Develop Energy Usage Data of Various Molds Designs During Heating Cycles

传统的注塑工艺生产的零件往往存在焊痕、流痕等表面质量差的问题。因此，塑件的机械性能和外观通常不能满足客户的要求。为了改善零件的性能，必须采用后续的后处理操作。这些操作增加了零部件的制造过程，浪费了原材料和能源。更糟糕的是，它们还增加了生产成本，不可避免地造成环境污染。开发了一种新的聚合物注射成型方法。可生产出外观美观、无焊接痕迹的高品质塑件。可以消除严重污染环境的后续工序--喷涂和涂装。同时也降低了能源、材料和生产成本。为了进一步提高成本效益和零件质量，确定了温度控制系统和模具的热响应和加热/冷却效率。对加热介质、冷却液参数和结晶器导热系数进行了系统研究。随着先进制造技术的进步，设计和制造了用于提高模具冷却效率和均匀性的保形冷却通道。为了降低能耗，提高生产效率和零件质量，对模具结构和寿命进行了研究。

There are always some problems on the parts produced by conventional injection method, such as weld mark,flow mark, and other poor surface appearance. As a result, the mechanical properties and appearance of theplastic parts usually cannot meet the requirements of customers. The subsequent reprocessing operations haveto be employed in order to improve the part's properties. These operations increase the manufacturing processesof parts and waste raw material and energy. What is worse, they also increase the production cost and causeenvironment pollution inevitably. A novel polymer injection molding method has been developed. It canproduce high-quality plastic parts with excellent appearance and no weld marks. The subsequentprocesses-spraying and coating which seriously pollute the environment-can be eliminated. The energy,material, and production cost are decreased as well. In order to improve the cost-efficiency and part qualityfurther, the thermal response and heating/cooling efficiency of the temperature control system and the moldwas identified. The parameters of heating medium and coolant and mold thermal conductivity weresystematically investigated. With the progress of advanced manufacturing techniques, conformal coolingchannels used to improve cooling efficiency and uniformity in the mold were designed and fabricated. Themold structure and the lifetime of the mold were also investigated in order to reduce the consumption of theenergy and improve the production efficiency and part quality.