Marplex Australia Pty Ltd.
Injection Moulding of Marplex
Thermoplastics.
October 2003
Philip Crosbie
Summary of Topics.
Injection Moulding Machine (Revision).
Reciprocating Screw Injection Carriage.
Machine Screw Designs.
Screw Non-Return Valves.
Machine Nozzle Designs.
Machine Clamp Tonnage and Calculations.
Machine Injection Capacity and Limitations.
Melt Decompression after Screw Recharge.
Simplified Shear Rate Calculations.
Typical Moulding Cycles (Cooling Time).
Dimensional Tolerances of Moulded Components.
Typical Processing Conditions of Marplex Materials.
Injection Moulding Machine (Revision).
Typical Machine Layout.
Moving Side
Material Flow
Fixed Side
Nozzle
Material
Hopper
Clamping
Unit
Die
Heater
Moulding Tool
Barrel Heating
Injection Unit
Material
Dryer
Reciprocating Screw Injection Carriage.
Typical Injection Carriage.
Machine Screw Design.
Typical Reciprocating Screw Design.
h2 =
Outer Diameter of Screw.
Effective Length of Screw.
Flight Depth of Feed Zone.
(typically 0.15D - 0.18D).
h1
Flight Depth of Metering Zone.
(typically 0.05D - 0.06D).
Machine Screw Design.
Length/Diameter Ratio =
(normal method)
L:D
Range typically of 16 : 1 to 26 : 1.
We suggest about 20 : 1.
Compression Ratio
(simplified form)
h2 : h1
Range typically of 2.0 : 1 to 4.5 : 1.
We suggest 2.2 : 1 to 2.5 : 1.
Screw Types
Shear
Heating
Driving
Torque
Mixing
Capacity
Metering
Precision
Low Compression
(2.2 : 1 to 3.0 : 1)
Low
Small
Low
Low
High Compression
(3.0 : 1 to 4.5 : 1)
High
Large
High
High
Note that a General Purpose Screw is usually a High Compression type.
Screw Non-Return Valves.
Used to allow :
-
Molten material to be moved to the front of the screw during recharge.
Prevent molten material flowing back along the screw during injection.
Three main designs :
-
Plain Screw or Smear Tip type.
Ring Check Valve type.
Ball Check Valve Type.
Ring Check Valve is the most common.
Screw Non-Return Valves.
Plain Screw or Smear Tip type :
-
Used only with extremely viscous materials such as Rigid PVC.
Plastic flows through narrow gap during screw recharge for the next shot.
When injecting, the amount of plastic pushed back through the gap is not
significant compared with the volume injected.
No material hang-up areas and little maintenance required.
Tip of screw at the
front of the barrel.
Screw Non-Return Valves.
Ring Check Valve :
-
Plastic flows past the ring during screw recharge (ring is held forward).
The ring check is forced back against the screw during injection at which
point the ring is supported on 4-6 points around the circumference.
Flow path is smooth (but adequate clearance is important) with generally
few hang-ups areas. Ring checks can wear out as the stops are abraded.
Screw Non-Return Valves.
Ball Check Valve :
-
Plastic flows around the ball during screw recharge (ball is held forward).
Ball is forced back against the screw during injection (ball is held back).
Flow path is longer than a ring check (again clearance is important).
Machine Nozzle Designs.
Machine nozzle designs :
-
Reverse tapered (aiming for zero land) is recommended (cold runner type).
Must be independently heated with heater bands close together.
Semi-crystalline PA6/PA-66 often uses a narrower nozzle (to prevent resin
freezing off).
Machine Clamp Tonnage and Calculations.
Projected Area :
-
Usual clamp tonnage range :
-
Use 3 - 6 kN/cm2 (2 - 4 ton/in2).
Balance of requirements :
-
Shadow cast by moulded shot.
Includes the area of runners.
Is (a x b) - (c x d) in picture.
High flow material may flash readily.
More viscous material may open tool.
Worked example :
-
Projected area = 400 cm2.
Range 3 - 6 kN/cm2 (use 4.0 kN/cm2).
Range 120 - 240 tonne clamp (use 160 tonne machine).
Machine Clamp Tonnage and Calculations.
Two main types :
-
Direct hydraulic clamping.
Toggle lock clamping.
Machine Injection Capacity and Limitations.
Aim to use 40% to 70% of the machine injection capacity with each shot.
Shot size is a balance between :
-
Material residence time too long (ie : shot size too small).
Material is not not melted uniformly (ie : shot size is too large).
Hot manifold designs with multiple cavities will often have more than one shot in
the manifold.
Machine capacity :
Weight (using Polystyrene SG = 1.05 as a basis - in ounces).
Length (newer machines - as a percentage of capacity).
Worked example :
Moulding in PS weighs 500 gm.
Same moulding in Polycarbonate : 1.20 x 500 gm
1.05
= 571 gm
Melt Decompression After Screw Recharge.
Melt Decompression (also called Suckback) :
A small backward movement of screw (without rotation) at the end of screw
recharge (moves by 5 - 10 mm).
The purpose is to create a slight vacuum on the melt to prevent nozzle drooling
(especially when using semi-crystalline materials).
Excessive decompression can cause splay markings due to air entrapment.
Tip of screw at the
front of the barrel.
Simplified Shear Rate Calculations.
Basis of simple Moldflow analysis.
Round gates (hot tip direct gate type) :
-
Shear Rate ( )
4xQ
x R3
4xm
x R3 x t x
Q
R
m
t
=
=
=
=
=
Flow rate (cm3 / s)
Radius of gate (cm)
Melt density (gm/cm3)
Mass of melt (gm)
Injection time (s)
Important points :
Shear rate varies directly with part weight (first order).
Shear rate varies inversely with gate diameter (third order).
Shear rate varies inversely with injection time (first order).
Shear rate varies inversely with melt density (first order).
Simplified Shear Rate Calculations.
Basis of simple Moldflow analysis.
Rectangular gates (tab into side wall section type) :
-
Shear Rate ( )
6xQ
w x h2
6xm
x h2 x t x
Q=
w
h
m
t
=
=
=
=
Flow rate (cm3 / s)
Width of gate (cm)
Thickness of gate (cm)
Mass of melt (gm)
Injection time (s)
Important points :
Shear rate varies directly with part weight (first order).
Shear rate varies inversely with gate width (first order).
Shear rate varies inversely with gate thickness (second order).
Shear rate varies inversely with injection time (first order).
Shear rate varies inversely with melt density (first order).
Simplified Shear Rate Calculations.
Worked example using an ABS (Astalac GSM) through a round gate :
Component mass (m) =
Injection time (t)
=
500 gm
3.0 s
5.0 s
Melt density (
)
Gate diameter (2R)
=
=
918.2 kg/m3
1.0 mm 2.0 mm
3.0 mm 4.0 mm
Shear rate
Shear rate
at 1.0 mm & 3.0 s fill time
at 1.0 mm & 5.0 s fill time
=
=
1,848,890 s-1
1,109,340 s-1
Shear rate
Shear rate
at 2.0 mm & 3.0 s fill time
at 2.0 mm & 5.0 s fill time
=
=
231,110 s-1
138,670 s-1
Shear rate
Shear rate
at 3.0 mm & 3.0 s fill time
at 3.0 mm & 5.0 s fill time
=
=
68,480 s-1
41,090 s-1
Shear rate
Shear rate
at 4.0 mm & 3.0 s fill time
at 4.0 mm & 5.0 s fill time
=
=
28,890 s-1
17,330 s-1
Recommended maximum for ABS is 50,000 s-1 (Moldflow).
Typical Moulding Cycles (Cooling Time).
Usually the major proportion of the moulding cycle.
Can be calculated via enthalpy and other thermodynamic data.
Important variables for cooling time :
Die temperature.
Melt temperature.
Material type.
Cycle time for ABS (2400 C melt / 500C die) :
0.50 mm
1.00 mm
1.50 mm
2.00 mm
=
=
=
=
10 s
15 s
22 s
28 s
2.50 mm
3.00 mm
3.50 mm
4.00 mm
=
=
=
=
Mould open
and eject
Mould close
and inject
35 s
45 s
65 s
85 s
Approximate cooling time = 2.5 x e2 where e = Wall thickness
Cooling time
Dimensional Tolerances of Moulded Components.
Amorphous polymers are usually better than semi-crystalline materials.
Glass fibres (or other reinforcement) enable tighter tolerances to be met.
Typical Processing Conditions of Marplex Materials.
General
Purpose
ABS
High
Heat
ABS
Plating
Grade
ABS
Flame
Retardant
ABS
Desiccant Dryer
Usually
Yes
Yes
Usually
Drying Temperature
85-900C
90-950C
85-900C
85-900C
Drying Time
3-5 hrs
3-5 hrs
3-6 hrs
3-5 hrs
Dryness Level
0.08 %
0.08 %
0.04 %
0.08 %
Melt Temperature
220-2500C
230-2600C
240-2700C
210-2400C
Die Temperature
40-700C
40-800C
50-800C
40-700C
Fill Speed
medium
medium
slow
medium
Screw Speed
30-60 rpm
30-60 rpm
30-60 rpm
30-60 rpm
Typical Processing Conditions of Marplex Materials.
General
Purpose
HIPS
General
Purpose
ASA
Alloy
of
ABS/PC
General
Purpose
PC
Desiccant Dryer
Usually
Usually
Yes
Yes
Drying Temperature
80-850C
85-900C
95-1000C
120-1250C
Drying Time
2-4 hrs
3-5 hrs
4-6 hrs
4-6 hrs
Dryness Level
n/a
0.08 %
0.05 %
0.02 %
Melt Temperature
200-2300C
220-2500C
250-2800C
270-3000C
Die Temperature
30-600C
40-700C
50-900C
60-1100C
Fill Speed
medium
medium
medium
medium
Screw Speed
40-60 rpm
40-60 rpm
40-60 rpm
40-60 rpm
Typical Processing Conditions of Marplex Materials.
Polyacetal
Copolymer
Modified
PPE/HIPS
General
Purpose
PMMA
TPE
Shore A
of 60
Desiccant Dryer
Usually
Usually
Yes
Usually
Drying Temperature
85-900C
105-1100C
80-850C
80-850C
Drying Time
3-5 hrs
3-5 hrs
3-5 hrs
2-4 hrs
Dryness Level
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Melt Temperature
190-2100C
260-2900C
220-2400C
190-2200C
Die Temperature
50-900C
60-1000C
40-700C
25-500C
Fill Speed
medium/fast
medium
medium
medium/fast
Screw Speed
40-60 rpm
40-60 rpm
40-60 rpm
40-60 rpm
Typical Processing Conditions of Marplex Materials.
Polyamide
PA-6
Polyamide
PA-66
Rigid
Compound
PVC
Flexible
Compound
PVC
Desiccant Dryer
Yes
Yes
Usually
Usually
Drying Temperature
80-850C
80-850C
75-800C
65-700C
Drying Time
2-4 hrs
2-4 hrs
2-4 hrs
2-4 hrs
Dryness Level
0.10-0.30 %
0.10-0.30 %
n/a
n/a
Melt Temperature
220-2500C
260-2900C
190-2100C
170-1900C
Die Temperature
50-800C
50-800C
20-500C
20-500C
Fill Speed
medium/fast
medium/fast
slow
slow/medium
Screw Speed
40-60 rpm
40-60 rpm
20-40 rpm
20-40 rpm
