6.2.

2017 ShrinkageandWarpage

Shrinkage and warpage

Whydotheyoccur?
Shrinkage is inherent in the injection molding process. Shrinkage occurs
because the density of polymer varies from the processing temperature to
the ambient temperature (see Specific volume (pvT diagram)). During
injection molding, the variation in shrinkage both globally and through the
cross section of a part creates internal stresses. These socalled residual
stresses (see Residual stress) act on a part with effects similar to externally
applied stresses. If the residual stresses induced during molding are high
enough to overcome the structural integrity of the part, the part will warp
upon ejection from the mold or crack with external service load.

Shrinkage
Theshrinkageofmoldedplasticpartscanbeasmuchas20percentbyvolume,
whenmeasuredattheprocessingtemperatureandtheambienttemperature.
Crystallineandsemicrystallinematerialsareparticularlypronetothermal
shrinkageamorphousmaterialstendtoshrinkless.Whencrystallinematerialsare
cooledbelowtheirtransitiontemperature,themoleculesarrangethemselvesina
moreorderlyway,formingcrystallites.Ontheotherhand,themicrostructureof
amorphousmaterialsdoesnotchangewiththephasechange.Thisdifferenceleads
tocrystallineandsemicrystallinematerialshavingagreaterdifferenceinspecific
volume( )betweentheirmeltphaseandsolid(crystalline)phase.Thisis
illustratedinFigure1below.We'dliketopointoutthatthecoolingratealsoaffects
thefastcoolingpvTbehaviorofcrystallineandsemicrystallinematerials.

FIGURE1.ThepvTcurvesforamorphousandcrystallinepolymersandthespecific
volumevariation( )betweentheprocessingstate(pointA)andthestateatroom

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temperatureandatmosphericpressure(pointB).Notethatthespecificvolume
decreasesasthepressureincreases.

Causesofexcessivepartshrinkage
Excessiveshrinkage,beyondtheacceptablelevel,canbecausedbythefollowing
factors.Therelationshipofshrinkagetoseveralprocessingparametersandpart
thicknessisschematicallyplottedinFigure2.

lowinjectionpressure
shortpackholdtimeorcoolingtime
highmelttemperature
highmoldtemperature
lowholdingpressure.

Problemscausedbypartshrinkage
Uncompensatedvolumetriccontractionleadstoeithersinkmarksorvoidsinthe
moldinginterior.Controllingpartshrinkageisimportantinpart,mold,andprocess
designs,particularlyinapplicationsrequiringtighttolerances.Shrinkagethatleads
tosinkmarksorvoidscanbereducedoreliminatedbypackingthecavityafter
filling.Also,themolddesignshouldtakeshrinkageintoaccountinorderto
conformtothepartdimension.PartshrinkagepredictedbyCMOLDoffersa
usefulguidelineforpropermolddesign.

FIGURE2.Processinganddesignparametersthataffectpartshrinkage

Warpage
Warpageisadistortionwherethesurfacesofthemoldedpartdonotfollowthe
intendedshapeofthedesign.Partwarpageresultsfrommoldedinresidualstresses,
which,inturn,iscausedbydifferentialshrinkageofmaterialinthemoldedpart.If
theshrinkagethroughoutthepartisuniform,themoldingwillnotdeformorwarp,
itsimplybecomessmaller.However,achievinglowanduniformshrinkageisa
complicatedtaskduetothepresenceandinteractionofmanyfactorssuchas

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molecularandfiberorientations,moldcooling,partandmolddesigns,andprocess
conditions.

Warpageduetodifferentialshrinkage
Warpageinmoldedpartsresultsfromdifferentialshrinkage.Variationinshrinkage
canbecausedbymolecularandfiberorientation,temperaturevariationswithinthe
moldedpart,andbyvariablepacking,suchasoverpackingatgatesandunder
packingatremotelocations,ordifferentpressurelevelsasmaterialsolidifiesacross
thepartthickness.Thesecausesaredescribedmorefullybelow.

Differencesinfilledandunfilledmaterials
Nonuniformmoldcoolingacrossthepartthicknessoroverthepart
CoolingratesthatdifferbecauseofPartthicknessvariation
Partgeometryasymmetryorcurvature

Differencesinfilledandunfilledmaterials
DifferentialshrinkageforfilledandunfilledmaterialsisshowninFigure3below.
Whenshrinkageisdifferentialandanisotropicacrossthepartandpartthickness,
theinternalstressescreatedcanleadtopartwarpage.

Filledmaterials
Forfiberfilledthermoplastics,reinforcingfibersinhibitshrinkageduetotheir
smallerthermalcontractionandhighermodulus.Therefore,fiberfilledmaterials
shrinklessalongthedirectioninwhichfibersalign(typicallytheflowdirection)
comparedtotheshrinkageinthetransversedirection.Similarly,particlefilled
thermoplasticsshrinkmuchlessthanunfilledgrades.

Unfilledmaterials
Ontheotherhand,ifanunfilledmoldedpartcontainshighlevelsofmolecular
orientation,shrinkageisanisotropicbecausealignedchainsshrinktoagreater
extentinthedirectionoforientation.

Liquidcrystalpolymers
Forliquidcrystalpolymers(LCPs),thetightlyorderedselfreinforcingstructure
tendstoexhibitanisotropicshrinkage.

FIGURE3.Differentialshrinkageforbothunfilledandfilledmaterials

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Nonuniformmoldcoolingacrossthepartthickness
Nonuniformcoolinginthepartandasymmetriccoolingacrossthepartthickness
fromthemoldcavityandcorecanalsoinducedifferentialshrinkage.Thematerial
coolsandshrinksinconsistentlyfromthemoldwalltothecenter,causingwarpage
afterejection.

FIGURE4.Partwarpagedueto(a)nonuniformcoolinginthepart,and(b)
asymmetriccoolingacrossthepartthickness.

Partthicknessvariation
Shrinkageincreasesasthewallthicknessincreases.Differentialshrinkagedueto
nonuniformwallthicknessisamajorcauseofpartwarpageinunreinforced
thermoplastics.Morespecifically,differentcoolingratesandcrystallizationlevels
generallyarisewithinpartswithwallsectionsofvaryingthickness.Thiscauses
differentialshrinkage,resultinginpartwarpage,asshowninFigure5below.

FIGURE5.Largervolumetricshrinkageduetothehighcrystallizationlevelinthe
slowcoolingareas(e.g.,thethicksections)leadstodifferentialshrinkageandthus
partwarpage

Partgeometryasymmetryorcurvature
Geometricasymmetry(e.g.,aflatplatewithalargenumberofribsthatarealigned
inonedirectionorononesideofthepart)willintroducenonuniformcoolingand
differentialshrinkagethatcanleadtopartwarpage,asshowninFigure6below.

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FIGURE6.Thepoorcoolingofthemoldwallontheribbedsidecausesaslower
coolingofthematerialonthatoneside,whichcanleadtopartwarpage

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