scholarly journals A Thermomechanical Analysis of Conformal Cooling Channels in 3D Printed Plastic Injection Molds

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 2567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suchana Jahan ◽  
Hazim El-Mounayri
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Thermomechanical Analysis ◽  
Die Design ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Optimized Design ◽  
Conformal Cooling ◽  
Cooling Channels ◽  
Conformal Cooling Channels ◽  
Plastic Injection

Plastic injection molding is a versatile process, and a major part of the present plastic manufacturing industry. The traditional die design is limited to straight (drilled) cooling channels, which don’t impart optimal thermal (or thermomechanical) performance. With the advent of additive manufacturing technology, injection molding tools with conformal cooling channels are now possible. However, optimum conformal channels based on thermomechanical performance are not found in the literature. This paper proposes a design methodology to generate optimized design configurations of such channels in plastic injection molds. The design of experiments (DOEs) technique is used to study the effect of the critical design parameters of conformal channels, as well as their cross-section geometries. In addition, designs for the “best” thermomechanical performance are identified. Finally, guidelines for selecting optimum design solutions given the plastic part thickness are provided.

scholarly journals Numerical study of effect of cooling channel configuration and size on the product cooling effectiveness in the plastic injection molding

2018 ◽  
Vol 197 ◽  
pp. 08019
Author(s):  
Angger Bagus Prasetiyo ◽  
Fauzun Fauzun
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Plastic Injection Molding ◽  
Cooling Channel ◽  
Cooling Effectiveness ◽  
Conformal Cooling ◽  
Cooling Channels ◽  
Conformal Cooling Channels ◽  
Channel Configuration ◽  
Plastic Injection

Injection molding is most frequently used manufacturing processes in the plastics industry. In the plastic injection molding process the cooling channel has an important role for the cooling process of the product. The good cooling channel is indicated by the ability to absorb heat from the product quickly and uniformly on the each side of the product. This study compared straight and conformal cooling channels with diameters 8 mm to know it is effects on pattern of temperature distribution in the mold and cooling effectiveness of the product inside mold using Fluent software. Analysis of virtual model images shown that those with conformal cooling channels can predict significant heat absorption compared with straight cooling channel.

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.

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