Professional Documents
Culture Documents
DS – Mould Design
Validation phase and simulation: injection moulding
School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria
As mentioned in [1] and [2], the first attempts to study the filling stage in injection Introduction
moulding were reported by Spencer and Gilmore [3]. They visually studied the filling
of the mould and derived an empirical equation to determine the filling time.
Numerical simulations applied to injection moulding have basically started in the
early 1970s. These first developments were applied to the filling stage in simple ge‐
ometries. Only tubular, circular and rectangular shapes were considered, allowing the
flow to be accurately assumed as unidirectional. The temperature field was two‐
dimensional, one coordinate in the flow direction and the other in the thickness direc‐
tion, leading to the so‐called 1½D approach. The injected polymer was assumed to be
a Newtonian fluid, and finite difference techniques were used to numerically solve the
set of balance equations. Harry and Parrot (1970), performed one‐dimensional flow
analysis that was coupled with a heat balance equation for a rectangular cavity. In
order to expand the previous approaches to more realistic geometries, conformal
mapping or decomposition of complex shape cavities in a number of simple elements
were used to extend the 1½D approach to more complex flow situations. However,
these methods lack sufficient generality to be satisfactory and the solution accuracy
strongly depends on how the geometry is partitioned, requiring astute judgment from
the user. The real breakthrough came with the development of a general 2½D ap‐
proach, originally proposed in [4], combining finite elements along the midsurface of
the cavity with finite differences along the thickness direction. The pressure field was
solved in two dimensions by finite element method and the temperature and velocity
fields were solved in three dimensions by means of a mixed finite element / finite
difference method.
Nowadays, in general, the software for numerical simulation of injection moulding
based on an 3D approach, including the Navier‐Stokes equations with the inertia and
gravity effects. To date several commercial and research three‐dimensional simulation
programs for injection moulding have been developed.
This document is focused on the validation and simulation of injection moulding
process through the application of Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software.
Several kinds of simulations are explained in this document and some case studies are
presented.
Validation Phase and Simulation: Injection Moulding ‐ 1
CAE DS – Mould Design
The growing on demand on plastic moulded parts brought the need to keep costs
under control. This issue can be achieved trough the optimisation of both, part and
mould design. Nowadays it is unacceptable to introduce design mistakes in these
expensive kinds of tools. The injection moulding process is highly dynamic and
versatile and allows many alternatives on complexity and geometry of parts. These
parts can be injected in a wide variety of thermoplastics. However, it is essential that
optimisation and simulation proceedings must be applied by mould designers in
order to avoid mistakes. During the design phase of the plastic product it is defined
the manufacturing capability to produce the mould and all the requirements of both,
the mould design and injection machine.
When applied during the design phase of parts and moulds, Computer Aided Engi‐
neering (CAE) software tools allow the detailed evaluation of the project in technical
and economic terms. Even with the growth on the technological advance of CAE
software, its popularity only emerged in recent years through the development of
personal computers. Thus it was important to establish basic methodologies and
systematic proceedings on simulation of injection moulding.
Functional and aesthetic features of the plastic part determine the type of analysis that
should be taken during the simulation. The main simulation analyses used to opti‐
mise the injection moulding process are:
− Analysis of the gate location
− Analysis of window processing
− Analysis of cavity filling (Fill)
− Analysis of filling and packing (holding) pressure (flow)
− Analysis of runner balance (runner balance)
− Analysis of cooling (cool)
− Analysis of warpage and shrinkage (warpage and shrinkage)
The correct interpretation of the data obtained from the CAE analysis allows the
implementation of optimisation procedures applied to the plastic part, to the injection
mould or to the injection machine (injection parameters). The application of injection
moulding simulations leads to:
− a decrease in 10% to 30% of cycle times;
− minimisation the cost of corrections of tools and test samples between 30 and
50%
and
− a significant reduction in production lead time.
Validation Phase and Simulation: Injection Moulding ‐ 2
CAE DS – Mould Design
Analysis of the gate location
The application of the usual CAE software procedure to analysis the location of the
injection gate show the injection profiles for several gate positions. A comparative
analysis between these profiles must be done simultaneously with a rigorous evalua‐
tion of the following criteria:
− Processability: define the capability to achieve a complete mould filling
− Minimum injection pressure: define the injection machine (Clamp force)
− Geometric restrictions: evaluate the over‐packing of injected material
− Thickness: evaluation of the thickness of the part in order to allow a good
thermoplastic packing
The purpose of this type of analysis is the evaluation of the occurrence of plastic parts
with defects during the filling. The position and geometry adopted for the injection
gate(s) influence the quality of the plastic part through the following:
− Filling profile of the mould
− Quality and location of the welding line
− Direction of the molecular orientation
− Dimensional accuracy
− Sink marks control
− Shrinkage and voids control
− Cavity pressure distribution
− Trapped air and incomplete filling
− Residual stresses
− Warpage and flatness
Analysis of the processing window
The analysis of the processing window allows the identification of the best processing
conditions for the injection moulding process, namely: ideal mould temperature,
injection time and solidification temperature. The evaluation of the different gate
locations thought the analysis of several injection profiles (pressure, shear rate and
temperature) in different regions of the part allow the selection of the best location.
The influence of material on pressure requirements and shear rate are also evaluated.
This analysis quickly provides recommendations for the injection time, mould tem‐
perature, and melt temperature values that should be used as preliminary input for a
full flow analysis.
Validation Phase and Simulation: Injection Moulding ‐ 3
CAE DS – Mould Design
Analysis of cavity filling (Fill)
The filling process starts on the injection gate and the melted plastic flows along the
paths that offer less opposition to the flow. The correct gate location is decisive to
allow the complete and uniform filling of the cavity. The analysis of the filling show
the behaviour of flow with the mould closed. Overheating, shear stresses are some
flow effects evaluated during the solidification of the plastic material inside the
mould. The fill analysis represents the capacity of the melted plastic to fill the cavity
from the injection gate. Usually is the second analysis performed during a optimisa‐
tion injection moulding study. This kind of analysis evaluates the following
parameters for each region of the part:
− Reliability and filling time
− Performance injection pressure
− Melt front temperature
− Location of welding lines
− Positioning of entrapped gases
The main objective of the filling analysis is to predict the position of welding lines and
entrapped gases. These defects should be avoided in aesthetic regions of the part.
Flow front temperatures changes can also be evaluated in order avoid material degra‐
dation.
Analysis of filling and packing (holding) pressure (flow)
The simultaneous analysis of both, filling and packing pressure, is important to pre‐
dict the value of the packing pressure (also known like holding pressure) and the
holding time. These are important processing parameters that should be transmitted
to the manufacturing department. This analysis allows the simulation of three impor‐
tant steps of the moulding phase: filling, flow and packing.
Analysis of runner balance (runner balance)
To perform the runner balance analysis is necessary to evaluate first the filling in
order to identify the pressure profile during the pressure change between the filling
and the packing stages. This analysis allows the prediction and optimisation of the
best cross section dimension for some runners. The objective of this optimisation is the
uniform filling of all runners and the pressure and temperature homogeneity. De‐
pending on the layout of the runners the runner balance analysis can suggest
modifications on the cavities distribution on the mould.
Validation Phase and Simulation: Injection Moulding ‐ 4
CAE DS – Mould Design
Analysis of cooling (cool)
Cooling simulations allow users to optimize mould and cooling circuit design to
achieve uniform part cooling, minimize cycle times, eliminate part warpage due to
cooling factors, and decrease overall manufacturing costs.
The cooling analysis allow to:
− Optimize part and mould designs to achieve uniform cooling with the mini‐
mum cycle time
− View the temperature difference between the core and cavity mould surfaces
− Minimize unbalanced cooling and residual stress to reduce or eliminate part
warpage
− Predict temperature for all surfaces within the mould: part, runners, cooling
channels, inserts
− Predict the required cooling time for the part and cold runner to determine
overall cycle time
The results that can be obtained trough this analysis are the following:
For the part:
− Cavity surface temperature distribution
− Distribution of temperature differences across opposite surfaces of the cavity
− Distribution of average plastic temperature at ejection time
− Distribution of maximum plastic temperature at ejection time
− Relative position of the peak temperature at ejection time
− Distribution of frozen layer thickness
− Temperature profile through thickness for each cavity element
For the mould:
− Surface temperature distribution on top and bottom sides of inserts and part‐
ing planes
− Distribution of temperature difference across insert and parting plane surfaces
− Temperature of mold external surfaces and surface of cooling circuits
− Pressure drop along each cooling circuit
− Variation in coolant temperature
− Flow rate in each cooling circuit
− Reynolds number in each cooling circuit
Validation Phase and Simulation: Injection Moulding ‐ 5
CAE DS – Mould Design
Analysis of warpage and shrinkage (warpage and shrinkage)
Warp provides users with an understanding of the causes of shrinkage and warpage
in injection moulded plastic parts and predicts where deformations will occur. Results
allow users to optimize design, material, and processing parameters to control part
warpage before the mold is built. With MPI/Warp, even the most demanding applica‐
tion that requires high dimensional stability, excellent visual appearance, and accurate
fit with mating components can be produced to quality, time, and budgetary specifica‐
tions.
The warp analysis allows:
− The evaluation of the final part shape before machining the mould
− The evaluation of both single cavity and multi‐cavity moulds
− To scale shrinkage and warpage results for better visualization of deformation
− Export warp geometry in the STL format to use as a reference when sizing the
mould
− The calculation of residual stresses developing during the entire cycle, includ‐
ing effects of the temperature and pressure distributions, polymer properties,
orientation, and geometric features of the part
− The visualisation of the frozen‐in stress through the part wall thickness
− The determination of stress prior to ejection (constrained by the mould) and
after ejection (unconstrained)
Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) injection simulation examples
The most popular software applied in injection moulding simulations is the MoldFlow
software package; however there are other recent software packages that allow the
prediction of injection moulding parameters. Some of these software packages include
specific interesting features, namely the simulation of Metallic Injection Moulding
(MIM), Powder Injection Moulding (PIM), Microcellular injection moulding with the
use of supercritical fluid (SCF) such as carbon dioxide (CO2) or nitrogen (N2) and
others.
Nowadays there are four main software packages commercially available:
− The MoldFlow software (www.moldflow.com)
− The Moldex3D software (www.moldex3D.com )
− The SoftSigma Software (www.sigmasoft.de )
− The SimPOE Mold (www.simpoe.com )
The following images shows the filling simulation versus the real plastic part filling.
This simulation is obtained from Moldex3D.
Validation Phase and Simulation: Injection Moulding ‐ 6
CAE DS – Mould Design
1 2
3 4
Filling phase vs. real injection. (Courtesy of a Portuguese mould‐making company: MD‐
Molds)
Validation Phase and Simulation: Injection Moulding ‐ 7
CAE DS – Mould Design
The following images show the optimisation of the cooling circuit for a cylindrical
mould. Several cooling configurations were tested using the MouldFlow package.
Mould – Core
Cooling circuit configuration 1
Cooling circuit configuration 2
Cooling circuit configuration 3
Validation Phase and Simulation: Injection Moulding ‐ 8
CAE DS – Mould Design
ABS Prototype Final Moulded Part Final Product
Simulation phase during the development of a new product. (Courtesy of the VANGEST
Group)
The following image is a simulation of the filling of a part during the Metallic Injection
Moulding (MIM) process.
Courtesy of SigmaSoft.
Validation Phase and Simulation: Injection Moulding ‐ 9
CAE DS – Mould Design
References
J. J. van der Werf and A. H. M. Boshouwers, INJECT‐3, A Simulation Code for the
Filling Stage of the Injection Moulding Process of Thermoplastics, PhD Thesis, Tech‐
nische Universiteit Eindhoven, Eindhoven, May 1988.
I. Barros, Modelação do Comportamento Térmico de Moldes de Injecção, PhD Thesis,
Universidade do Minho, Guimarães, June 2004.
R. S. Spencer and G. D. Gilmore, Some flow phenomenon in the injection moulding of
polystyrene, Journal of Colloid Science, Vol. 6, No. 2, 1951, p. 118‐132.
C. A. Hieber and S. F. Shen, A finite element / finite difference simulation of the injec‐
tion molding filling process, Journal of Non‐Newtonian Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 7, No.
1, 1980, p. 1‐32.
Mold‐making handbook, edit. Gunter Mennig, 2nd edition, Hanser/Gardner Publish‐
ing, Inc., ISBN 1‐56990‐261‐5, 1998
www.moldflow.com
www.moldex3D.com
www.sigmasoft.de
www.simpoe.com
Validation Phase and Simulation: Injection Moulding ‐ 10