The SPE Library contains thousands of papers, presentations, journal briefs and recorded webinars from the best minds in the Plastics Industry. Spanning almost two decades, this collection of published research and development work in polymer science and plastics technology is a wealth of knowledge and information for anyone involved in plastics.
The SPE Library is just one of the great benefits of being an SPE member! Are you taking advantage of all of your SPE Benefits?
Plastic manufacturing can be unpredictable. Deviations in material batches, moisture content, machine calibration, among other variables, lead to issues in manufacturing quality and final part properties. This webinar will introduce how dielectric analysis (DEA) sensors be used to directly measure material behavior in-mold. New technology has been developed to combine dielectric analysis with machine learning and material models, allowing for dynamic adjustments to machine settings, removing uncertainty from your process, and optimizing cycle times.
The material covered will include:
Fundamentals of dielectric analysis and applications for plastic processing
How dielectric analysis and machine learning can be combined for dynamic process optimization
Case studies demonstrating how dielectric analysis is being used in industries ranging from automotive composites to electronic encapsulation
Plastics are the most versatile materials ever invented, and have become a universal material, used for everything from water bottles to wings on combat aircraft to implanted artificial joints. Thermoplastic materials display properties that are unique when compared to other materials and have contributed greatly to the quality of our everyday life. At this moment, you are almost certain to be touching plastic. Yet, while plastics play such an important role, we do not always understand the fundamental concepts of their production, compounding, end properties, and use.
If words such as polymer, thermoplastic, creep, amorphous, and modulus are outside your normal vocabulary, this presentation is for you.
At the conclusion of this presentation, you will understand:
How polymers build molecular weight through polymerization and its importance in the performance of thermoplastics.
The role that polymer structure plays in shaping the key characteristics of plastics.
How crystallinity the plays an important role in determining the properties of plastics.
The essentials of viscoelasticity.
The usefulness of thermoplastics is attributed to the fact that they provide a wide range of properties and can be changed into products by relatively simple and inexpensive fabrication means. In order to take full advantage of these materials, it is important to have a clear understanding of their composition and elementary properties.
3D printing holds great promise for manufacturing. And yet, deployment and adoption has lagged. One reason for this appears to be that building the business case for 3D printing is a major roadblock for many companies.
Join us to find out why building your business case is critical to successfully using 3D printing in plastic injection, and to learn how to build robust justifications for investing in 3D printing by:
Identifying which parts would benefit from 3D printing, and how
Estimating the reduction in cycle time achievable with 3D-printed inserts/li>
Reducing uncertainty about the benefits of 3D printing/li>
In this webinar, we discuss the challenges of adopting 3D printing in the plastic injection industry and share our in-depth knowledge of powerful solutions you can use to make the best investment decisions.
You'll learn:
How front-end simulation can help you make better decisions faster
What to consider in your decisions
Strategies for reducing the risk of adopting new technologies
Bradley Mount, Clay Guillory, Dave Rheinheimer, Nino Pecina, April 2023
To address growing supply chain pressures, manufacturers are turning to Additive Manufacturing (AM) to create quality, cost-efficient products faster. Plastic thermoforming companies like Duo Form have discovered how to leverage large-format extrusion 3D printing using low-cost plastic pellets to gain a competitive edge. They are producing medium-to-large-sized thermoforming molds in less than half the time, and at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional mold-making methods.
Join engineering and business experts from 3D Systems and Duo Form as we dive deep into the integration that has made pellet-extrusion AM so beneficial for Duo Form, and how you can reap the same benefits in your own thermoforming processes.
In this webinar, you will learn about:
How pellet extrusion 3D printing enables up to 10X faster mold print times, with up to 10X savings on material costs
Duo Form specific case studies and ROI examples
Best practices that improve AM production and mold performance such as: how to print porous molds, using infill settings for improved vacuum pulls, and more!
How to select the right AM solution, including options for additive-subtractive hybrid systems
Jay Shoemaker, Riley Browne, Mason Houtteman, March 2023
A new injection molding processing strategy called iMFLUX is becoming popular. iMFLUX is a low constant pressure process for filling and packing the part. Commercial injection molding simulation software traditionally is not designed for this process. However, you can simulate it. This paper will show how to set up and run simulations using currently available simulation software. Validation work of simulation work is also discussed.
Today, the need for micro molding applications is rapidly increasing, in part due to advancements in technology and scientific research. With medical devices becoming less invasive, and portable/wearable health devices gaining popularity, the need for small and highly precise components and parts has increased. Micro molding can be used to manufacture parts for these devices meeting the need for fine features, thin walls, micro holes, tight tolerances and scalability to high volume production. However, there are many challenges in molding micro parts or molding micro features and/or tight tolerances on small parts. This presentation will review some of the challenges involved in molding micro parts, sharps, micro holes, thin walls and micro automated assemblies and solutions for overcoming these challenges including resin selection and precision tooling considerations. In addition, we will discuss emerging applications where these micro advancements are required, including specialty surfaces.
Franco S Costa, Alexander Bakharev, Zhongshuang Yuan, Jin Wang, March 2023
A key objective of process simulation of thermoplastic injection molding is the accurate prediction of the final part shape after the part is ejected from the mold. Deviation of the molded part shape from the intended design is known as warp. In this research, we present a method to improve the accuracy of warp prediction by using calibrated mechanical properties. The calibrated mechanical properties can be the modulus, Poisson’s Ratio and Coefficient of Thermal Expansion.
The calibration is achieved using a database of measured shrinkage molding data from a series of moldings of standardized test plaques having a variety of molding thicknesses and using a variety of process condition settings (packing pressure, melt temperature and injection velocity).
Presented in this work are comparisons to actual molding data of final part shape predictions for both unfilled polymers and fiber reinforced polymer composites performed both with and without the shrinkage test calibrated mechanical properties. This includes a thin-walled part for which a post-molding buckling response is correctly predicted when the calibrated material properties are used.
Katharina Hornberg, Christian Hopmann, Marko Vukovic, Sebastian Stemmler, Dirk Abel, March 2023
The processing of post-consumer recyclates (PCR)
causes fluctuating process conditions due to a varying
composition and history of material batches. The
fluctuations in part quality grow with increasing recyclate
use and lead to reduced mechanical and optical part
properties. We developed a phase-unifying process
control approach, which combines injection and holding
pressure phase by eliminating the switchover point. The
approach realizes a given cavity pressure curve by
adjusting the screw velocity in real-time. For calculation
of the cavity pressure reference, batch differences have to
be detected during the process. The objective of presented
research is an evaluation of batch differences by material
characterization and process analysis to account for
economic online process control. First, we characterized
five different PCR batches to identify the material
properties and find fast and cost-effective methods to
initialize the controller setting, as controller parameters
depend on the processed material. Afterwards, we
performed injection molding trials for different process
settings to detect batch changes in quality data and
process data. The material characterization showed that
the melt flow rate and anorganic content have the highest
correlation to part weight. Furthermore, batch changes
have been identified most effectively by characteristics of
the pressure curves, which makes an online determination
of material batch changes possible.
Capability studies were performed which compared the use of pressure-controlled and velocity-controlled filling of injection molded parts with plastic that had varying viscosity. A nozzle pressure transducer was used to control the pressure-controlled filling, as well as the pack and hold for both processes. Several methods of transferring from filling to packing were also compared which included screw position, cavity pressure sensors, and in-mold melt switches. This presentation will summarize the results of these studies.
Christian Hopmann, Cemi Emre Kahve, Daniel Colin Fritsche, Theresa Kassel, Kirsten Bobzin, Hendrik Heinemann, Marvin Erck, Carsten Vogels, March 2023
Dimensional accuracy is – to this day – a challenging key
quality aspect for manufactured parts using primary shaping
processes. Many high-precision parts undergo multiple
correction loops during the mold-making process to meet the
required geometric tolerances. Each iteration not only
increases production costs, but also requires additional
human and environmental resources. Dimensional
inaccuracies are caused by the process-based part
deformation, a superposition of the phenomena shrinkage
and warpage.
The mechanisms for shrinkage and warpage a re strongly
rela ted to the dependence of a polymer’s specific volume on
pressure, and temperature (pvT-behavior). Shrinkage is
inevitable, since it is caused by the continuous decrease in
melt temperature and the inherent crystallization process
during solidification. Warpage results due to local and timedependent
variations of the melt temperature, cooling rate,
and pressure and thus the local specific volume. These
variations cause inner stress distributions that ultimately
cause the part to warp. In order to reduce part warpage, the
volumetric shrinkage must be homogenized across the part,
which can be realized by manipulating the part's temperature
locally and time dependent.
In this work, the warpage of a box-shaped geometry with
the material Polyoxymethylene (POM) is aimed to be
reduced using a novel on-cavity thermally sprayed heating
coating system. Two different heating coating systems are
implemented and tested using commercial simulation and
3D-inspection software. For each system, the power level
was varied, and the warpage was evaluated. In total, a
warpage reduction of factor eight has been achieved using the
heating coating.
Lexington Peterson, Brandon Birchmeier, March 2023
The macro-issues the plastics industry is trying to resolve today pertain to sustainability, supply chain shortages, and the lack of skilled labor. Within the injection molding sector, manufacturers typically perform a full validation when a mold is moved to a different injection molding machine (IMM) or there is a material change. These full validations are labor-intensive, expensive, and not sustainable. Moreover, these methods may or may not utilize scientific molding principles. There has been a demand for a standard “part process” development method to transfer a mold between IMMs that is more efficient and can embrace variation in resins. iMFLUX’s Auto-Viscosity Adjust (AVA) technology has made doing so easier with its low, constant pressure injection molding process. This adaptive technology enables the molding process to automatically adjust parameters in real-time around parts’ response. This research focuses on developing a regenerative part process with low, constant pressure that is independent of resin and machine. Using AVA and cavity pressure sensors, two molds’ processes were transferred to another capable press with the original process, no user adjustments, and parts were studied for visual and dimensional integrity. It was determined that iMFLUX can automatically regenerate optimized part processes in different IMMs deemed capable with negligible part variation as seen from the visual and dimensional results. This is the first time an intelligent controller can autonomously redevelop and validate a part process to mold parts within spec despite varying IMMs and resins.
Glass-filled engineering polymers are a staple in the automotive, aerospace, and medical industries. However, understanding the influence of glass fibers on the crystallization behaviors of these polymers is not trivial - especially at heating and cooling rates encountered during melt processing. Sample preparation plays an important role in the success of thermal analysis. For conventional differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) characterization, larger sample size is often used for composites than neat resin to mitigate the impact of possible filler inhomogeneity. Because the sample is quite small (thickness of less than 20 µm and a mass of less than 1000 ng) for fast scanning calorimetry (FSC), the potential impact of sample preparation on data reliability is very significant. In this study we explore and quantify the effect of sample preparation for DSC and FSC on crystallization kinetics in a wide temperature range using three grades, Poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK), and its glass-fiber-filled composites (PEEK with 15 wt% and 30 wt% glass fiber) were studied, and X-ray computed tomography (XCT) with an ultrahigh-resolution was performed to reconstruct the interior structure of the composite pellets. When the sample thicknesses is less than 50 µm, the PEEK sample sliced perpendicular to the fiber flow direction have good filler homogeneity and always have a lower coefficient of variation than pellets sliced along the fiber flow direction. Furthermore, the data collected by both FSC and DSC were fitted and showed that FSC and DSC analysis can be reasonably used to predict the kinetics of composite materials.
In injection molding of fiber-reinforced thermoplastics, in the presence of physical obstacles, such as cores, or for geometries that require multiple gates, weld lines develop where flow fronts rejoin. Regions affected by the presence of weld surfaces show worse mechanical properties. In fact, these areas are characterized by incomplete welding between the flow fronts and the presence of undesirable inclusions and porosity. In addition, due to the fountain-like flow in cavities, fibers on the weld line are unfavorably arranged and are unable to reorient themselves in the flow direction. If the incident flow fronts exhibit no pressure gradient during the defect formation and the holding phase, the morphology of the weld surface remains unchanged until the end of the process. By inducing a pressure imbalance after the formation of the weld line, on the other hand, it is possible to promote the interpenetration of one front into the other and significantly modify the local morphology. A dynamic packing stage during the first part of the holding phase therefore allows for improved matrix interdiffusion at the interface and fibers reorientation in the flow direction. Gas Assisted Injection Molding (GAPP) is a novel technology that allows for the dynamic packing of weld lines using only a single injection unit. Thanks to miniaturized gas injectors, it is possible to manipulate the molten polymer in the cavity and generate a flow through the weld surface. The dynamic packing achieved using GAPP allows for the elimination of weld lines in the core layer of the molded part, significantly increasing its mechanical performance. For a 35% glass fiber reinforced polypropylene, an increase in tensile strength and stiffness of 240% and 21.5%, respectively, can be observed in the defect region. GAPP can be implemented to solve weld line strength problems in all parts made of fiber-reinforced thermoplastics that require high mechanical performance, such as supports, brackets, cooling fans, pulleys, and other structural parts.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Hopmann, Moritz Mascher, M.Sc. RWTH, Christoph Zimmermann, M.Sc., March 2023
In this work, a practical and simulative study of the surface roughness of the injection mold cavity and the corresponding heat transfer between the plastic melt and the mold cavity was conducted. The work shows that slightly longer flow paths can be achieved through the rougher mold surface, which indicates to a lower heat transfer. However, the influence is small compared to other influences such as the used molding compound or the injection pressure. An analysis of the structural replica over the flow path shows a clear decrease in the structural height towards the end of the flow path, i.e. with decreasing pressure and lower melt temperature. To describe the influence of microstructures on the heat transfer using injection molding simulations accurately, a model calibration is used.
84 countries and 60k+ stakeholders strong, SPE
unites
plastics professionals worldwide – helping them succeed and strengthening their skills
through
networking, events, training, and knowledge sharing.
No matter where you work in the plastics industry
value
chain-whether you're a scientist, engineer, technical personnel or a senior executive-nor
what your
background is, education, gender, culture or age-we are here to serve you.
Our members needs are our passion. We work hard so
that we
can ensure that everyone has the tools necessary to meet her or his personal & professional
goals.
Any article that is cited in another manuscript or other work is required to use the correct reference style. Below is an example of the reference style for SPE articles:
Brown, H. L. and Jones, D. H. 2016, May.
"Insert title of paper here in quotes,"
ANTEC 2016 - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA May 23-25, 2016. [On-line].
Society of Plastics Engineers
Available: www.4spe.org.
Note: if there are more than three authors you may use the first author's name and et al. EG Brown, H. L. et al.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
