Optimisation of warpage on plastic injection moulding part with MGSS conformal cooling channels moulds using response surface methodology (RSM)

Abstract

Nowadays, there are various methods of optimisation works that have been explored by many researchers to find the appropriate processing parameters setting of injection moulding process. From the previous researches, it was reported that the optimisation work improved the moulded part quality. Apart from quality, the productivity in the injection moulding process also plays an important role. Therefore, some of the researchers have introduced the conformal cooling channels which have been proven to improve the quality and productivity of the moulded part. However, the application of optimisation work to determine an appropriate processing parameters setting in previous researches are only focusing on the conventional straight-drilled cooling channels and the application in conformal cooling channels are still lacking. In this study, the application of optimisation work to improve warpage of the front panel housing part with Milled Groove Square Shape (MGSS) conformal cooling channels has been explored. By selecting cooling time, cooling temperature, packing pressure and melt temperature as the variables, design of experiment (DOE) has been constructed by using the central composite design (CCD) approach. By performing Response Surface Methodology (RSM) optimisation approach, warpage of the moulded part has been optimised. Based on the results warpage has optimised by 46.5%. The finding shows that the application of optimisation work on the conformal cooling channels offers the best outcome.