Experimental investigation of polymer flow in injection mould

Abstract

Purpose: The examination of melt flow lines in injection moulded parts was the purpose of this research, as well as a new method of flow visualization was applied. This method can be helpful in predicting the weak areas in moulded parts, created during cavity filling Design/methodology/approach: The method of visualization used here is not classified yet. It allows to observe how the cavity is filled by looking at a specially created flow lines pattern. These lines are surface defects and a production injection moulding process it is necessary to avoid them. The effect of flow lines on the part surface occurs by special moulding conditions. To obtain the flow lines for investigation the mould temperature was lowered, the holding stage was skipped (the holding pressure not applied), and injection time had to be short enough. Findings: On the example of moulded plastic parts of simple shape it was found that the applied method of visualization allows to observe the filling process in mould cavity with good agreement to the theory and