An Innovative Process for Producing Complex Injection Molded Parts

自1976年以来，塑料一直是美国使用最广泛的材料，其用量超过了钢、铜和铝的总和。在各种塑料加工方法中，注塑成型占所有聚合物加工的三分之一。本研究旨在开发一种新型共注射成型工艺的科学基础，该工艺将注射成型的美学和加工优势与微孔塑料（MCPs）的性能属性和优点相结合。通过共注射成型将固体塑料与mcp集成在一起，可以实现协同效益，例如提高生产率，降低能耗，增加零件几何形状的设计自由度，以及控制成型产品的微观结构和性能的手段。此外，这种环保工艺是回收消费后塑料的完美选择。本研究包括系统的分析、实验和计算工作，以证明该新过程的可行性和优势，促进对过程物理的理解，开发计算机建模和仿真工具，并将研究活动/结果纳入课程，以激发学生对高级研究和教育的兴趣。在这项研究中，与工业伙伴的合作促进了专业知识和资源的共享、研究成果的验证、技术转让、劳动力教育和经济收益的评估。这项研究的成功实施将扩大mcp和注塑成型的适用性，最终帮助美国塑料工业在全球市场上获得竞争优势。

Since 1976, plastics have been the most widely used materials in the U.S., surpassing steel, copper and aluminum combined by volume. Among the various plastics processing methods, injection molding accounts for one-third of all polymers processed. This research is aimed at developing the scientific basis for a novel co-injection molding process that combines the aesthetic and processing advantages of injection molding with the property attributes and benefits of microcellular plastics (MCPs). By integrating solid plastics with MCPs via co-injection molding, synergistic benefits, such as increased productivity, reduced energy consumption, additional design freedom in part geometry, and a means to control the microstructure and properties of the molded products, can be realized. Furthermore, this environmentally benign process is a perfect candidate for recycling of post-consumer plastics.This research involves systematic analytical, experimental, and computational efforts to demonstrate the feasibility and advantages of this novel process, advance the understanding of the process physics, develop computer modeling and simulation tools, and incorporate the research activities/results into the curricula to stimulates students' interest in advanced research and education. Collaboration with industrial partners in this research facilitates the sharing of expertise and resources, validation of research outcome, transfer of technology, education of the workforce, and assessment of the economic gain. Successful execution of this research will extend the applicability of MCPs and injection molding, ultimately helping the U.S. plastics industry gain competitive strength in the global marketplace.