Rheology of glass-filled polypropylene plastics during injection molding

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Injection Molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material (mostly plastics)**into a tool (a mold). Obtaining a defect-free part from an optimized injection molding (IM) process requires a**full understanding and control of the molten material flow, heat transfer between the material and the tool, and**material solidification. Material flow controls filing time and material ability to completely fill the tool. The**rate of heat transfer affects material flowability and its rate of solidification. On one hand, using a high tool**temperature during the tool filling stage of the IM process results in a better quality part, however it extends the**cycle time because longer cooling time will be required. On the other hand, using a low tool temperature during**filling would reduce the cycle time, but it would drastically affect the visual quality and physical properties of**the produced part. The current practice in IM employs a constant tool temperature that is usually determined**through trials for each molten material processed and part geometry, which renders the whole IM process**non-optimal.**This research project is related to the development of an innovative more efficient injection molding process.**The project will be carried out in collaboration with Windsor Mold Group (WMG), which is a Canadian**injection molding company located in Windsor, Ontario. A long-term plan has been developed by the applicant**and WMG to revolutionize the IM process. The main objective of this plan is to optimize the IM process by**using a dual-temperature tool (DTT-IM). The DTT-IM concept involves rapid heating and rapid cooling of the**tool during the filling stage and the cooling stage, respectively. The proposed DTT-IM process will result in**better part quality, less defects, lower cycle time, and higher productivity. The first phase of this long-term plan**is the research proposed in this application which focuses on studying rheology (flowability) of molten**polymers (plastics) at flow conditions and range of temperatures intended for the proposed DTT-IM.