CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1. INTRODUCTION TO PLASTIC INJECTION

MOULDING MACHINE
Injection moulding machine offers many advantages to alternatives
manufacturing methods, including minimal losses from scrap (since scrap pieces
can be melted and recycled) and minimal finishing requirements. Injection
moulding machine differs from metal die casting, in that molten metals can
simply be poured, and plastic resins must be injected with force. It is most
common used method for mass production of plastic articles of a heated cylinder,
heating the materials in the heating chamber, and forcing the molten metal into a
closed mould, where the final solidification of the molten metal in form of the
configuration of the mould cavity takes. The intending injection machine will be
made from mild steel and medium carbon steel. It can only be used for the
production of small components such as key holder, bottle cap, tally, ruler, and
clothes peg. The mild steel is used for the construction of supporting plates,
hopper, mainframe, mould, and platens, handle, and tie bars. This is because;
they are not subjected to constant heat. It is easily weld able, and has good work
ability but show poor response to heat treatment. An injection moulding machine
is a piece of equipment consists of two basic elements, the injection unit and the
clamping unit. Injection moulding can be used with a variety of plastic resins.
The chosen resins forth are process are polyethylene polypropylene, ABS, and
fluorocarbons, because of characteristics of intricate shapes can easily be
produced. The advantages of small injection moulding process include good
surface finish of the product can be produced, less scrap and flashes are
produced, and the process has relatively low labour costs. Injection Moulding is
a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and
thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and
forced into a mould cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the
mould cavity. The plastic injection moulding industry has devolved over the
years from producing combs and buttons to producing a vast array of products
for many industries including automotive, medical, and aerospace and consumer
products.

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 Fig 1.1 Injection moulding machine
The machine parts analysis using feature based methodology. This approach
allows robust design of part components. This is also useful for parting plane and
product layout

Injection moulding of plastics products, a manufacturing operation particularly

suited for development by local entrepreneurs or through diversification by
existing manufacturers are the subject of this final report on specific industrial
growth opportunities in carroll county. Like the four previous reports in this
special series, this study is an outgrowth of an extensive analysis of the
economic resources and development potentials of the county. Injection
moulding is an ancient technology that has been used since the late 1800's.
Injection moulding machines incorporate a huge screw to force molten plastic
into the mould at high pressure. An injection mould consists of two halves that
are forced together to form a cavity in the shape of the part to be produced.

It is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material

into a mould. Material for the part is fed into a heated barrel, mixed (Using a
helical shaped screw), and injected (Forced) into a mould cavity, where it cools
and hardens to the configuration of the cavity. Injection moulding is the
versatility of injection moulding is facilitated by this breadth of design
considerations and possibilities. Injection moulding is used to create many things

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such as wire spools, packaging, bottle caps, automotive parts and components,
toys, pocket combs, some musical instruments (and parts of them), one piece
chairs and small tables, storage containers, mechanical parts (including gears),
and most other plastic products available today. Injection moulding is the most
common modern method of manufacturing plastic parts; it is ideal for producing
high volumes of the same object. Injection moulding uses a ram or screw type
plunger to force molten plastic material into a mould cavity this solidifies into a
shape that has conformed to the contour of the mould. Thermoplastics also have
an element of safety over thermosets; if a thermosetting polymer is not ejected
from the injection barrel in a timely manner, chemical cross linking may occur
causing the screw and check valves to seize and potentially damaging the
injection moulding machine. Injection moulding consists of the high pressure
injection of the raw material into a mould which shapes the polymer into the
desired shape. Moulds can be of a single cavity or multiple cavities. In multiple
cavity moulds, each cavity can be identical and form the same parts or can be
unique and form multiple different geometries during a single cycle. Moulds are
generally made from tool steels, Aluminium moulds are typically ill suited for
deformation during the injection and clamping cycles; however, aluminium
moulds are cost effective in low volume applications.

1.2. OBJECTIVE
The main aim of the research work is to design, construct and testing of small
injection moulding machine while the specific objectives of the research work
are to design and construct a small injection moulding machine, and testing. The
scope of the work is to design and construct a cost effective and environmentally
friendly small injection moulding machine for them production of small plastic
articles.

Design of efficient plastic injection moulding machine

 Suitable for small part production

 Low in cost

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1.3. PROPOSED SYSTEM
The project work will involve design concept, operations, design analysis that
will entail design of injection plunger, motor selection, design of the handle, and
the leverage on the handle of the machine. Also assembly drawings of the
machine, recommended materials and equipment for the construction of design
machine will be provided to assist investors that want to venture into
construction of this machine. Development of small injection moulding machine
for forming small plastic articles in small scale industries was borne out of the
fact that most injection moulding machines were of big size and smallest scale
industries in developing countries could not avoid buying them due to their costs.
In solving this problem, there is a need to design small injection moulding
machine that avoidable by small scale industries for production of small plastic
articles, this is the rationale behind this work.

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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Injection moulding has been a challenging process for many manufacturing and
researchers to produce products meeting requirement at the lowest cost. Faced
with global competition moulding industry, using the trial and error approach to
determine the process parameters for injection moulding is no longer good
enough. Factors that affect the quality of a method part can be classified into four
categories. Part design mould design, machine performance and processing
conditions. The part and mould design are assumed as established and fixe.
During production, quality characteristic may deviate due to drifting or shifting
of processing condition caused by machine wear, environment change or
operator fatigue.
Determine optimal process parameter setting critically influence productivity,
quality, and cost of production in the plastic injection moulding (PIM) industry.
Previously, production engineers used either trial and error method or Taguchi’s
parameter design method to determine optimal process parameter setting for
PIM. However, these methods are un suitable in present PIM because of the
increasing complexity of product design and the requirement of multi response
quality characteristics.

2.1. RESEARCH PAPER BY PREVIOUS SCIENTIST

Kamble, S.A., et. al. [1] In this paper discusses, it is necessary to start out with
quality components. Injection moulded parts can be moulded to a high quality
standard by focusing on these areas of plastic technology correct part design,
Accurate selection material processing plastic. The purpose of this design deals
with the first of these three issue part design. The problem which may occurs in
the development phase of the product are solved in the design phase itself. So the
rework and modification of mould is avoided by minimizing the wastage and
scraps.

Tsai, C.C., et. al. [2] In this work, pragmatic techniques for mechatronic design
and injection speed control of an ultra-high-speed plastic injection moulding
machine. PI controller and a fuzzy PI controller are used, compared and then

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implemented into a digital signal processor (DSP) using standard C
programming techniques. Deals with mechatronic design and injection Speed
control of an ultra-high speed plastic injection moulding machine.

Liu, W., et. al. [3] This paper deals with the microscopic features of cavitation’s
erosion and the solution in the plastic injection moulding machines. The failure of
nozzle unit in the plastic injection moulding machines was discovered to be
cavitation’s erosion, rather than corrosion three types of erosion pits in different
size order have been discovered the cavitation’s erosion with substituting stainless
steel to aluminium has been successful.

Medrea, C., et. al. [4] this deals with failure analysis of H13 working die used in
plastic injection moulding the die was made from AISI H13 steel and was
intended for the production of plastic cups used for the outer closure of
cylindrical aluminium cans in coffee packaging. corrosion damage and wide
crack are observed by necked eye. Design deficiency and improper cooling
conditions generated a complex fatigue- corrosion cracking mechanism that lead
to the damage of the die after half of its predicted service life.

Khan, S.F., et. al.[5] This paper presented the design process and manufacturing
of a bench top and inexpensive injection moulding machine for use as learning
and teaching equipment and in a manufacturing lab. The design use a horizontal
plunger type of injection equipped with clamping system. The maximum volume
of barrel is 290cc combined with injection plunger 60 mm provides ideal
capacity for lab. The design concept and process preliminary test result are
discussed. The flow rate increases with increase of motor speed and the packing
time decrease with increase of motor speed. At 2500rpm the flow rate is 0.42m/s
and packed time is 15 sec.

Korapatti, S.B., et. al. [6] This paper presents the design and simulation of
plastic injection moulding machine for producing a plastic product. The plastic
part was designed into two different types of products, but in the same uses
function. One half is exploitation clip function and another half is exploitation tic
function. for mould design the product was designed into two changeable inserts

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to produce two different type of plastic product in one mould base. From the
analysis and simulation, we can define the most suitable injection locations,
material, temperature and pressure for injection.

Singh, G., et. al. [7] The term quality has become a “catch all” term used in
describing the various characteristics of an object. It is nearly impossible to
define the term consistency. The quality is any particular or specific
characteristics of a product development design object that contains or relates
information about the object. This is primarily a chunk of geometry
distinguished by its ability to perform a function with one or more other. In this
primary processing conditions are studied from concept development to
manufacturing of the product. Various responses of quality of injection moulding
processes has been studied on the basis of performance parameters and methods.
This paper aims to present plastic injection moulding process conditions. The
processing conditions satisfied quality based product manufacturing.

Sreedhar, C.H., et. al. [8] This paper states the advantages in using plastic
materials, there is a non-going trend of replacing metal with injection moulded
plastic parts in a wide variety of applications. More and more parts with critical
end-use applications requirements are becoming candidates for conversion to
plastics. Plastics are light- weight, sturdy and corrosion resistant; have a high
strength to weight ratio; and once employed in transportation applications; for
instance, provide one amongst the best ways in which to extend fuel savings by
making vehicles additional light weight.

Gerber, A.G., et.al [9] It designates that computational fluid dynamics based
predictive control of melt temperature in plastic injection moulding. Unique
method of coupling computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to model predictive
control (MPC) for controlling melt temperature. The CFD to generate, via open-
loop testing, a temperature and input dependent system model for multivariable
control of a three-heater barrel on an injection moulding machine. CFD can be
used to dramatically reduce the time associated with open loop testing through
physical experiments.

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Sasikumar, C., et.al [10] Shows analysis of premature failure of a tie bar in an
injection moulding machine. Premature failure of a tie bar made of AISI 4140
steel in a 150-ton plastic injection-moulding machine has been analysed. Although
the nominal tensile stress acting on the tie bars (95.5 MPa) is far lower than the
yield strength of this material (750900MPa). The solution is a hydraulic clamping
mechanism rather than a toggle clamp mechanism for the mould will minimize the
cyclic strain on the tie rods.

Lucchetta, G., et.al [11] states a new approach to the optimization of blends
composition in injection moulding of recycled polymer. Recycled polymers are
usually blended with virgin polymers to obtain the best trade off between co stand
low melt viscosity.This last constraint is necessary to avoid short shots and to
minimize the clamp force of the required injection moulding machine and,
therefore, the process cost. A new approach to the minimization of the overall
manufacturing cost.

2.2. GAPS IN LITERATURERE VIEW

2.2.1 Quick mould change system: -
One of the best practices requires a fully automated mould change. Not only will
this decrease change over time, but it will also make the manufacturer lot more
flexible in his production quantity.

2.2.2 Using biopolymers and biodegradable plastics: -

Enhancing biopolymers additives are needed for toughness, heat resistance &
process ability plastics are going “green,” but they will need some help to get
there. Biodegradable polymers derived from renewable resources are attracting
lots of interest and publicity.

2.2.3 Use of polypropylene material

 Polypropylene, a synthetic resin built up by the polymerization of
propylene.

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 Polypropylene is moulded or extruded into many plastic products in
which toughness, flexibility, light weight, and heat resistance are
required.
 Polypropylene (pp), also known as polypropylene, is a thermoplastic
polymer used in a wide variety of applications including packaging and
labelling, textiles (e.g., Ropes, thermal underwear and carpets),
stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types,
laboratory equipment, loud speakers, automotive components, and
polymer bank notes.
 Polypropylene has a variety of different unique properties that makes it
invaluable in applications, where rigidity and stiffness are needed. As a
result, polypropylene is used in everything from plastic containers to wall
siding laminates.
 Where rigidity and stiffness are needed. As a result, polypropylene is
used in everything from plastic containers to wall siding laminates. Easy
to produce, assembly and an economic material.

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CHAPTER 3 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

3.1. MANUFACTURING OPERATION

The operations required to produce plastics products by injection moulding
Include

 Preparation of the moulding material.

 Melting the material.
 Forcing the material through a nozzle and into a mould.
 Ejecting the moulded product.
 Machining and finishing the product.
 Operations 1 through 4 may be performed without interruption on a
single combination of processing machinery.

Moulding materials are frequently ready for immediate use when they are
delivered by the supplier, but they may require pre moulding preparation. Plastic
material fed to the injection machine must be reasonably free of moisture if
internal voids and surface defects are to be avoided. Consequently, drying may
be necessary to remove moisture from the surface of moulding resins or, in the
case of such hygroscopic materials as nylon, acrylics, and styrene blends, to
drive out adsorbed water.

Pre moulding preparation may also require addition of colorants, lubricants,

other resins, and scrap material which is to be reworked. These materials are
generally blended in to the virgin resin in some sort of tumbler.

After any necessary preparation, the moulding material is transferred, either

mechanically or manually, to a hopper which feeds the material to the heating
cylinder of the injection moulding machine. Heat and mechanical agitation
convert the cold, granular feed material into a homogeneous plastic melt of
controlled viscosity. Temperature in the cylinder is controlled by wraparound
electrical resistance heaters. Mixing action is provided by forcing the melt past
baffles or spreaders or by use of a rotating screw mechanism within the cylinder.

The plastic melt is forced through a nozzle and into the mould. Nozzle
temperature is controlled to allow continued cleans host of plastic in to the

10
mould without hardening and breaking or drooling. The mould accepts a metered
amount of plastic moulding material and cools it quickly and uniformly, usually
by transferring the heat to water or some other medium which is circulated
through channels buried in the mould.

When the moulding compound has set, the mould is opened and the moulded
part is forced out of the mould cavity. Some moulded articles require some form
of machining or finishing. Thermoplastics products can be machined with the
same equipment used for wood or metals, except that allowance must be made
for the greater heat sensitivity of the plastics product. They may be sawed,
routed, drilled, turned, tapped, threaded, and sheared. Articles may be finished
by buffing and polishing if surfaces are cooled or kept in constant motion, by
tumble finishing, and by solvent polishing.

3.2. COMPONENTS
Bearing, Hopper, Stepper Motor, Die, Pneumatic Punch, Main frame table,
Heater, Gear, Barrel, et. al.

3.2.1. BEARING
A bearing is a machine element that constrains relative motion to only the
desired motion, and reduces friction between moving parts (fig 3.1). The design
of the bearing may, for example, provide for free linear movement of the moving
part or for free rotation around a fixed axis; or, it may prevent a motion by
controlling the vectors of normal forces that bear on the moving parts. Most
bearings facilitate the desired motion by minimizing friction. Bearings are
classified broadly according to the type of operation, the motions allowed, or to
the directions of the loads (forces) applied to the parts.

Rotary bearings hold rotating components such as shafts or axles within

mechanical systems, and transfer axial and radial loads from the source of the
load to the structure supporting it. The simplest form of bearing, the plain
bearing, consists of a shaft rotating in a hole lubrication is often used to reduce
friction. In the ball bearing and roller bearing, to prevent sliding friction, rolling
elements such as rollers or balls with a circular cross-section are located between
the races or journals of the bearing assembly. A wide variety of bearing designs

11
exists to allow the demands of the application to be correctly met for maximum
efficiency, reliability, durability and performance.

The term "bearing" is derived from the verb "to bear" a bearing being a machine
element that allows one part to bear (i.e., to support) another. The simplest
bearings are bearing surfaces, cut or formed into a part, with varying degrees of
control over the form, size, roughness and location of the surface. Other bearings
are separate devices installed into a machine or machine part. The most
sophisticated bearings for the most demanding applications are very precise
devices; their manufacture requires some of the highest standards of current
technology.

Fig 3.1 Ball Bearing

3.2.2. HOPPER
 A storage container used to dispense granular materials through the use
of a chute to restrict flow, sometimes assisted by mechanical agitation
(fig 3.2) .
 A paint ball loader.
 A manufacturing line hopper.
 Hopper (particulate collection container),a large container used for dust
collection.
 Feeder (livestock equipment).

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 Fig 3.2 Hopper

3.2.3. STEPPER MOTOR

A stepper motor, also known as step motor or stepping motor is a brushless DC
electric motor that divides a full rotation in to a number of equal steps. The
motor's position can then be commanded to move and hold at one of the steps
without any position sensor for feedback an open loop controller, as long as the
motor is carefully sized to the application in respect to torque and speed.
Switched reluctance motors are very large stepping motors with a reduced pole
count, and generally are closed loop commutated.

Brushed DC motors rotate continuously when DC voltage is applied to their

terminals. The stepper motor is known by its property to convert a train of input
pulses (typically square wave pulses) into a precisely defined increment in the
shaft position. Each pulse moves the shaft through a fixed angle.

Stepper motors effectively have multiple "toothed" electromagnets arranged

around a central gear-shaped piece of iron. The electromagnets are energized by
an external driver circuit or a micro controller. To make the motor shaft turn,
first, one electromagnet is given power, which magnetically attracts the gear's
teeth. When the gear's teeth are aligned to the first electromagnet, they are
slightly offset from the next electromagnet. This means that when the next
electromagnet is turned on and the first is turned off, the gear rotates slightly to
align with the next one. From there the process is repeated. Each of those

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rotations is called a "step", with an integer number of steps making a full
rotation. In that way, the motor can be turned by a precise angle.

Fig 3.3 Motor

3.2.3.1 TYPES OF STEPPER MOTOR

There are three main types of stepper motors:

1. Permanent magnet stepper

2. Variable reluctance stepper

3. Hybrid synchronous stepper

Permanent magnet motors use a permanent magnet in the rotor and operate on
the attraction or repulsion between the rotor PM and the stator electro magnets.
Variable reluctance motors have a plain iron rotor and operate based on the
principle that minimum reluctance occurs with minimum gap, hence the rotor
points are attracted toward the stator magnet poles. Whereas hybrid synchronous
is a combination of the permanent magnet and variable reluctance types, to
maximize power in a small size.

3.2.4.DIE
A die is a specialized tool used in manufacturing industries to cut or shape
material mostly using a press. Like moulds, dies are generally customized to the

14
item they are used to create. Products made with dies range from simple paper
clips to complex pieces used in advanced technology.

Fig 3.4 Die

3.2.5. PNEUMATIC PUNCH

Punching is a forming process that uses a punch press to force a tool, called a
punch, through the work piece to create a hole via shearing. Punching is
applicable to a wide variety of materials that come in sheet form including sheet
metal, paper, vulcanized fibre and some forms of plastic sheet. The punch often
passes through the work into a die. A scrap slug from the hole is deposited into the
die in the process. Depending on the material being punched this slug may be
recycled and reused or discarded.

A punching machine is a machine tool for punching and embossing flat sheet
materials to produce form features needed as mechanical element and/or to extend
static stability of a sheet section.

Punch presses are developed for high flexibility and efficient processing of metal
stampings. The main areas of application are for small and medium runs. Those
machines are typically equipped with a linear die carrier (tool carrier) and quick
change tools. Today the method is used where the application of lasers are
inefficient or technically impractical.
CNC is the abbreviation of Computer Numerically Controlled.
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 Fig 3.5 pneumatic punch

3.2.5.1 PRINCIPAL OF PNEUMATIC PUNCH

After programming the work pieces and entering length of bars the control
automatically calculates the maximum number of pieces to be punched (for
example, 18 pieces of a bar of 6000mm). Once the desired number of work
pieces is entered, the bar is pushed toward the stop. The machine is fully
automated once the production process is launched.

3.2.6. HEATER
A heater is an object that emits heat causing other objects to achieve a higher
temperature. Creating and controlling heat is a crucial factor for an extremely
wide range of applications and industrial processes. From small heaters keeping
a few batteries warm to large industrial dryers and complex injection moulding
machines, heaters are versatile devices that require very specific design elements

16
to tailor them to the application. Electric heating is a process in which electrical
energy is converted to heat energy. Common applications include space
heating, cooking, water heating and industrial processes. An electric heater is
an electrical device that converts an electric current into heat. The heating
element inside every electric heater is an electrical resistor, and works on the
principle of joule heating an electric current passing through a resistor will
convert that electrical energy into heat energy. Most modern electric heating
devices use nichrome wire as the active element; the heating element, depicted
on the right uses nichrome wire supported by ceramic insulators.

A warning that these can go to very high temperatures and create excruciating
burns. Electric radiant heating uses heating elements that reach a high
temperature. The element is usually packaged inside a glass envelope resembling
a light bulb and with a reflector to direct the energy output away from the body
of the heater. The element emits infrared radiation that travels through air or
space until it hits an absorbing surface, where it is partially converted to heat and
partially reflected. This heat directly warms people and objects in the room,
rather than warming the air. This style of heater is particularly useful in areas
through which unheated air flows. They are also ideal for basements and garages
where spot heating is desired. More generally, they are an excellent choice for
task-specific heating.

3.2.6.1 PRINCIPAL OF HEATING

 Heating is a complex process governed by the principles of
thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. Heat transfer, in
particular, is useful knowledge as it will help inform important aspects of
heater selection and system design.
 Heat transfer is the movement of heat from one area (or object) to
another, always from areas of high concentration (hot) to areas of low
concentration (cool). There are three methods of heat transfer.

3.2.7. BARREL
A barrel, cask, or turn is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center,
traditionally made of wooden staves bound by wooden or metal hoops.

17
Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity
or weight of a given commodity.

Fig 3.6 Barrel

Someone who makes barrels is called a "barrel maker" or cooper. Barrels are
only one type of cooper age. Other types include, but are not limited to, the
making of buckets.

3.2.8. GEAR
A gear or cogwheel is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or in the case of a
cogwheel, inserted teeth (called cogs), which mesh with another toothed part to
transmit torque. Geared devices can change the speed, torque, and direction of a
power source. Gears almost always produce a change in torque, creating a
mechanical advantage, through their gear ratio, and thus may be considered a
simple machine. The teeth on the two meshing gears all have the same shape.
Two or more meshing gears, working in a sequence, are called a gear train or a
transmission. A gear can mesh with a linear toothed part, called a rack,
producing translation instead of rotation. The gears in a transmission are
analogous to the wheels in a crossed, belt pulley system. An advantage of gears
is that the teeth of a gear prevent slippage.

When two gears mesh, if one gear is bigger than the other, a mechanical
advantage is produced, with the rotational speeds, and the torques, of the two
gears differing in proportion to their diameters. In transmissions with multiple
gear ratios such as bicycles, motorcycles, and cars the term "gear" a sin" first
gear" refers to a gear ratio rather than an actual physical gear. The term describes
similar devices, even when the gear ratio is continuous rather than discrete, or

18
when the device does not actually contain gears, as in a continuously variable
transmission. Spur gears are a type of cylindrical gear with shafts that are parallel
and coplanar and teeth that are straight and oriented parallel to the shafts. They are
arguably the simplest and most common type of gear easy to manufacture and
suitable for a wide range of applications.

Fig 3.7 gear

The teeth of a spur gear have an involute profile and mesh one tooth at a time. The
involute form means that spur gears only produce radial forces (no axial forces),
but the method of tooth meshing causes high stress on the gear teeth and high
noise production. Because of this, spur gears are typically used for lower speed
applications, although they can be used at almost any speed.

3.2.9. BEARING BLOCK

A pillow block is a pedestal used to provide support for a rotating shaft with
the help of compatible bearings & various accessories. Housing material for a
pillow block is typically made of cast iron or cast steel. A pillow block usually
refers to a housing with an included anti-friction bearing. A pillow block refers
to any mounted bearing wherein the mounted shaft is in a parallel plane to the
mounting surface, and perpendicular to the centre line of the mounting holes,
as contrasted with various types of flange blocks or flange units.

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A pillow block may contain a bearing with one of several types of rolling
elements, including ball, cylindrical roller, spherical roller, tapered roller, or
metallic or synthetic bushing. The type of rolling element defines the type of
pillow block. These differ from "Plummer blocks" which are bearing housings
supplied without any bearings and are usually meant for higher load ratings and a
separately installed bearing. Bearing housings are usually made of grey cast iron.
However, various grades of metals can be used to manufacture the same,
including ductile iron, steel, stainless steel, and various types of thermoplastics
and polyethylene-based plastics. The bearing element may be manufactured from
52100 chromium steel alloy (the most common), stainless steel, plastic, or
bushing materials such as SAE660 cast bronze, or SAE841 oil impregnated
sintered bronze, or synthetic materials.

Fig 3.8 Bearing Block

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CHAPTER 4 METHODOLOGY

The project is completed by following some indispensable steps. This chapter

explains the processes we include for our project to complete. The systematic,
theoretical analysis of the method applied to a field of study. It comprises the
theoretical analysis of the body of methods and principles associated with a
branch of knowledge.

Concept / Initialisation of project

initialisation of project

Study of plastic Injection moulding process

Market survey and problem definition

Study of research paper a literature review

Study of components

Design calculations of parts

Analysis of the frame

Part modelling in software

Fabrication of parts

Assemble the parts in workshops

Calculate the output parameters

Check quality of the output part

Finish

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4.1.DESIGN AND COMPONENTS SPECIFICATION
Table 4.1 Measurement of Components
Main frame table 130cm X 60cm X 100cm

Barrel L=45cm, D=8cm

Screw thread 25cm

Pneumatic punch Eject 5cm

Die 5cm X 5cm

Stepper motor P= 24 W, Model= L298

Heater 500W

Gear1 D1= 13cm, T1=38

Gear2 D2=7cm, T2=22

Hopper D=20cm, H=30cm

4.2.DESIGN
This design concept encompasses the following:

 Maximum volume of the melt needed to fill the mould. This entails
plunger travel, diameter of the barrel , melt density and melt mass;
 Design of barrel which entails diameter of the barrel and maximum piston
travel;
 Design for plunger.
 While the design analysis entails the following units:
 The injection unit comprises of the hopper, barrel, heater bands, nozzle,
and injection plunger.
 The clamping unit consists of the mould, platens, and the handle known as
the locking device.
 The electrical panel comprises of temperature control, contactors, thermo
couple, heat resistance wire, and knob (control button).

4.3. DESINGNING COMPONENTS

The component design activity is an activity of the product design activity for
creating a component design the product architecture identifies a set of adaptable

22
components that may be used to implement a work product family. A component
design is a design specification for one of these adaptable components.

4.3.1. MAIN FRAMETABLE

A table is a collection of data items that have the same description, such as
account totals or monthly averages it consists of a table name and subordinate
items called table elements.
A table is the Cobol equivalent of an array you can easily repeat data items.

Fig 4.1 Main frame table

4.3.2. BARREL
A barrel cask or turn is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center
traditionally made of wooden staves bound by wooden or metal hoops.
Traditionally the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity
or weight of a given commodity. Someone who makes barrels is called a "barrel
maker" or cooper. Barrels are only one type of cooperage. Other types include,
but are not limited to the making of buckets, vats, tubs butter churns, hogs heads,
firkins, kegs kilder kins, tierces, rundles, puncheons, pipes, tuns, butts, pins and
breakers.

23
 Fig 4.2 barrel

4.3.3. RECIPROCATING SCREW

In a reciprocating screw injection moulding machine, material flows under gravity
from the hopper on to a turning screw. The mechanical energy supplied by the
screw, together with auxiliary heaters, converts the resin into a molten state

Fig 4.3 reciprocating screw

4.3.4. GEAR
A gear or cogwheel is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or in the case of a
cog wheel, inserted teeth (called cogs), which mesh with another toothed part to
transmit torque. Geared devices can change the speed, torque, and direction of a
power source. Gears almost always produce a change in torque, creating a
mechanical advantage, through their gear ratio, and thus may be considered a
simple machine. The teeth on the two meshing gears all have the same shape.

24
Two or more meshing gears, working in a sequence, are called a gear train or a
transmission. A gear can mesh with a linear toothed part, called a rack,
producing translation instead of rotation. The gears in a transmission are
analogous to the wheels in a crossed, belt pulley system. An advantage of gears
is that the teeth of a gear prevent slippage.

When two gears mesh, if one gear is bigger than the other, a mechanical
advantage is produced, with the rotational speeds, and the torques, of the two
gears differing in proportion to their diameters. In transmissions with multiple
gear ratios such as bicycles, motorcycles, and cars the term "gear" a sin "first
gear" refers to a gear ratio rather than an actual physical gear. The term describes
similar devices, even when the gear ratio is continuous rather than discrete, or
when the device does not actually contain gears, as in a continuously variable
transmission

Fig 4.4 gear

Module of spur gear: - 0.34 (from design data book)

Diameter taken: - 13 cm

Teeth calculation = t = diameter/module

= 13/0.34

No. of teeth = 38

4.3.4.1 MATERIALS OF GEAR

 Cast iron is used in gear because cast iron is a group of iron carbon alloys with a
carbon content greater the 2% and silicon (1-3) %.

25
  Cast iron used in gear because it is relatively in expensive, rust resistant
and easy to mould.
 It has 3 to 5 times compression strength compare to steel and it has good
machine ability, good sensibility, excellent resistance to wear, low notch
sensitivity, low stress concentration, durability, resistance to deformation
and low cost.
 It has constant properties between 20 to 350 degree Celsius.

4.3.4.2 CHOOSING THE SPUR GEAR

 Spur gears are simple components, very easy to design and install in drive
mechanisms
 These are very straight forward and they are ideal for limited spaces.
 These gears are suitable for driving systems because they have more
power transmission efficiency.
 A spur gear is built with teeth made straight and parallel to the axis of
gear.
 Eliminating any issue of axial thrust allowing ball bearing to be installed.
 Spur gear are more efficient compared to helical gears with the same size
they offer constant velocity.

4.3.5 HOPPER
 A storage container used to dispense granular materials through the use
of a chute to restrict flow, sometimes assisted by mechanical agitation.
 A paint ball loader.
 A manufacturing line hopper.
 Hopper (particulate collection container), a large container used for dust
collection.
 Feeder (livestock equipment).
 It transmits the granules to the barrel without delay.
 Mainly formed in conical shapes.
 Design includes various parameters for the hopper.
 It can have manual or automatic feed system.

26
 Fig 4.5 Hopper

4.3.6. STEPPER MOTOR

Dc Motor. Motor is a device which transforms the electrical energy into
mechanical energy. The working principle of the motor is the interaction
between the magnetic field and the current to produce a force within the motor
which helps the motor to do work.

Fig 4.6 Stepper Motor

4.3.7. PNEUMATIC PUNCH

Punching is a forming process that uses a punch press to force a tool, called a
punch, through the work piece to create a hole via shearing. Punching is
applicable to a wide variety of materials that come in sheet form, including sheet
metal, paper, vulcanized fibre and some forms of plastic sheet. The punch often
passes through the work into a die. A scrap slug from the hole is deposited into

27
the die in the process. Depending on the material being punched this slug may be
recycled and reused or discarded.

A punching machine is a machine tool for punching and embossing flat sheet-
materials to produce form-features needed as mechanical element and/or to
extend static stability of a sheet section. Fibre and some forms of plastic sheet.
The punch often passes through the work into a die. A scrap slug from the hole is
deposited into the die in the process. Depending on the material being punched
this slug may be recycled and reused or discarded.

A punching machine is a machine tool for punching and embossing flat sheet-
materials to produce form-features needed as mechanical element and/or to
extend static stability of a sheet section.

Punch presses are developed for high flexibility and efficient processing of metal
stampings. The main areas of application are for small and medium runs. Those
machines are typically equipped with a linear die carrier (tool carrier) and quick
change tools. Today the method is used where the application of lasers are
inefficient or technically impractical.
CNC is the abbreviation of Computer Numerically Controlled.

Fig 4.7 Pneumatic punch

4.3.8. BEARING
A bearing is a machine element that constrains relative motion to only the
desired motion, and reduces friction between moving parts. The design of the
bearing may, for example, provide for free linear movement of the moving part
or for free rotation around a fixed axis; or, it may prevent a motion by

28
controlling the vectors of normal forces that bear on the moving parts. Most
bearings facilitate the desired motion by minimizing friction. Bearings are
classified broadly according to the type of operation, the motions allowed, or to
the directions of the loads (forces) applied to the parts. The term "bearing" is
derived from the verb "to bear" a bearing being a machine element that allows
one part to bear (i.e., to support) another. The simplest bearings are bearing
surfaces ,cut or formed into a part, with varying degrees of control over the form,
size, roughness and location of the surface.

4.3.8.1. SPECIFICATION
Dimension: - Important dimensions to consider when specifying bearings
include.
1. Bore: - the bearing industry uses a standard numbers system for bearing
with metric diameters bores. For bores size 04 and up multiply by 5 to
obtain the bore in millimetre. If the bore is a hex this refers to dimension
across the flats. If the bore is tapered this refers to the smaller diameters.
2. Outside diameters: - the outside diameters of bearing include the housing
if a housed unit, but excludes the flanges if a flanged bearing. The outer
ring width is the overall width of the outside of the bearing
3. Overall width: - the overall width of the bearing or the bearing assembly
include the locking collar, if present
Operating specification: - important operating specification is to considers
when searching for bearing includes rated speed, dynamic axial or thrust load and
dynamic radial load.
1. Rated speed: - the rated speed for bearing running with grease lubrication
is lower than a bearing with oil,
2. Dynamic axial or thrust load: - Dynamic axial or thrust load is the
calculated constant axial load.
3. Dynamic radial load: - the dynamic redials load id the calculated constant
axial load, which a group of identical bearings with stationery outer rings
can theoretically endure for a ratting life of one million revolutions of the
inner ring.
4. Bearing load, fatigue and lifespan: - optimum bearing life is obtained
when the balls and raceway have absolute minimum surface content

29
 supplemented with proper lubrication. Loads for ball bearings are subject
to static or dynamic loads, as well as axial and radial loads. this means
four variables need to be accounted for to determine working load for a
bearing. Ball bearing can be handled substantially more radial and
dynamic loads than the axial and static loads. Calculated life of bearing

4.3.9. BEARING BLOCK

A pillow block is a pedestal used to provide support for a rotating shaft with the
help of compatible bearings & various accessories.
A pillow block usually refers to a housing with an included anti-friction bearing.
A pillow block refers to any mounted bearing wherein the mounted shaft is in a
parallel plane to the mounting surface, and perpendicular to the centre line of the
mounting holes, as contrasted with various types of flange blocks or flange units.
A pillow block may contain a bearing with one of several types of rolling
elements, including ball, cylindrical roller, spherical roller, tapered roller, or
metallic or synthetic bushing. The type of rolling element defines the type of
pillow block. These differ from "Plummer blocks" which are bearing housings
supplied without any bearings and are usually meant for higher load ratings and a
separately installed bearing.

Fig 4.8 bearing block

4.3.9.1. SPECIFICATION OF BEARING BLOCK

The properties of the pedestal bearing due to their higher efficiency.

 The bearings used are pedestal bearings due to their higher
efficiency.

30
  The material of the bearing is alloy steel due to its high
strength values.
 The specification of the bearings used are:
1. Bore dia. = 25 mm
2. Outer dia. = 45mm
3. Width = 15mm
4. Dynamic load = 7800N
5. Static load = 3750N

4.4. ASSEMBLY OF MACHINE

The procedures for assembling the machine are as follows: -
 Fixing the mainframe,
 Position the supporting plates and bolt them together with the tie bars,
 Bolt the barrel to the supporting plate2,
 Mount the plunger assembly through the supporting plates1 and 2to the
barrel,
 Positioning of the driven unit to the plunger assembly: the driven unit are
spur gear, the reduction gearbox and electric motor,
 Mount the handle (locking device) through the supporting plate 4 to the
platen, and
 Install the mould to supporting plate 3 and the platen.

4.5. MATERIAL
The following materials used in the construction of this machine are medium
carbon steel used for injection plunger, barrel and nozzle. Mild steel was used for
hopper, supporting plates, tie bars, platen, mould, bolts, and main frame. Other
materials used are thermocouples, limit switches, knobs (control button), bolts,
and 4-core flexible wires, heat resistance wires, and contactors, red and light
green paints.

4.5.1 SELECTION OF MATERIAL

Materials are selected based on designed and metallurgical properties of the
materials such as machinability, formability; weld ability that greatly influences

31
the construction methods and other joining methods. Other factors considered are
cost of the materials; and mechanical properties of the materials. All the general
finishing operation was carried out on the machine such as grinding of all rough
edges using a hand grinding machine.

4.5.2. EQUIPMENT
The equipment used are as follows: electric motor, other such as mainframe is
cut into sizes using oxyacetylene gas welding, facing operation mould, barrel,
injection plunger, and handle were faced using the lathe machine., drilling
operation, milling operation, and tapping operation using drilling machine,
milling machine and tapping machine respectively. Components such as the
drilling operation on the lathe machine were performed on the components such
as the mould, barrel, tie bars, and the supporting plates. Milling operation was
carried out on the barrel, and the spur gear teeth. Tapping operation was also
carried out on the tie bars. All the general finishing operation was carried out on
the machine such as grinding of all rough edges using a hand grinding machine.
Cutting saw or frame cutting were used for cutting the various metals into sizes
and required shapes. Metals such as the supporting plates, platen, tie bars, barrel,
injection plunger, and hopper were cut sizes using manual hacksaw.

4.6. OPERATION PROCEDURE

The operational principles of this machine are as follows: switch on the heater
for one hour, and set the electric controllers to the desired temperature, and fill
the hopper with materials (high density polyethylene and master batch). When
beginning to inject the molten resins to the mould, make sure the mould is close
and there are two limit switches that determine the stroke of forward and
backward movement of the injection plunger. That is when the injection plunger
reaches the maximum forward stroke pre-determined for the particular mould, a
limit switch will be actuated and this will stop the electric motor movement. The
same way goes to the backward stroke and this determined the amount of molten
resins that goes in to the mould. If the mould functions properly, the finished
product will fall out of the mould on its own.

32
CHAPTER 5 EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS

This chapter includes injection moulding machine design, material selection,

analysis & testing and fabrication. It means that this chapter we tried to show the
initial phase of our injection machine like designing to the finalization of our
injection moulding machine. In design selection we present the CATIA design of
important components. We also discuss about material selection and fabrication of
our injection moulding machine.

5.1. FINAL DESIGN

Whole project is design by CATIA. It helps in real time simulation of the
assembled as well as dissembled components. The initial drawing was made as
get the ideal of the machine.

Fig no. 5.1 design of injection moulding machine

5.2. SPECIFICATIONS OF MATERIAL

Following material were used to manufacture the machine.
 Main frame: Cast iron
 Hopper: Sheet metal
 Screw: High speed steel
 Barrel: Mild steel
 Nozzle: Cast iron

33
  Gear: Cast iron
 Nut-bolt: Mild steel
 Bearing bush: Mild steel

The proper selection of material for the different part of a machine is the main
objective in the fabrication of machine. For a design engineer it is must that he
be familiar with the effect, which the manufacturing process and heat treatment
have on the properties of materials. The choice of material for our project
depends upon the following factors:
 Mild Steel: We have used mild steel for frame, supporting mechanism for
mover because of its abundance in availability in market which also
implies to low cost. The material is also easy to weld, thus no special
requirement for welding machine.
 High Speed Steel: We have use high speed steel for the sprockets because
of its high strengths and good wear resistance capacity. The processing
and machining gets a bit hassle but it was indispensable material for the
need.
 Bearing Material: The cast iron casing with stainless steel body for the
bearing was standard and we opted for this due to its high quality
performance and easy maintenance.

The mechanical properties of the metals are those, which are associated with the
ability of the material to resist mechanical forces and load. We shall now discuss
these properties as follows:
1. Reliabilities of properties.
2. Reliability of applied load.
3. The certainty as to exact mode of failure.
4. The extent of simplifying assumptions.
5. The extent of localized.
6. The extent of initial stresses set up during manufacturing.
7. The extent loss of life if failure occurs.
8. The extent of loss of property if failure occurs.
The mild steel is extensively used in our project. The discussion for the MS was
quite important as that can directly affect many factors in the fabrication. We

34
considered the following points and decide for the Mild Steel only as our
preference out of High Carbon Steel, Aluminium, High Speed Steel.

Advantages of Mild Steel:

1. Mild steel is readily available in market.
2. It is economical to use.
3. It is available in standard sizes.
4. It has good mechanical properties i.e. it is easily machined.
5. It has moderate factor of safety, because factor of safety results in
unnecessary wastage of material and heavy selection. Low factor of
safety in unnecessary risk of failure.
6. It has high tensile strength.
7. Low coefficient of thermal expansion.
Properties of Mild Steel:
 M.S has a carbon content from 0.15% to 0.30%. They are easily weld able
thus can be hardened only.
 They are similar to wrought iron in properties. Both ultimate tensile and
compressive strength of these steel increase with increasing carbon
content. They can be easily gas welded or electric or arc welded. With
increase in the carbon percentage weld ability decrease.
 Mild steel serves the purpose and was hence was selected because of the
above purpose.

5.3 FACILITIES REQUIRED FOR PROPOSED WORK

 Mechanical workshop.
 Lathe machine.
 Welding machine (EAW).
 Milling machine.
 Drilling machine.
 Hacksaw machine.
 Grinder.
 Tool kit and measuring instrument.
 Cutters and Drill grinder.

35
5.4 SPECIFICATION OF THE COMPONENT USED
The components are specified as according to our need. The specification is
decided keeping in mind the optimum use of the material as well as costing.
Following are the specification of the parts include in the machine:
 Main frame table: 130cm X 60cm X 100cm
 Barrel: L=45cm, D=8cm
 Screw thread: 25cm
 Pneumatic punch Eject: 5cm
 Die: 5cm X 5cm
 Stepper motor: P= 24 W, Model= L298
 Heater: 500W
 Gear1: D1= 13cm, T1=38
 Gear2: D2=7cm, T2=22
 Hopper: D=20cm, H=30cm

5.4.1 TORQUE CALCULATION: -

For designing the coupling, we need the value of maximum torque, which is
occurring in the injection process. That value is possible to calculate using motor
power (kW) and existing damaged reciprocating screw design. Motor used for the
injection process is of 15 HP i.e. 11.1855kW, Motor RPM = 1440 Gear box used
in injection process is 1:15. Because of gear box effective power causing to the
reciprocating screw is
Effective power = 11.1855 X 15 KW
=167.7825 KW
Torque transmitted will be,
𝑉∗𝜔∗𝑘 ……Eqn (i) [from data book]
𝑇=
𝑅
Where,
T = motor torque
V = voltage supply
ω = rotational speed
k = motor constant
R = resistance

36
 60 ∗ 10 ∗ 167.7825
𝑇𝑜𝑟𝑞𝑢𝑒 = 𝑘𝑊
2𝜋 ∗

𝑇𝑜𝑟𝑞𝑢𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 = 1.0687 ∗ 10 𝑁𝑚𝑚

Hence, the torque produced by the motor to rotate both the gears in order to
maintain the speed of reciprocating screw to obtain optimal quality product is
1.0687*105Nmm.

37
CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION

Designing of machining components are considered very important task

nowadays. There are several Design Analysis Software’s used. This design result
can be used to pre calculate the production & manufacturing process of machine
in order to achieve faster breakeven point. Analysis/simulation provides an
insight into the nature of processing and consequently offers valuable inputs
towards the design of the parts. This study is intended to be the stepping stone
for incorporating more the use of injection moulding simulation software in the
product design, mould design, and product development that involves the use of
injection moulding process.

6.1. FUTURE SCOPE

The presented plastics injection moulding curriculum provides a benefit to
students and leads them to the field of plastics processing. The well designed
four-stage project gives students an opportunity to apply what they have learned
from classroom lectures, as well as previous knowledge and skills, to complete
the hands-on projects. The sequence of lectures and lab sessions was arranged in
a way so that students had necessary knowledge and skills to complete each
stage of their project, and in turn it reinforced and enhanced what they learned.
The course content is very large, covering a wide range of topics related to
plastics injection moulding. This seems to be excellent to those capable students
who have a strong background. However, it probably overwhelmed the students
with little background. How to reduce the course content and keep the essential
lectures would be the future topic for course improvement.

 Plastic injection moulding industry is now facing the very heavy

competition; most of the plastic injection moulding companies is working
on mercy profits and low technologies.
 Speed up all the moulding machines. For this point you need to be sure
that your machines are suitable for high speed running.
 Even if your machine is high speed, but if you are in shortage of
automation system in your injection moulding plants, then you need a lot
of labour to pickup the moulded plastic components from the machine

38
 and you need to stack or collect them before packing. All these need
labours and this will reduce the production capacity, in the same time the
labour cost will be highly increased.
 In the project we have used manual plunger arrangement for pressing the
molten plastic instead of that we can have hydraulic arrangement for the
automatic control that will reduce production time.
 Also for the batter and quick heating to melt the plastic insulation can be
done which will reduce the heat loss.

39
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No. 55-85.
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10. Sasikumar, C.,“Premature failure of a tie bar made of AISI
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