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InjectionMoulding
The InjectionMoulding Process
The injectionmoulding processcomprisesfour stages.each of which must be closelyregulatedto obtain good quality mouldings: Feedingmaterialinto a heatedcylinder.where melt; it softensand becomesa plasticised Injecting the correct amount of plasticised material under controlledpressureinto an enclosedmould; Maintainingsufficientpressureon the material to ensure adequatefilling of the mould and to compensatefor the shrinkageof the material on cooling; Allowing a further period of time to elapse while the moulding cools and sets to a point at which it can be elected without deformation taking place. which will To achievea suitablestate of plasticisation ensurea good quality product requiresclose control of the temperatureof the cylinderand of the length of time the materialis in the cylinder.In addition,on the rotationspeed of machines, screw pre-plasticising the screw and the applied back pressure(see page of the material.The screw 55) affectthe plasticisation design in the majority of modern machinesis 'Diakon'.However,Figure25 adequatefor processing illustratesthe preferred screw design for processing 'Diakon'.

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Figure 25. Screw Profile for'Diakon' The amount of materialinjectedinto a mould is controlledby the volumetricfeed mechanismof the machine. The melt viscosityof acrylicis relativelyhigh comparedwith, for example,polyolefineand polystyrenemoulding materials. Thereforethe high injectionpressures neededare correspondingly to and the mould must be of robust construction resistthese pressures and so preventdeformation under load. In additionthe lockingforce,which keeps the mould closed during injection.must be adequate to resist the total thrust over the projected area of the mould cavity and so preventthe mould from opening. For this a minimum lockingforce of 31 MPa of projecaed area should be availablewhen using moulds of conventional design.For certainrelatively flat shapesit is sometimespossibleto use a modified mould design in conjunctionwith a hydraulicclamp and this allows much lower clamping pressures to be used,down to approximately I MPa.

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SUBMARINE (TUNNEL) GATE Eisureaz) Although not recommended.this type of gate can be used on multi-cavitymoulds in a similar mannerto the restrictedgate. lt is normally used for articles which cannot have a mould mark on the base or for a tubular type article.The submarinegate differs from the restrictedsystem in that it is below the parting line of the mould. This meansthat the gate will not breakoff until the moulding is ejected.lt is essential when using submarinegatesto have a sufficienttaper on the gating system so that the portion below the split line of the mould can be easily removedwith the runner system.This system can be used to advantagewith fully automated moulds.

Gating of thick sections To preventsink marks and voids which must be absentwhen moulding lensesand prisms,the materialshrinkage(a few per cent from melt to solid state) must be compensated by the flow of additional materialinto the mould during cooling.This flow of materialcan occupy severalminutesdependingon the thicknessof the moulding. Hencethe cross-section of the runnersand gates must be of adequatesize to prevent the gate freezing-offtoo soon. The edges of the componentsmust not be too thin, as could occur with the edge of a lens,since insufficient for the gate. In area would be available producingthick sectionarticlesof this type the gate thicknessis more importantthan the width and should, in general,be at leastthree-quarters the thicknessof the edgessection.In order to preventany flow linesthe edge of the gate should be slightly radiusedand the cavity must be filled slowly. Runner lengthsshould be kept to a minimum.

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MouldingTechnique
Care of raw material 'Diakon'acrylicpolymersare normally suitablefor moulding without any preliminarydrying operation. However, moisture will be absorbed if the material is exposed to the,atmosphere for excessiveperiods. or if materialis k6pt under damp storageconditions. Materialshould not be allowed to remain in machine hoppersfor more tha_n a few hours.When not in use, bags and containersshould be sealedand re-usedas soon as possible. Stock control should be practised so that materialstoragetime is kept to a minimum (recommended maximum 3 months) and the risk of moisture pick-up, through prolongedstorage, reduced. when the moulded colour is critical.For applications where colour is less critical,50Toor even 100% rework may be used. It is essential to ensurethat the grinder is clean and that dirt contaminationis not includedduring the grinding process. The screensize on the grinder should be 3 mm- mm. Largerscreensshould not be used in processing since difficultycould be encountered particularly if rework materialis being larger particles, blendedwith colouredmaterialor used on shallow-fIighted screws. It is usually necessaryto dry rework material prior to moulding if it has been exposedto the atmosphere for any length of time. The drying conditionsfor rework materialare the same as used for virgin material.lt is generallypossible,by grinding sprues and runnerssoon after"theyhave been moulded and keeping the material protected from the atmosphere, to mould it without drying. Contamination 'Diakon'is not compatiblewith other moulding must be taken to materialsand strict precautions preventcontaminationwhich is immediatelyvisible of the material. becauseof the high transparency 'Diakon'is a good electrical insulator,it will Because pick up atmospheric dust by electrostaticattraction. Care must thereforebe taken when loading machine hoppers to prevent unnecessaryexposure!

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lf materialhas become wet becauseof incorrect storageor handling,splashor mica marks will be observedon the surfaceof the moulded article.Wet materialmay be oven-driedby loading on trays to a depth not greaterthan 25 mm. The trays should be coveredwith a tailoredfabric,such as nylon mesh,to preventcontaminationboth into and from other.., materials. A drying period of 6 to 8 hours at 7H0'C 'Diakon' in an air circulatedoven is suggestedfor the for type 8 gradesand a similar period at 65"C-70'C the 'Diakon'type 6 and 7 grades.Hopper driers may to be used for'Diakon' compound as an alternative oven drying. Rework material There is a tendencyfor the original water-white slightly with repeated colour of acrylicsto deteriorate that the reworkingand henceit is recommended amount of added rework material(scrapmoulding, spruesetc. ground up for re-use)should be limited 50

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Automatic loading is consideredthe best and most convenientway of filling machine hoppersand both pneumaticand mechanical systems have been used successfully.lf automatic loading is not available, then hoppers should preferably be filled in bulk rather than by scoop, to avoid losses by spillage. In all cases,hoppers must be covered immediately after loadingto preventcontamination. turCirrC Being a clear material, the changeover from other materialsto 'Diakon'is more difficultthan with opaque plastics,and many moulders keep a separate cylindersolely for moulding acrylic.lf severalcolours are to be moulded,the run should be plannedso as to mould in sequence towards the deepershades. Where a separate cylinderfor acrylicis not available the most convenient way to clean the cylinder, apart from a completestrip down, is to purge the machine using rework'Diakon'with the nozzleremoved.The nozle can be 'burnt out' separately. Where blackor heavilyfilled materialsare to be

removedfrom the cylinderit is usefulto use scrap naturalunfilled polypropylene as a purging compound beforechangingover to rework 'Diakon'. When purging it is recommended that the cylinder temperatures be raisedduring the initial stagesof the operation. This assistsremoval of materialfrom cylinderwalls. Obviouslycare must be taken not to use excessive temperatures which could causesevere decomposition of the material.After a short while, temperatures should be reducedand the machine purged with 'Diakon'at lower temperatures to remove remainingtracesof unwanted material.Once the purging operationis completea clean nozzle should be fitted. Temperature control The melt viscosityof acrylicis more temperature dependentthan that of many other thermoplastic materialsas can be seen{n Figures48, 49 and 50, which give graphicalcomparisons. lt follows, therefore,that the moulding conditionsmust be accurately controlled.

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Surface Hardness The surfaceof 'Diakon'TD is rathersofterthan that of standardacrylic. Greatercare must,therefore,be exercised when handlingTD to preventsurface damage.This is particularly important directlyafter processing, when the componentis stillhol

'Diakon'TD grades can be injectionmoulded into a wide varietyof applications. In many cases, gradesfrom the TD '5oo' series are suitable, but for intricatethin sectionor largearea mouldingsthe TD '600' series is more appropriate. As a resultof the highermelt viscosity of 'Diakon'TD gradescomparedto standardacrylic,largergatesand slowerinjectionspeedsmay be required. Processing conditions will vary depending on: o thegrade ofTD being used o themould o themoulding machine. Table3 showssuggested conditionsbasedon generalexperience.
MouldingType Large Area 260 to 270oC 70oC Medium Low (to medium) Medium to fast 70 seconds

Injection Moulding

Normal Meft Mould temperature Screw speed Backpressure lnjection speed Cycletime 220 to 240oC 50 to 70oC Medium

ThickSedion As low as 180oC 70"C Slow High (to medium) Slow to veryslow > 2 minutes

Low (to medium) Medium to fast 40 seconds

Guideto moulding conditions.

Gradeof 'Diakon' MG102/CMG302 IG156/CLG156 MH2s4/Cl,tlH454 1G702/CLG902 1H754/CLH954 TD525 TD542 TD625 TD642

Melt Temperature Range("C) 180-270 190-270 210-270 190-270 200-270 210-270 220-270

2ob-270 210-270

Moulding temperafures Table 3. lnjectionmoulding conditions for 'Diakon' TDgrades.

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To overcomescrew slip, ie remove the blockage causedby molten or semi-moltenmaterial,the of the rear zone and feed pocketshould temperatures be reducedand the machinepurged with rework the rework material material.In extreme instances may have to be force-fedon to the screw.Purging should be continueduntil the screw refills consistently. Where an extendeddelay is likelyto occur it is a wise precaution cooling to the feed throat and to increase reducethe rear zone cylindertemperatureto about 150"c. Shrinkage of mouldings Shrinkageof mouldings is causedby the reductionin volume which the materialundergoeswhen it changesfrom the molten to the solid state in the mould and continuesto cool to room temperature. as a fraction,or as a The shrinkageexpressed percentage,is based on the difference between the dimensionsof the cold moulding and of the cold 'Diakon',like that mould. The extent of shrinkageof is dependenton the of other thermoplastics, componentdesign,gate design,moulding conditions and the manner in which the melt flows to conform to the shape of the tool. the exact It is almost impossibleto predictaccurately amount of shrinkagewhich will take placeon a given articlebut approximateshrinkagefigures which may be used as a guide can be obtained bY made on specifictest pieces.lf measurements accuratedimensionsare requiredon the finished first to carry out trials components,it is necessary under controlledmoulding conditionsand then to to the mould dimensions. make final adjustments to measurethe When doing this it is essential componentsometime after moulding to ensurethat full contractionhas occurred.The moulding must be kept dry during this time and it is importantto measureall criticaldimensionsboth in line with, and across,the flow path of the material,since shrinkage can vary with the directionof melt flow' Shrinkage can be adiustedto some extent by the moulding that the conditions,but it must be emphasised amount of shrinkagewhich may be controlledin this way is limited and is not always sufficientto compensateentirelyfor a mould which has been made grossly under or over size'This sort of practice residual may also lead to the danger of excessive stressin a moulding. 'Diakon'is in the order On averagethe shrinkageof the higher shrinkageapplyingto a of 0.3 to O.77o, t h i c k e rm o u l d i n g . the From experimentswith various components, f o l l o w i n gc o n c l u s i o n c san be drawn: Shrinkageis inverselyproportionalto iniection pressure; Shrinkageis directlyproportionalto mould temperature; Shrinkageis directly proportionalto melt temPerature. It is worth noting that the flow patternto the componentwill tend to determinewhich is the main factor in controllingthe shrinkageof the moulding. For example,the shrinkageof long thin mouldings exhibitinglinear flow paths will be dependentmore on changesin injectionpressureand speedthan on while shrinkageof mouldings other variables, exhibitingradialflow paths will be more dependent on changesin melt and/ormould temperature. Strcin in mouldings Two types of strain can occur in injectionmouldings in relationto the and these are of consequence subsequentservicebehaviourof the moulded component.Thesestrainsarisefrom: - introduced d u r i n gt h e orientation Molecular flow of the molten polymer in the mould and f r o z e ni n d u r i n gc o o l i n g ; Ouenchingor cooling factorscausinga differential rate of cooling between the surface and the interiorof the comPonent. and Molecular Referto the sectionon Stresses 'Diakon'Componentson page 84 for Orientation in and remedy. informationon causes,problems,testing

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