scholarly journals Design, Optimization and Validation of Conformal Cooling Technique for Additively Manufactured Mold Insert

2021 ◽  
Vol 2070 (1) ◽  
pp. 012225
Author(s):  
G.Dongre Ganesh ◽  
S.Chaitanya Sarang ◽  
M.Jonnalagadda Sai
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Mold Insert ◽  
Cooling Time ◽  
Cyclic Process ◽  
Conformal Cooling ◽  
Cooling Circuit ◽  
Cycle Times ◽  
Cooling Channels ◽  
Conventional Cooling ◽  
Time Required

Abstract Injection molding is a cyclic process comprising of cooling phase as the largest part of this cycle. Providing efficient cooling in lesser cycle times is of significant importance in the molding industry. Conformal cooling is a proven technique for reduction in cycle times for injection molding. In this study, we have replaced a conventional cooling circuit with an optimized conformal cooling circuit in an injection molding tool (mold). The required heat transfer rate, coolant flow rate and diameter of channel was analytically calculated. Hybrid Laser powder bed fusion technique was used to manufacture this mold tool with conformal channels. The material used for manufacturing mold was maraging steel (M300). Thermal efficiency of the conformal channels was experimentally calculated using thermal imaging. Autodesk MoldFlow software was used to simulate and predict the cooling time required using conformal cooling channels. The results showed a decrease in cooling time and increase in cooling efficiency with the help of conformal cooling in additively manufactured mold insert.

scholarly journals Adaptive Conformal Cooling of Injection Molds Using Additively Manufactured TPMS Structures

Polymers ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 181
Author(s):  
Seo-Hyeon Oh ◽  
Jong-Wook Ha ◽  
Keun Park
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Mold Surface ◽  
Heated Region ◽  
Digital Light Processing ◽  
Conformal Cooling ◽  
Cooling Channels ◽  
Periodic Minimal Surface ◽  
Triply Periodic Minimal Surface ◽  
Conventional Cooling

In injection molding, cooling channels are usually manufactured with a straight shape, and thus have low cooling efficiency for a curved mold. Recently, additive manufacturing (AM) was used to fabricate conformal cooling channels that could maintain a consistent distance from the curved surface of the mold. Because this conformal cooling channel was designed to obtain a uniform temperature on the mold surface, it could not efficiently cool locally heated regions (hot spots). This study developed an adaptive conformal cooling method that supports localized-yet-uniform cooling for the heated region by employing micro-cellular cooling structures instead of the typical cooling channels. An injection molding simulation was conducted to predict the locally heated region, and a mold core was designed to include a triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structure near the heated region. Two biomimetic TPMS structures, Schwarz-diamond and gyroid structures, were designed and fabricated using a digital light processing (DLP)-type polymer AM process. Various design parameters of the TPMS structures, the TPMS shapes and base coordinates, were investigated in terms of the conformal cooling performance. The mold core with the best TPMS design was fabricated using a powder-bed fusion (PBF)-type metal AM process, and injection molding experiments were conducted using the additively manufactured mold core. The developed mold with TPMS cooling achieved a 15 s cooling time to satisfy the dimensional tolerance, which corresponds to a 40% reduction in comparison with that of the conventional cooling (25 s).

scholarly journals Improving Cooling Performance of Injection Molding Tool with Conformal Cooling Channel by Adding Hybrid Fillers

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1224
Author(s):  
Chil-Chyuan Kuo ◽  
Wei-Hua Chen
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Injection Molding ◽  
Cooling Time ◽  
Performance Ratio ◽  
Cooling Efficiency ◽  
Cooling Channel ◽  
Conformal Cooling Channel ◽  
Conformal Cooling ◽  
Fused Deposition ◽  
Silicone Rubber Mold

Silicone rubber mold (SRM) is capable of reducing the cost and time in a new product development phase and has many applications for the pilot runs. Unfortunately, the SRM after injection molding has a poor cooling efficiency due to its low thermal conductivity. To improve the cooling efficiency, the thermal conductivity of the SRM was improved by adding fillers into the SRM. An optimal recipe for fabricating a high cooling efficiency low-pressure injection mold with conformal cooling channel fabricated by fused deposition modeling technology was proposed and implemented. This study proposes a recipe combining 52.6 wt.% aluminum powder, 5.3 wt.% graphite powder, and 42.1 wt.% liquid silicon rubber can be used to make SRM with excellent cooling efficiency. The price–performance ratio of this SRM made by the proposed recipe is around 55. The thermal conductivity of the SRM made by the proposed recipe can be increased by up to 77.6% compared with convention SRM. In addition, the actual cooling time of the injection molded product can be shortened up to 69.1% compared with the conventional SRM. The actual cooling time obtained by the experiment is in good agreement with the simulation results with the relative error rate about 20%.

The Use of Advanced Aluminum Alloys for Enhanced Productivity in Plastic Injection Molding

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Nerone ◽  
Karthik Ramani
Keyword(s):  
Aluminum Alloys ◽  
Injection Molding ◽  
Wall Thickness ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
Cooling Time ◽  
Coolant Temperature ◽  
Steel Mold ◽  
Cooling Channels ◽  
Injection Molding Simulation ◽  
Increased Strength

Abstract New aluminum alloys, QC-7® and QE-7®, have thermal conductivities four times greater than traditional tool steels, and have significantly increased strength and hardness compared to traditional aluminum materials. Molds were constructed of P-20 tool steel and QE-7® aluminum and were used to provide experimental data regarding thermal mold characteristic and confirm injection molding simulation predictions using C-Mold®. The relationships between cooling time reduction (using aluminum alloys) and polymer type, cooling channel depth, part wall thickness, and coolant temperature were explored both experimentally and using simulation software. It was shown that the potential reduction in cooling time varied from 5% to 25%. The most significant percentage improvements were observed in parts with part wall thickness of 0.05″ to 0.10″ and in molds with cooling channels at a depth ratio (D/d) of 2.0. The thermal pulses in the steel mold 0.10″ from the surface were approximately 63% larger than in aluminum mold.

Optimum Cooling Channels Design and Thermal Analysis of an Injection Moulded Plastic Part Mould

2007 ◽  
Vol 561-565 ◽  
pp. 1999-2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abul B.M. Saifullah ◽  
Syed H. Masood
Keyword(s):  
Cooling Time ◽  
Free Form ◽  
Cooling Channel ◽  
Channel Design ◽  
Conformal Cooling Channel ◽  
Plastic Part ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Conformal Cooling ◽  
Cooling Channels ◽  
Conformal Cooling Channels

Cooling channel design is important in mould designs to achieve shorter cycles, dimensional stability and reduced part stresses. Traditionally, cooling channels have been machined into mould components to avoid interference with the ejection system, coring, cavity and other mould details. Over the years straight drilled cooling channels have given away, in part, to conformal cooling technique often using free form fabrication techniques. This paper presents a study of optimised mould design with conformal cooling channel using finite element analysis. Various configurations of conformal cooling channels have been developed. The part cooling time using the conformal cooling channels and the straight cooling channels in the mould are computed using the Pro/Mechanica Thermal FEA software. Results are presented based on temperature distribution and cooling time using steady state and transient analysis conditions. The results show a reduction in cycle time for the plastic part with conformal cooling channel design.

scholarly journals Integrated Optimum Layout of Conformal Cooling Channels and Optimal Injection Molding Process Parameters for Optical Lenses

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (20) ◽  
pp. 4341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Yuan Chung
Keyword(s):  
Additive Manufacturing ◽  
Injection Molding ◽  
Process Parameters ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Melt Temperature ◽  
Conformal Cooling ◽  
Cooling Channels ◽  
Highly Efficient ◽  
Conformal Cooling Channels ◽  
Filling Time

Plastic lenses are light and can be mass-produced. Large-diameter aspheric plastic lenses play a substantial role in the optical industry. Injection molding is a popular technology for plastic optical manufacturing because it can achieve a high production rate. Highly efficient cooling channels are required for obtaining a uniform temperature distribution in mold cavities. With the recent advent of laser additive manufacturing, highly efficient three-dimensional spiral channels can be realized for conformal cooling technique. However, the design of conformal cooling channels is very complex and requires optimization analyses. In this study, finite element analysis is combined with a gradient-based algorithm and robust genetic algorithm to determine the optimum layout of cooling channels. According to the simulation results, the use of conformal cooling channels can reduce the surface temperature difference of the melt, ejection time, and warpage. Moreover, the optimal process parameters (such as melt temperature, mold temperature, filling time, and packing time) obtained from the design of experiments improved the fringe pattern and eliminated the local variation of birefringence. Thus, this study indicates how the optical properties of plastic lenses can be improved. The major contribution of present proposed methods can be applied to a mold core containing the conformal cooling channels by metal additive manufacturing.

Conformal Cooling Versus Conventional Cooling: An Injection Molding Case Study With P-20 and 3DP™-Processed Tooling

2000 ◽  
Vol 625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayde R. Schmidt ◽  
Ronald D. White ◽  
Connie E. Bird ◽  
Joseph V. Bak
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Design Approach ◽  
Mold Design ◽  
Simulation Tool ◽  
Conformal Cooling ◽  
Designed Experiments ◽  
Tool Fabrication ◽  
Conventional Cooling

AbstractA series of designed experiments was performed in an attempt to evaluate and quantify the historically “anecdotal” benefits of conformal cooling for injection molding tooling. The study considered different generic part geometries, gating schemes, mold materials, plastic resins and cooling approaches. This paper provides an overview of the mold design approach, cooling simulation, tool fabrication via the 3DP™ process, as well as part molding and inspection results.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document