INJECTION MOULDING:

Injection moulding is a manufacturing process for producing parts by

injecting molten plastic into a mould. Material for the part is fed into a
heated barrel, mixed (with the help of helical shaped screw), and injected
into a mould cavity, where it cools and hardens to the shape of the cavity.
Injection moulding is suitable for mass production with intricated profiles.
But claiming only one disadvantage that it requires large space for
processing. Plastic processing technologies are classified into many types

Flowchart - Plastic Processing technologies

Parts to be injection moulded must be very carefully designed to

initiate the moulding process; the material used for the part, the desired
shape and features of the part, the material of the mould, and the properties
of the moulding machine must all be taken into account while moulding.
RAW MATERIALS:

The raw materials needed for Injection moulding is Polymers. Depending on

its origin and chemical structure its application gets varied. Plastic
material is generally classified into two

• Thermo Plastics: This kind of plastics can be softened by the

application of heat and can be reshaped repeatedly till it loses it
property.

Example: Polyethylene, Nylon, Polypropylene.

• Thermosetting Plastics: This kind of plastics cannot be softened by

the application of heat. Excess heat could change its property.

Example: Phenol Formaldehyde, Urea Formaldehyde etc.

These polymers are available in small circular ball or granules or pellets

form. In addition to this if certain colour is needed, Masterbatch (used for
colouring plastics) is added. Maximum of 4% masterbatch is recommended for
mixing with the polymer.

Additive Masterbatch

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Masterbatch is classified into many based on the pigment.

a.) White Masterbatch

b.) Black Masterbatch

c.) Colour Masterbatch

d.) Additive Masterbatch

e.) Special effect Masterbatch

INCOMING INSPECTION:

The polymer raw material after mixing proper amount of masterbatch

undergoes inspection, where four elements are inspected:

i) Melt Flow Index (MFI) or Melt Flow Rate (MFR)

ii) Viscosity

iii) Ash Content

iv) Moisture Content

i) Melt Flow Index (MFI) or Melt Flow Rate (MFR):

The polymer sample is heated on the barrel and then extruded

via standard weight on the piston and the weight (in gram) of polymer
extruded in 10 minutes is known as Melt Flow Rate (MFR). It is also
the ability of the material’s melt to flow under pressure. This is
commonly used for polyolefins and polyethylene.

ii) Viscosity:

Viscosity can be related to the value determined by Melt Flow Rate

(MFR) test. Also, it is seen that MFR is inversely proportional to the
viscosity of the melt at the condition of test. In general, viscosity of the
material purely depends on the applied force.

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iii) Ash Test:

This test is mainly done to determine the inorganic residues in the

molten material. Inorganic residues could be in the form of fillers,
catalyst residues and pigments. Chemical composition of the melt cannot
be identified using this test.

iv) Moisture Content:

Moisture content in the melt is determined by the Karl Fischer

ISO 5512 standard. The process is done by taking a small sample (say 1-3
gram) is placed at the Karl Fischer drying oven at a predefined
temperature for a particular period of time. During this, the water in the
sample is completely vaporized and carried by dry Nitrogen (Oxygen
Free) into a reaction with methanol. The methanol traps the water through
the amount of water present in the sample can be determined.

Karl Fisch Drying Oven

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INJECTION MOULDING MACHINE PARTS:

The Injection moulding machine consists of four basic parts:

a.) Injection unit

b.) Clamping unit

c.) Ejecting unit and

d.) Electric and Hydraulic control unit.

a.) Injection unit:

The purpose of Injection unit is to melt the plastic and conveys or forces
the material into the mould. The Injection unit of the machine is used to
plasticize the material at a rate consistent with the time. An exact amount of
material for each shot is metered by volume or weight.

In Injection moulding, an open-ended cylinder, referred to as a barrel, acts as

a guide for the pellets to move the pellets and melt from hopper to the mould
where the workpiece is made.

b.) Clamping unit:

The Clamping unit is to keep the mould in a closed position and to resist
the pressures during injecting to form the material into a specific shape.
There are four clamping systems in injection moulding machine:

• Hydraulic Clamping system

• Mechanical Clamping system

• Hydromechanical Clamping system

• Electric clamping system

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 Parts of Injection Moulding

c.) Ejecting unit:

The ejection unit is responsible for ejection in the mould to change its
location. Attached to the knockout plate is the ejector and other devices such
as ejecting pins, ejecting plate or ejection sleeve, which directly eject the
workpiece moulded as the mould opens completely.

d.) Electric and hydraulic control system:

The electrical controls can be mounted in a separate enclosure or on the

machine. The manual control panel is mounted on the machine for the
operator’s convenience. The location of the hydraulic components and the
electric motors depend on the individual machine.

EXTRUSION:

Extrusion is a metal forming process in which metal or work piece is

forced to flow through a die to reduce its cross section or convert it into desire
shape. This process is extensively used for the manufacturing of pipes and steel
rods. It is a continuous process flow.

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 The extrusion process is generally economical when producing between
several kilograms (pounds) and many tons, depending on the material being
extruded. Types of Extrusion are:

i) Direct Extrusion

ii) Indirect Extrusion

iii) Hydrostatic Extrusion

Extrusion Process

INJECTION MOULDING PROCESS:

The process of Injection moulding is divided into six major steps

1. Clamping

2. Injection

3. Dwelling

4. Cooling

5. Mould Opening

6. Removal of products

Firstly, granulated or powdered polymer is fed through a hopper into the

injection moulding machine. Secondly, the rotating screw inside the barrel

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carries the fed plastic along the barrel to the mould. Thirdly, Heater attached
surrounding the barrel melts the plastic since it travels along the barrel. And
takes the shape of the mould. Initially the mould has to be preheated/warmed
before injecting, to prevent the plastic from hardening.

The Injection moulding unit consists of

a.) Hopper - through which the plastic is fed into

b.) Barrel - contains the plastic which was fed through hopper

c.) Reciprocating Screw - used to compress, melt and convey the material, it
also consists of three zones:

i) Feeding zone

ii) Transition zone

iii) Metering zone

Working of Injection Moulding

Later after every moulding, purging is done. Purging is the process of

cleaning the resin from the screw barrel. Purging is usually carried at start of
injection or if a change in polymer is needed or at the time of shut down.
 Purging process

This is mainly done to get the right melt quality, right colour and material
changes and to prevent unnecessary screw pulls. Some of the parameters needed
to be considered during Injection includes the Injection pressure, Injection speed,
Injection time and Back Pressure.

MOULDING DEFECTS:

Injection Moulding Defects

S. Defect Reason
NO

1 Shrinkage Variation in Mould temperature causes shrinkage to

concentrate in the thickest parts of the product leaving holes
within the product

2 Short shot Reduced injection speed, pressure, material

temperature ensures that the material fills the mould before
cooling.

3 Vacuum The root causes for voids is inadequate moulding pressure

Voids to force trapped air out the mould cavity

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4 Flow Lines Due to variation in Cylinder setting temperature and slow
Injection speed and pressure.

5 Sink Marks • Decreased holding pressure and time in preventing

the material near the part’s surface to cool.

• Reduced cooling time to limit shrinkage.

6 Flash Excessive flash is due to large amount of molten metal and

increased load pressure.

7 Weld lines • Weld line is due to decreased material

temperature resulting in partial solidification.

• Reduced injection speed and pressure causes

cooling before the material has filled the mould.

8 Jetting • The root cause for jetting is excessive injection

pressure.

• Rapid filling of molten material rather than filling

the mould cavity gradually.

9 Burn Marks/ • The usual cause for burn marks in injection-moulded

Discolouration parts is trapped air

• Overheating in the mould cavity during injection.

• Excessive injection speeds.