Maw-Ling Wang

Rong-Yeu Chang
Chia-Hsiang ( David ) Hsu

Molding Simulation
Theory and Practice

2nd Edition
 Wang, Chang, Hsu
Molding Simulation:
Theory and Practice
Maw-Ling Wang
Rong-Yeu Chang
Chia-Hsiang (David) Hsu

Molding Simulation:
Theory and Practice
2nd Edition

Hanser Publishers, Munich

 The Authors:
Maw-Ling Wang, Chupei City, Hsinchu County 302, Taiwan
Rong-Yeu Chang, Chupei City, Hsinchu County 302, Taiwan
Chia-Hsiang (David) Hsu, Chupei City, Hsinchu County 302, Taiwan

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 Acknowledgments

We would like to thank and acknowledge Beaumont Technologies, Inc. for the flow
imbalance case in Section 7.1.4 and Section 7.2.1, OPM Laboratory Co., Ltd. for the
conventional and conformal cooling design cases in Section 8.2.1, Associate Prof.
Chao-Tsai Huang for the coupling effects between flow and fibers study of ASTM
D638 standard test pieces in Section 10.2.3, Ann Tong Industrial Co., Ltd. For the
single-gate hot runner system case in Section 11.2.1, Associate Prof. Chao-Tsai
­Huang for co-injection molding of standard tensile bar test piece in Section 12.2.3,
Prof. Shi-Chang Tseng and Prof. Shia-Chung Chen for the gas-assisted injection
molding cases in Section 13.2.1 and Section 13.2.3, respectively, Prof. Shih-Jung
Liu for the water-assisted injection molding case in Section 13.2.2, Trexel Inc. for
the MuCell® case in Section 14.2.1, Proplast, Inc. for the U-shape model of micro-
cellular injection molding in Section 14.2.2, Prof. Shyh-Shin Hwang for the chemi-
cal foaming injection molding case in Section 14.2.3, Prof. Shun-Tian Lin for the
metal injection molding case in Section 15.2.1, Atech Composites Co., Ltd. for resin
transfer molding cases in Section 16.3.3 and Section 16.3.5, Associate Prof. Yuan
Yao for the resin transfer molding case in Section 16.3.4, and Amkor Technology
Korea Inc. for the IC packaging cases in Section 17.2.1 and Section 17.2.2. These
practical cases are quite valuable and helpful to illustrate how to co-develop inno-
vative molding technologies and solve molding issues with the CAE tool.
We would also like to thank the following for their contributions: Dr. Che-Ping (Bar-
ton) Lin on Chapter 1, Dr. Chen-Chieh (Jye) Wang and Dr. Chih-Wei (Joe) Wang on
Chapter 2, Tsai-Hsin (Sam) Hsieh, Tsai-Heng (Paul) Tsai, Dr. Ying-Mei (May) Tsai,
Dr. Yao-Chen (Cloud) Tsai, and Yao-Wei (Willie) Chuang on Chapter 3, Tsai-Hsin
(Sam) Hsieh, Wen-Bing (Webin) Liu, Dr. Ying-Mei (May) Tsai, and Dr. Chuan-Wei
(Arvid) Chang on Chapter 4, Hsien-Sen (Ethan) Chiu and Dr. Ying-Mei (May) Tsai
on Chapter 5, Yu-Chih (Goran) Liu, Wen-Bing (Webin) Liu, and Wen-Hsin (Debbie)
Weng on Chapter 6, Dr. Che-Ping (Barton) Lin, Dr. Sung-Wei (Franz) Huang, Dr. Yao-
Chen (Cloud) Tsai, and Yao-Wei (Willie) Chuang on Chapter 7, Dr. Chih-Wei (Joe)
Wang, Dr. Sung-Wei (Franz) Huang, and Hung-Chou (Kent) Wang on Chapter 8,
Dr. Shih-Po (Tober) Sun and Wen-Hsin (Debbie) Weng on Chapter 9, Dr. Huan-
Chang (Ivor) Tseng on Chapter 10 and Chapter 15, Tsai-Hsin (Sam) Hsieh on Chap-
VI Acknowledgments

ter 11, Dr. Chih-Chung (Jim) Hsu and Yu-Sheng (Tim) Chou on Chapter 12 and
Chapter 13, Yuan-Jung (Dan) Chang, Li-Yang (Robert) Chang and Chih-Wei (Joe)
Wang on Chapter 14, Hsun (Fred) Yang on Chapter 16, and Chih-Chung (Jim) Hsu,
Chia-Peng (Victor) Sun, Chen-An (Jennan) Wang, and Yu-En (Joseph) Liang on
Chapter 17. They dedicated their wisdom and skills, and a great deal of time, to
complete this wonderful book.
Moreover, a very special thanks to Chia-Lin (Carol) Li for redrawing figures, Pao-
Hui (Ryan) Wan for his assistive editing, and Dr. Ying-Mei (May) Tsai and Dr. Che-
Ping (Barton) Lin for their executive editing.
 Preface

Injection molding techniques have been developed over decades and well-applied
in automotive, 3C (Computer, Communication, and Consumer electronics), optics,
medical products, and in daily necessities, among other areas. Due to this long-
term development and widely ranging applications, the individual molding criteria
have been specialized in several industries to fit various product specifications and
innovative materials.
The increasing requirements and diversity of plastic products demand a shorter
time to market. However, much time can be spent in developing the procedures for
some products, from concept generation, design drawing, mold tooling and assem-
bling, and trial-molding through to mass production. “How can the procedures be
shortened using CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) tools?” then becomes a key
question for industry. The idea is to predict potential molding problems and defects
by CAE during the design stage, modify the design according to these results, and
then re-analyze until the best design is obtained. This book is written to provide
practical and user-friendly guidance in this area. Since the 1970s, virtual trial
moldings have been implemented by computer using injection molding simulation
CAE tools to check whether the molding parameters are good enough for manufac-
ture. These parameters are part design, gate design, runner layout, cooling layout,
molding materials, process conditions, and so on. From CAE, the optimized param-
eters can be estimated efficiently and provided as the initial-guess settings for the
real molding to cost down in time, manpower, material, and energy. To summarize,
CAE is a decades-proven design-verification tool for real applications of the injec-
tion molding process.
In addition to conventional injection molding, there are many innovative molding
processes that have appeared. Molding issues become more challenging and com-
plicated with innovations in processes and materials, which can lead to a longer
time and higher costs in conditions optimization. In this 2nd edition, the material
measurement data are elaborated in Chapter 2 for deeper understanding in poly-
mer processing property effects, including the viscosity comparison between dif-
ferent types or grades of polymer; measurement of viscoelasticity and method to
VIII Preface

obtain the master curve; data interpretation of PVT, thermal conductivity, and
­dynamic modulus of solid-like viscoelastic; and comparison of curing kinetics and
reactive viscosity between epoxy molding compounds (EMC). The new concept of
connecting Smart Design and Smart Manufacturing is conveyed in Section 4.6
with the methods of Machine Characterization, combination of CAE and injection
machine on site, and a practice case.
For further understanding the product quality affected by processing, the flow-fi-
ber coupling model is expressed in Section 10.1.2 to show the flow-induced fiber
orientation effect; iARD-RPR models applied with GNF-decoupling and IISO cou-
pling are compared in Section 10.2.2; a study on the tensile strength of test pieces
with different gating systems is demonstrated in Section 10.2.3; a microcellular
injection part is molded and the sink marks, warpage, and micro characteristics of
cell size and cell density are validated by CAE in Section 14.2.2; PU reactive foam-
ing is also addressed in Section 14.2.4 with the material characterization method
and a practice case; the experiment with a professional instrument of EASYPERM
is illustrated in Section 16.2.3 to obtain the more accurate permeabilities for RTM
(Resin Transfer Molding) simulation. And for IC packaging, the warpage of a bi-­
material component model and a bi-material strip are expounded in Section 17.2.5
and Section 17.2.6, and the effect of dispensing control and creeping behaviors on
underfill process is discussed in Section 17.2.7.
From decades of experience in CAE assistance in molding troubleshooting, we
have found that processing knowledge is as important as software operation to
CAE users. To make a high-quality molded product, the total effects of part design,
mold design and manufacture, machine capability, and material properties must
all be taken into account and then integrated into the CAE tool to implement design
verification and conditions optimization wisely. Each of these definitely involves a
deep knowledge, whether in theory and/or empirical formula. When talking about
molding issues, plastics rheology and the designs of part and mold are especially
the key criteria since their interactions will dominate the material property varia-
tions inside the mold.
At Moldex3D, as worldwide leaders in molding simulation software, we are not just
continuously enhancing CAE capability but also intend to help industry people
improve their molding-related abilities. The importance of training and instruction
has become strongly apparent to us. As a result, this book consists of plastics
molding theory, practical applications, and case studies intended to elaborate the
molding system and melt flowing behaviors in an easy-to-understand way. The
practical examples show how to use CAE to achieve design verification and process
innovation in conventional injection molding, G/WAIM, co-/bi-injection, foam in-
jection molding, PIM, RTM, and IC packaging. With this book, readers can effec-
tively learn molding simulation applications and its importance in molding indus-
tries.
 Preface IX

The CAE case study exercises found in the book for execution in the Moldex3D
software can be downloaded from the Website: https://moldex3d.box.com/s/
zr6fvc1vlhbi4ocx111jwd3wmxt4ooif, for which the QR code is as follows:

Maw-Ling Wang March 2022

Rong-Yeu Chang
Chia-Hsiang (David) Hsu
 Contents

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII

1 Overview of Plastics Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Che-Ping (Barton) Lin
1.1 Introduction to Injection Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 The Systems of Injection Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1.1.1 The Cycle of Injection Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1.1.2 Injection Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.1.2 Defects in Injection Molded Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.1.2.1 Short Shot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.1.2.2 Warp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.1.2.3 Flash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.1.2.4 Sink Mark and Void . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.1.2.5 Air Trap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.1.2.6 Burn Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.1.2.7 Delamination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.1.2.8 Fish Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.1.2.9 Flow Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.1.2.10 Stress Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.1.2.11 Hesitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.1.2.12 Jetting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.1.2.13 Splay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.1.2.14 Weld Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
XII Contents

1.2 Core Values of Molding Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

1.2.1 Application of CAE Technology in Injection Molding . . . . . . . . 19

2 Material Properties of Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Chen-Chieh (Jye) Wang
2.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.2 Rheological Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.2.1 Viscosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.2.1.1 Effects of Non-Newtonian and Molecular
Conformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.2.1.2 Effects of Shear Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.2.1.3 Effects of Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.2.1.4 Effects of Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.2.1.5 Theoretical Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.2.1.6 Viscosity Properties of Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.2.2 Viscoelastic Fluids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.2.2.1 Viscoelastic Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.2.2.2 Theoretical Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.2.2.3 Measurement of Viscoelasticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.3 Thermodynamic and Thermal Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.3.1 Specific Heat Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.3.2 Melting Point and Glass Transition Temperatures . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.3.3 PVT Equation of State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.3.3.1 Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.3.3.2 Data Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.3.3.3 Theoretical Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.3.3.4 Effects of Non-Equilibrium State on PVT . . . . . . . . . . 54
2.3.4 Thermal Conductivity and Heat Transfer Coefficient . . . . . . . . 56
2.3.4.1 Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
2.3.4.2 Theoretical Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
2.3.4.3 Data Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
2.3.4.4 Mold-Melt Contact and Heat Transfer
Coefficient (HTC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Contents XIII

2.4 Mechanical Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

2.4.1 Stress and Strain of Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
2.4.2 Solid-Like Viscoelasticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
2.4.3 Theoretical Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
2.4.4 Data Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
2.5 Kinetic Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
2.5.1 Crystalline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
2.5.2 Theoretical Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
2.5.3 Effects of Cooling Rate on Crystallization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
2.6 Curing Kinetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
2.6.1 Curing Phenomenon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
2.6.2 Theoretical Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
2.6.3 Curing Effect on Viscosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
2.6.4 Data Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

3 Part and Mold Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Tsai-Hsin (Sam) Hsieh, Yao-Chen (Cloud) Tsai, Yao-Wei (Willie) Chuang
3.1 Part Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.1.1 Golden Rule: Uniform Wall Thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.1.2 Wall Thickness versus Flow Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.1.3 Radius/Fillets and Chamfer Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.1.4 Rib and Boss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.1.5 Draft Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
3.1.6 Design for Manufacturing (DFM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
3.1.7 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
3.2 Mold Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.2.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.2.2 Gate Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
3.2.2.1 Gate Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
3.2.2.2 Gate Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
3.2.2.3 Gate Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
3.2.3 Runner Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
3.2.3.1 Runner Shape and Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
3.2.3.2 Multi-Cavity Runner Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
XIV Contents

3.2.4 Cooling Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

3.2.5 Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
3.2.5.1 Ejector System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
3.2.5.2 Venting Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

4 Process Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Chuan-Wei (Arvid) Chang
4.1 Introduction to the Injection ­Molding Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
4.1.1 Brief Introduction to Injection Molding Machine Units . . . . . . 105
4.1.2 Injection Molding Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
4.1.3 Molding Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
4.1.4 PVT Variations during Injection Stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4.2 Plasticizing Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
4.2.1 Nozzle Temperature and Cylinder Temperatures . . . . . . . . . . . 122
4.2.2 Back Pressure, Screw rpm, Suck Back, and Metering Stroke . 123
4.3 Filling Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
4.3.1 Filling Time versus Injection Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
4.3.2 Injection Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
4.3.3 VP Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
4.4 Packing Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
4.5 Cooling Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
4.5.1 Cooling Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
4.5.2 Coolant Flow Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
4.5.3 Mold Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
4.6 Connecting Smart Design to Smart Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
4.6.1 Machine Characterization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
4.6.2 The CAE Setting Mode in Combination with
Injection Machine on Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
4.6.3 Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

5 Molding Simulation Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Hsien-Sen (Ethan) Chiu
5.1 The Goal of Molding Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
5.1.1 Design Verification and Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Contents XV

5.1.1.1 Overview of Design for Manufacture (DFM) . . . . . . . 158

5.1.1.2 CAE and DFM: A Practical Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
5.1.2 Process Conditions Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
5.1.2.1 Molding Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
5.1.2.2 Real Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
5.2 Basics of Simulation Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
5.2.1 Governing Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
5.2.2 Numerical Approximation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
5.2.2.1 Finite Difference Method (FDM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
5.2.2.2 Finite Volume Method (FVM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
5.2.2.3 Finite Element Method (FEM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
5.3 What Is Molding Simulation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
5.3.1 Brief History of Molding Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
5.3.2 Simulation Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

6 Flow Consideration versus Part Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Wen-Hsin (Debbie) Weng
6.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
6.1.1 Flow Behavior of Plastic Melt in the Cavity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
6.1.2 Effects of Filling Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
6.1.3 Flow Rate versus Injection Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
6.1.3.1 Flow Rate Curve Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
6.1.3.2 Relationship of Injection Rate and
Injection Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
6.1.4 VP Switch and Cavity Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
6.1.5 Effects of Part Thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
6.1.6 Material Viscosity an Flow Behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
6.1.7 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
6.2 Practical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
6.2.1 CAE Solution to Stress Mark in a Phone Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
6.2.2 Flow Rate Effect on Injection Pressure of Laptop Product . . . . 232
6.3 CAE Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
XVI Contents

7 Runner and Gate Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Yao-Chen (Cloud) Tsai, Yao-Wei (Willie) Chuang
7.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
7.1.1 General Design Guide of Runners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
7.1.2 General Design Guide of Gates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
7.1.3 Gate Sealing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
7.1.4 Flow Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
7.2 Practical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
7.2.1 CAE Verification on MeltFlipper® Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
7.2.2 CAE Verification of Multi-Cavity Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
7.3 CAE Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

8 Cooling Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Hung-Chou (Kent) Wang
8.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
8.1.1 Heat Transfer Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
8.1.2 Design Golden Rule: Uniform Mold Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . 283
8.1.3 General Design Guide of Cooling Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
8.1.4 Cooling Efficiency: Coolant Flow Consideration . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
8.1.5 Cooling Time Estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
8.1.6 Use CAE Cooling Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
8.1.7 Conformal Cooling Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
8.2 Practical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
8.2.1 Digital Camera Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
8.2.2 Cartridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
8.3 CAE Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

9 Warpage Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Shih-Po (Tober) Sun, Wen-Hsin (Debbie) Weng
9.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
9.1.1 The Causes of Warpage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
9.1.2 Material Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
9.1.3 Geometrical Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
9.1.4 Process Condition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Contents XVII

9.1.5 Criteria of CAE Warp Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

9.1.6 Methods to Minimize Warpage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
9.2 Practical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
9.3 CAE Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

10 Fiber Orientation Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Huan-Chang (Ivor) Tseng
10.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
10.1.1 Process Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
10.1.2 Theory Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
10.1.3 Advantages and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
10.2 Practical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
10.2.1 Using the iARD-RPR Model for an Injection Molded
Center-­Gated Disk with Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastics . . . . . 362
10.2.2 Comparison of iARD-RPR Models under GNF Decoupling
and IISO Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
10.2.3 The Influences of Material Flow and Fiber Interaction
on Fiber Orientation and Product Quality during
Injection Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
10.3 CAE Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374

11 Hot Runner Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

Tsai-Hsin (Sam) Hsieh
11.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
11.1.1 Process Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
11.1.2 Temperature Control in a Hot Runner System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
11.1.3 Advantages and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
11.2 Practical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
11.2.1 CAE Verification on a Single-Gate Hot Runner System . . . . . . . 395
11.2.2 CAE Pin Movement Control of Valve Gate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
11.3 CAE Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
XVIII Contents

12 Co-/Bi-Injection Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411

Chih-Chung (Jim) Hsu, Yu-Sheng (Tim) Chou
12.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
12.1.1 Process Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
12.1.2 Advantages and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
12.1.3 Theory Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
12.2 Practical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
12.2.1 Co-Injection Molding of Fork Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
12.2.2 Co-Injection Molding: Core Breakthrough and
Flow Imbalance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
12.2.3 Co-Injection Molding: Fiber Orientation Predictions . . . . . . . . 424
12.2.4 CAE Case of Bi-Injection Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
12.3 CAE Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430

13 Gas-/Water-Assisted Injection Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

Chih-Chung (Jim) Hsu, Yu-Sheng (Tim) Chou
13.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
13.1.1 Process Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
13.1.1.1 Short-Shot Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
13.1.1.2 Full-Shot Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
13.1.2 Advantages and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
13.2 Practical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
13.2.1 CAE Verification on GAIM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
13.2.2 CAE Verification on WAIM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
13.2.3 CAE Verification on GAIM: Fingering Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
13.3 CAE Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454

14 Foam Injection Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457

Yuan-Jung (Dan) Chang, Li-Yang (Robert) Chang,
Chih-Wei (Joe) Wang
14.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
14.1.1 Microcellular Process Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
14.1.2 Advantages and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
14.1.3 Theory Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
Contents XIX

14.2 Practical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466

14.2.1 CAE Verification on Microcellular Injection Molding: Case 1 . . 466
14.2.2 CAE Verification of Microcellular Injection Molding: Case 2 . . 473
14.2.3 CAE Verification on Chemical Foaming Injection M
­ olding . . . 480
14.2.4 CAE Verification of Polyurethane Reactive Foaming Molding . 483
14.2.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
14.3 CAE Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492

15 Powder Injection Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495

Huan-Chang (Ivor) Tseng
15.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
15.1.1 Process Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
15.1.2 Advantages and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497
15.1.3 Theory Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
15.2 Practical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
15.3 CAE Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

16 Resin Transfer Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511

Hsun (Fred) Yang, Yu-He (Zoe) Chen
16.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512
16.1.1 Process Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516
16.1.2 Advantages and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
16.2 Theory Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
16.2.1 2.5D Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
16.2.2 3D Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
16.2.3 Measurement of Permeability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
16.2.4 Porosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
16.2.5 Measurement of Chemorheological Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
16.2.6 Simulation Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
16.3 Practical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
16.3.1 CAE Verification on Edge Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
16.3.2 CAE Verification on Thickness-Direction Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
16.3.3 CAE Verification on a Wind Turbine Blade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
16.3.4 CAE Verification on Mat Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
XX Contents

16.3.5 CAE Verification on Flybridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543

16.4 CAE Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547

17 Integrated Circuit Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549

Chih-Chung (Jim) Hsu, Chia-Peng (Victor) Sun, Chen-An (Jennan) Wang,
Yu-En (Joseph) Liang
17.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
17.1.1 Process Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
17.1.2 Advantages and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
17.1.3 Theoretical Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
17.2 Practical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
17.2.1 CAE Verification on Void Prediction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
17.2.2 Fluid-Structure Interactions: Wire Sweep Analysis . . . . . . . . . 567
17.2.3 Fluid-Structure Interactions: Paddle Shift and Chip
Deformation Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
17.2.4 Warpage Prediction for a Bilaminate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
17.2.5 Warpage Prediction for a Bi-Material Component Model . . . . . 580
17.2.6 Warpage of Bi-Material Strip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583
17.2.7 The Effect of Dispensing Control and Creeping ­Behavior
on the Underfill Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586
17.3 CAE Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
 1 Overview of Plastics
Molding
Che-Ping (Barton) Lin

The context of plastics molding will be briefly introduced in this chapter using the
most popular method of injection molding. Two major topics are included in this
chapter:
1. Introduction to Injection Molding: The systems of injection molding and the
defects of injection molded products are described.
2. Core Values of Molding Simulation: The core values of simulation in injection
molding will be introduced at the end of this chapter.

„ 1.1 Introduction to Injection Molding

Plastics can be shaped because of their ductility and plasticity. Therefore, plastics
have been widely used in daily life and become a necessary part of the current
world. The source of plastic products comes from customers’ “needs”, which are
then developed to “design concepts”. Such design concepts will be delivered to
product designers for product design before being handed over to mold designers
for mold design and development, as shown in Figure 1.1.
There are four stages from product development to mass production:
1. Design product drawings according to its functions, appearance, material, and
processes, and hand over to mold factories for the design and manufacturing of
molds.
2. Mold designers undertake discussion, drawing design, machining, mold-clos-
ing, and other procedures upon receiving product drawings, samples, or
­relevant specifications regarding material, weight, color, etc., which are used to
manufacture the molds based on the conclusions made in the mold manufac-
turability meeting. The manufactured molds will be delivered to molding facto-
ries for mold test, modification, and detection.
2 1 Overview of Plastics Molding

3. Molding engineers execute tests to obtain better molding conditions for smooth
production during the mold test stage, and provide feedback comments for
mold modification regarding the difficult points for molding. The mold test will
be executed repeatedly after the mold modification until the product quality
achieves the specification of the mold test.
4. The production yield is improved via small-scale production and quality certi-
fication before the mass production stage begins. To obtain high-quality plastic
products, one must first understand the relevant principles and mechanisms
of the molding process. This section will briefly introduce the most common
­components of injection molding systems.

Core
Technology

Sink Mark

polymer moleculars

Q2
Q3 = V3A3 Q4 = V4A4
Flow Rate

Heat Dissipation molecular chain Fast jetting

Q3
molecular chain
Cavity Wall
Q2 = V2A3
Q1 Q4
Heat Filling Direction
Source
Q1= V1A1 Avoid pressure overshoot
Cavity Wall
Avoid jetting and help air venting
Heat Dissipation
Time

Figure 1.1 Development of workflow of mold products

 1.1 Introduction to Injection Molding 3

1.1.1 The Systems of Injection Molding

1.1.1.1 The Cycle of Injection Molding

First, what is injection molding? Simply speaking, it is a process of making a
­product by injecting plastic material of liquid state into a mold cavity via the help
of injection molding machines. When the plastic material enters the injection
molding machine through a hopper, it is turned into a melted state after being
squeezed by the screw from which a large amount of heat is generated through
friction. The melted plastic accumulates in the front of the cylinder and is con-
stantly heated in order to maintain the temperature for injection. The process
­mentioned above is called plastification, as shown in Figure 1.2.

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Figure 1.2 Cycle of injection molding

Then, the melted plastic will be pushed forward into the closed mold cavity by the
screw, a process that is called injection. After the initial injection is completed,
when the high molecular weight melted plastic has fully filled the mold cavity,
more melted plastic is injected under high pressure in order to compensate for the
decrease in the volume of the plastic due to cooling as well as to make sure the
mold cavity is perfectly filled until the sprue is solidified, a process that is called
packing. Finally, the movable side moves back until the ejection pin reaches the
rear platen to eject the molded product, runner system, and waste. This cycle is
known as the molding cycle of injection molding.
4 1 Overview of Plastics Molding

1.1.1.2 Injection Machine

Figure 1.3 shows a basic injection molding machine (injection machine), which is
suitable for manufacturing products of different shapes from thermoplastic or
thermosetting plastics. There are two basic functions: 1) heating of the plastics to
a melted state, and 2) application of high pressure to inject the melted plastic to fill
the mold cavity completely.
Injection machine systems often have different components due to different types
and uses, but generally comprise injection unit, clamping unit, mold unit, plastifi-
cation unit, feed unit, and control unit.

Figure 1.3 Injection machine

In industrial plastics processing methods, whether extrusion, injection, calender-

ing, blow molding, film blowing, or spinning, a huge quantity of additional auxil-
iary equipment is always required to complete each processing step. The optimiza-
tion, automation, and rationalization of auxiliary equipment for plastics processing
play a role in determining product quality and the economic viability of the pro-
cess.
Next, we will introduce the equipment required for injection molding in detail.
This includes the feed, control, plastification, injection, and mold systems.

1.1.1.2.1 Feed System

Generally, there are two kinds of feed systems, namely independent and central.
Independent feed equipment is usually set above the feeding port of the injection
machine, i. e. the hopper with inverted cone structure, as shown in Figure 1.4(a).
Some are supplemented by a heating or drying device, and also with a metering
device to quantify the plastics, as shown in Figure 1.4(b).
 1.1 Introduction to Injection Molding 5

The other kind of central feed system (also called automatic feed system or central-
ized feed system), including suction machine, central material loader, and convey-
ing control system, has the advantages of continuous feeding, centralized auto-
matic control, uniform mixing, and flexibility to change colors.

Figure 1.4 (a) Hopper and (b) plastic pellets

1.1.1.2.2 Control System

The control system (Figure 1.5) can be said to be the brain and nerve center of
the entire injection machine. The pressure, temperature, speed and time of the
machine are controlled via the set values input by the operator that will directly
affect the molding cycle and product quality.
The key physical parameters of injection molding processing are temperature,
pressure, speed, time, and position, each of which includes the following:
1. Temperature includes resin drying temperature, barrel temperature, melt tem-
perature, mold temperature, machine oil temperature, and working environ-
ment temperature.
2. Pressure includes filling pressure, holding pressure, back pressure, ejection
pressure, mold opening pressure, and mold clamping pressure.
3. Speed includes injection speed, screw rotation speed, mold opening and clos-
ing speeds, and ejection speed.
Time includes filling time, pressure holding time, cooling time, and resin dry-
ing time.
4. Position covers measuring position, VP switch position, eject position, and
switch mode position.
6 1 Overview of Plastics Molding

Figure 1.5 Control panels from Nissei and Arburg

One of the biggest problems encountered in common development and quality con-
trol of molded products during the production process is ineffective quality control
due to using a one-way, indirect method for operating injection machines and sys-
tem control devices. Therefore, it is important to analyze the characteristics of the
machines so as to understand the different ways in which they can be used to exert
good control over the process conditions.

1.1.1.2.3 Plastification System

Plastification is a process that uses the mechanical energy of the screw and the
thermal energy of the heater to melt the incoming solid plastic, which is then
­applied with high pressure to be ready for injection. The plastic is turned into a
melted state after being squeezed by the screw from which a large amount of heat
is generated through friction. The melted plastic accumulates in the front of the
cylinder and is constantly heated in order to maintain the temperature.
As shown in Figure 1.6 and Figure 1.7, the solid plastic enters the screw channel
via the inlet hopper. With the high rotation speed of the screw that generates a
shear stress effect with the barrel, the plastic is mixed and transferred along the
screw channel. As the solid plastic is heated by the electric heaters outside the
 1.1 Introduction to Injection Molding 7

barrel and due to the shear stress effect, it turns into a melted state as the tempera-
ture rises inside the barrel.

feed zone
metering zone transition
zone

Figure 1.6 Barrel and plastification

Metering Zone Transition Feed Zone

Zone

Figure 1.7 Screw

The screw is divided into three zones (Figure 1.7):

1. Feed zone: The fixed feed depth of the screw channel is for pre-heating, trans-
ferring, and pushing the plastic granules, which start to melt at the end of the
feed zone.
2. Transition zone: The thread depth is gradually decreased in the transition
zone, the purpose of which is melting, mixing, shearing, and compressing of
the plastic, and pressurized venting. The plastic must be completely melted in
this zone. The volume of the melted plastic will be reduced and should be
­compressed accordingly to avoid incomplete compression and poor venting.
3. Metering zone: The fixed metering depth of the screw channel is for transfer
and metering of the melted plastic, as well as providing sufficient pressure to
8 1 Overview of Plastics Molding

maintain a uniform temperature and stabilize the flow of the melted plastic.
The length of this zone greatly affects the quality of the melt injected into the
mold cavity. The longer the metering zone, the better is the chain mixing
­result. But a zone that is too long will cause a long dwell time of the melt in the
barrel and will induce thermal decomposition. In contrast, a zone that is too
short will lead to an uneven melt temperature.
The length and geometry of the zones in the screw directly affect the extent of
plastification and the transport efficiency of the plastic. Judicious screw selection
is very important for injection molding.

1.1.1.2.4 Injection System

The injection system is mainly responsible for filling and packing (Figure 1.8). For
the filling stage, the screw moves forward to inject the melted plastics into the
closed mold cavity through the nozzle to finish the filling process. When the melted
plastic enters the cavity, the air is expelled from the ejection pin, parting line, and
vent holes. Under-injection would occur if the liquidity is poor or the injection
pressure is insufficient; in contrast, if the liquidity is too high, flash (see Section
1.1.2.3) would occur on the parting facet of the plastic part.

Filling

Packing

Figure 1.8 Injection system

After the mold cavity has been almost filled by the melt in the filling stage, the
machine continues to apply high pressure to inject more melt into the mold cavity,
to pre-compensate for the plastic volume shrinkage caused by cooling and to
­ensure that the melt completely fills the mold in the packing stage. Packing contin-
ues until the gate is sealed or the packing time ends.