intimate mixing of isocyanate and polyol streams is important to a successful RIM
operation. Upon entering the mold cavity the materials follow a series of events, during
which the viscosity of the flowing mixture increases during mold filling due to chemical
reaction, the modulus of the material in the mold cavity increases as curing continues
after the mold cavity is filled, and finally the product is ejected from the mold after a
sufficient degree of cure is attained. In other words, when the mold cavity is filled in a
reasonable short time, cure reactions take place to form a three-dimensional network.
Then while chemical reactions continue to yield large molecules with network
structure, the mixed stream fills mold cavity and subsequently solidifies. Therefore,
RIM can be regarded as a process where fluid flow, heat transfer, and chemical
3. TOOLING
The molds used with the RIM process can be made from a variety of materials: cast
and machined aluminium, composites, sprayed metal, epoxy, nickel shell and steel.
The choice is determined by the number of parts to be made, dimensions, shapes and
tolerances, surface texture, mold life, mold cost and part performance.
Silicone rubbers are used in making reaction injection moulds as it is equipped with
very low quantities of dimensionally no critical parts. Resin mold are used for
components requiring more detail and better physical properties. Spray metal molds
offer better control of surface quality and enhanced moldability. A composite system
with an epoxy and aluminium chip mixture acts as the backup structure for the thin
metal surface. Aluminium frames are cast to act as a mould base for mounting ejector
systems, mix head, side pulls, and to ultimately mount to a production press because
RIM products have uniform shrink and dimensional stability. Low mold temperatures
of 120 to 160F help reduce part shrinking. Wall thicknesses from 3/16" to 1/4" are
preferred. Molded thicknesses can be ranged to well over 1/2" without sink marks in
the molded surfaces. Densities are from 37 to 41 pounds per cubic foot. Screw threads
are used by inserting brass screw inserts into molded gaps after the part is molded.
the type of RIM system injected inside the mold. Generally, clamping pressure
can be upwards of 200 tons, but typical molding pressure is around 100 psi.
Mold Cost – RIM molds can cost 70% less than injection molding. Lower in-
machined aluminum.
Part shrinkage – all plastics, including RIM materials, shrink during molding.
Due to its low processing temperatures and decreased injection pressures, RIM is
well-suited for molding significant components with shifting wall thickness and smooth
surface finishes. Manufacturers can also profit from its relatively high turnover rate,
4.1 Parameters
The main process parameters in the process of injection, study, temperature and
pressure, viscosity, flow injection, effect of cavity size and gate size and other factors
on the different degree of injection molding the process of both. In the design and use
of rubber injection machine, should fully consider the impact of various factors.
10
It can be seen from the figure 5 (a) that with the increase of the viscosity, the filling
pressure is generally a linear upward trend. When the viscosity is increased, the
friction force in the rubber material increases, the flow property becomes worse. The
energy consumed by the process is large. When the viscosity reaches a certain value,
Injection flow is larger, the shorter filling time, injection pressure is bigger. Figure 5(b)
shows that injection pressure with flow injection increased increases to a lesser extent.
In mold filling process, when the flow rate is increased, viscous shear stress increases
as well, injection pressure will increase. This, in turn, will reduce the viscosity of the
11
Figure 5 (c) shows that in a certain range of cavity height, pressure drop in a certain
range of the greatest impact. When the cavity height is less than a certain value,
pressure drop sharply; otherwise, the change of pressure drop in smaller. This is
mainly because when the thickness of the product is small, viscous shear stress is
very high; at this time if the thickness is reduced shear force will rise rapidly, causing
12
Figure 5 (d) shows the relationship between the gate size and the entrance pressure
drop. From the figure visible, when the gate size is very small, pressure drop versus
gate size expansion decreased quickly. This is because the gate is bigger, at the
entrance of the average velocity becomes smaller, and is filling the shear rate, so as
4.2 Advantages
All types of polymers can be processed with RIM process and placed well to optimize
mold cost is less. Small to large complex geometries of composite parts can be
4.3 Disadvantages
The initial capital investment is enormous. Parts & tooling comparatively high and
expensive raw materials. Due to significant shearing action into the barrel and nozzle,
extensive damage to the fibers may take place. Due to increased tooling cost and
4.4 Applications
instrument gauges, dashboard consoles, armrests, body frames, and bumpers. The
toward larger machines, larger clamps and larger parts. It is used in manufacturing
5. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
The leading causes of the defect in injection moulding can be because of mould
design, process parameters, machine, operator or material. The details are shown in
One of the main goals in injection moulding is the improvement of quality of molded
parts besides the decrease of cycle time, and lower production cost. Optimizing
processes Factors that affect the quality of a molded part can be classified into four
productivity, quality, and cost of production in the plastic injection moulding (PIM)
industry.
orthogonal array experiments, which presents decreased variance for the test with an
2. Parameter Design: The initial values of the various dimensions and design
resources can be focused on reducing and controlling variation in the critical few
dimensions [7].
15
describe the biological process of a human brain. There are three main elements in
the ANNs; neurons or processing elements (PE), interconnections, and training rules.
A neuron is a segment that processes data. It receives and prepares input signals and
continually transfers its output to the next level neurons. A single neuron may hold
more than one input but only one output. The production of a neuron depends upon
the input signals, weights of links, threshold value and activation purposes.
The specimens were made under different injection moulding conditions by changing
controlled progressive strokes. Minimizing the contour distortions was the purpose of
this study. Sixteen experimental runs based on a Taguchi orthogonal array table were
employed for training the RBN, and the SQP method was applied to search for an
optimal solution. In this study, the proposed algorithm yielded better performance than
(ANOVA) was conducted to identify the significant factors for the contour distortions
16
FEM allows precise visualization of where structures bend or twist, and indicates the
simulation options for managing the complexity of both modelling and analysis of a
system. Likewise, the desired level of accuracy needed and associated computational
FEM enables entire designs to be constructed, improved, and optimized before the
following processes.
Lee et al. [2006] illustrated finite element and abductive neural network methods to
the study of a multi-cavity injection mould. To choose the optimal runner system
parameters to decrease the warp of an injection mould, FEM, Taguchi’s method and
an abductive network were applied. These methods were employed to train the
abductive neural network. Once the runner and gate system parameters were
generated, this network was used to predict the twist of the multi-injection mould
performance index is then used to the neural network to search the gate and runner
17
Linear regression designs are compelling and can ease complicated relationships
among variables. They help to explain the relationship between the dependent
variables, often indicated x1,x2,...,xn. A vital focus of all regression models is the error
term, which is included to obtain sources of error not achieved by other variables.
Protyusha Das Neogi and Elizabeth A. Cudney (2009) used regression analysis to
compare the actual and the forecasted data estimate of the real value of the output
for each signal member. Linear regression analysis is then performed on the data set.
The composition of this analysis is a linear equation which defines the change of the
the relationship is then assessed using R-squared value and adjusted R-squared
value. Time series analysis is also performed to predict future values. The predicted
values obtained from the resulting equation are then compared to the values obtained
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6. REFERENCES
Edition), 1999
[3] https://nptel.ac.in/courses/112107085/module5/lecture8/lecture8.pdf
[4] Rheology and Processing of Polymeric Materials, Volume 2 by Chang Dae Han,
page 500-504
[5] Research on Injection Molding Method and Process Control of Polymer Rubber
Zhang Di*,
[7] Recent Methods for Optimization of Plastic Injection Molding Process - A Literature
19