Transfer Moulding

Transfer moulding may be defined as a

combination of injection and compression
moulding in which the plastic is first melted in
a heated cylinder or pot and then transferred
to a cavity/mould and compressed in to the
desired shape.
Transfer mould differs from compression
mould in that the plastic is first heated to a
melt in a separate chamber whereas in
compression moulding the material melts in
the cavity itself.
By this technique, the trouble associated
with the parting line (in compression
moulding) can be minimised.
In many cases, the moulded part contains
intricate sections, thin mould walls, long
thorough holes, fragile inserts and extremely
close tolerances over the flash lines. It
seemed desirable in this cases that the
mould be closed before any material was
introduced into the cavity.
Therefore the moulding compound had to be
introduced in the mould cavity directly by
some sprew or by means of runner and gate
at the parting line of the mould.
To satisfy these requirements transfer
moulding process came into use.
This is also used mainly for thermosetting
resins.
Characteristic Features
1. Clamp force in Tonnes
2. Transfer capacity (amount of material
transferred in unit time)
3. Mould Area
Types of Transfer Moulding

Basically there are three main transfer

moulding methods.
Moulds vary in design depending on the
method
Pot or sprue type

Original method
Utilises a three plate mould
Plunger retaining plate mounted to the head of
the press
Floating plate containing the pot and sprue
bushings and top cavity or cavities
Retainer plate (mounted on grids) containing
bottom cavity
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Thermosetting moulding material which may
be preheated is placed in an open pot at the
top of the closed mould.
In this pot (loading well) the thermosetting
material is plasticised into a viscous mass by
heat and then forced into the mould cavities by
pressure.
Moulding temperature of 300-3500F and
pressure of 6000psi are used.
The area of the pot is approx 15% larger than
the projected are of all the cavities and runners
on the mould.
When the cavity is completely filled the
excess material forms a cull in the pot
following the cure cycle, during which the
material is polymerised, the press is opened
and the moulded parts are ejected.
Since the process requires that the single
charge of material be transferred from the
pot to the cavities, it is known as pot type
transfer mould.
Plunger Transfer Moulding
The plunger is activated by an independent hydraulic
cylinder. The transfer cylinder may be mounted at the
top of the press or at the bottom of the press, or it
may incorporate a ram.
This process differs from (1) in that, the plunger/force
is pushed upto the parting line of the mould.
The plunger enters the loading chamber and
transfers the moulding compound to the cavities.
The plunger backs off, mould opens and the knock
out pins eject the part from the mould.
This develops more frictional heat than (1) and
reduces the cycle time.
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Reciprocating Screw Type

The third method is the two-stage, reciprocating

screw transfer method. In this case a
conventionally designed hydraulic or toggle, top
clamp press (i.e. downward pressing), with a
bottom transfer cylinder and plunger, is used.
The reciprocating screw and barrel is mounted
horizontally, and material is discharged into the
transfer chamber through an opening in the
transfer sleeve or pot.
The moulding compound is hopper fed to the reciprocating
screw barrel, as the screw rotates, the material travels forward
along the flights and is thoroughly preplasticised by a
mechanical shearing action.
The plasticised material builds upto the end of the screw and
forces it to move backward a preset distance.
The heated preplastic material is then forced from the barrel
into the transfer pot by the screw which acts like a ram.
The transfer ram then advances to inject the material in the
transfer pot directly to the mould through the runner system as
would be in the case of any transfer press.
The mould is opened after the cycle is completed and the part
ejected.
This type of moulding has been used with general purpose and
reinforced phenolics, filled alkyds, melamines and epoxides.
The pot method of transfer molding generally is done in a conventional
bottom ram clamp molding press. The molds usually are three plate molds
with the center section floatingGenerally, the material is fed directly into the
mold cavity or cavities from the pot through the sprue bushing. If multiple
cavities are used, the sprues may come from a common pot, or multiple pots
may be used. The principle may also employ a sprue into a runner system
feeding one or more cavities.
After the mold layout of the individual cavityor cavities has been determined,
the next step is to accurately calculate the projected areaof the part or parts. If
a runner system is used,its projected area must be added. The area, in
square inches, of the pot or pots required to clamp the mold is subject to
discussion. It was considered good practice to make the area equal to or
slightly greater than the total projected area of all articles to be molded,
including the sprue and runners. However, because the material is advancing,
it need not be treated as a hydrostatic liquid.
Standard practice is to reduce the area in the pot to less than the above total
area. The next step is to determine the volume of charge to be transferred and
to make the pot of sufficient depth to accept the preheated charge.
It may be granules, preforms, or extruded material.The mold design should provide
for the pot or pots to be centrally located so that pressure is exerted uniformly in the
center of the press.
The design of the steel retainer or mounting plate and section of steel containing the
pot should be sufficiently strong to withstand the higher transfer pressures used to
transfer material from the pot to the mold cavity. In order to prevent escapement of
material around the plunger, the clearance between the plunger and the pot should be
held to 0.002 to 0.003 inch on smaller-diameter plungers and 0.004 to 0.005 inch on
larger-diameter or rectangular plungers.
To ensure that there is no escapement of material, it is well to incorporate one or two
sealing grooves. A small radius is desirable at the bottom of the pot to provide extra
strength to the pot and to assure that the cull remains on the force.
In pot transfer molding, the pot may have a sprue cut into the solid piece of steel;
however, in most cases it is desirable to insert sprue bushings. The sprue bushing
may be tapered so that the smaller opening is at the cavity or runner surface, which
means that as the cull is pulled from the pot, the sprue will separate from the part or
runner and will remain as one piece with the cull. Or, it may be tapered so that the
smaller opening is at the bottom of the pot; in that arrangement, when the cull is
removed, it will separate from the sprue, leaving the sprue firmly attached to the
molded part or runner for removal with them. The length of the sprue bushing should
be kept to a minimum.
An undercut on the face of the plunger is provided to remove the
sprue, or cull with sprue, from the pot. Because the pot method of
transfer does not normally incorporate runners and gates, they will
be discussed later in this section.
The second and more popular method of transfer molding is the
plunger transfer method.
In this method the press may be a toggle clamp or a full hydraulic.
The clamping pressure may be applied from either the top or the
bottom of the molding press, and it may vary from 25 to 500 tons.
Individual or multiple hydraulic cylinders are mounted in opposite
direction to the clamping pressure to provide the transfer pressure.
Limited presses are available that have the transfer ram within the
clamp ram.
The clamp force in relation to transfer force is generally
three or four to one (100 ton clamp/25-35-ton transfer). The
majority of presses are constructed with a horizontal parting
line; however, horizontally moving presses are available
with vertical parting lines. The advantage of the latter is that
no unloading mechanism is necessary to remove parts
from the mold, the parts falling from the ejector pins by
gravity.
The plunger transfer method of molding can easily be
designed for automatic molding, especially if the transfer
ram is in the lower half of the mold. High-frequency
preheated pills or extruded stock may be charged
automatically (by the use of a loading tray) into the transfer
pot. In case of a horizontal transfer cylinder,the preheated
material is dropped into an opening on the upper side of the
transfer sleeve or pot.
The clearance between the plunger and the
transfer pot should be held to a minimum,
and sealing grooves provided on the end of
the plunger. Some transfer plungers are
designed with removable tips to simplify
maintenance.