Cooling Channel Design for Mould- Design tips

Cooling Channel Design for Mould- Design tips Moulds are usually built with cooling channels. These channels are usually connected in series with one inlet and one outlet for water flow. The water flow rate may not be enough for turbulent flow because the water pump capacity itself may not be adequate. This obviously leads to random temperature variation on the mould surface. With the result, uncontrolled temperature drift, varying part dimensions and irregular warped surface appears on mouldings. The mould designer should take care of following points: • Thermal conductivity of mould steel influences the rate of heat transfer though mould steel to cooling channel. • Pure Ethylene glycol can be used as Primary fluid transfer medium in closed loop cooling system. Ethylene glycol does not produce rust and mineral deposits in cooling channels. Mixture of water and Ethylene glycol can also be used for circulation through the cooling channel. • Cooling channel diameter should be more for thicker wall thickness: • For wall thickness upto 2mm, channel diameter should be 8 - 10 mm., • For wall thickness upto 4 mm, channel diameter should be 10 - 12 mm., • For wall thickness upto 6 mm, channel diameter should be 10 - 16 mm. • Cooling channels should be as close as possible to the mould cavity / core surfaces. The distance of cooling channel from mould surface should be permissible by the strength of mould steel against possible failure under clamp and injection forces. It could be 1.2 to 2 times diameter of cooling channel. • Cooling system of the mould should have adequate number of cooling channels of suitable size at equal distance from each other and from cavity walls. The center distance between adjacent channel can be 1.7 to 2 times diameter of the channel. This is also governed by the strength of mould steel. • The difference between the inlet and outlet water temperature should be less than 2 to 5 degrees C. However, for precision moulding, it should be 1 degree C or even 0.5 degree C. • Cooling circuits should be positioned symmetrically around the cavity. There can be sufficient number of independent circuits to ensure uniform temperature along the mould surface. • The coolant flow rate should be sufficient to provide turbulent flow in the channel. • There should be no dead ends in the cooling channels. It could provide opportunity for air trap. • Many a times it is difficult to accommodate cooling channels in the smaller cores or cores with difficult geometry. In such case the core should be made of Beryllium copper which has high thermal conductivity. These core inserts should be located near the cooling channel. • The seals of coolant system should not leak inspite of application of frequent clamping force and mould expansion / contraction due to thermal cycle during moulding. The O-ring should be positioned so that there is no chance of them being damaged or improperly seated during mould assembly. Seal and O-ring grove should be machined to closely match the contour of the seal. It should ensure that seal is slightly compressed when the mould is assembled. • Mould temperature above 90 degree C normally requires oil as the heating medium. Heat transfer coefficient of oil is lower than that of water. • There is enough scope for confusion while giving water connection to mould when there are more number of cooling circuits particularly on bigger moulds. A sketch indicating cooling circuits should be available during mould set up. • Hot runner mould should be provided with compression resistant insulating plate between back plate and machine platen. This is to prevent the heat flow from mould to machine platen, which can create an unbalanced heat flow in the mould. With out insulating plate machine platen will act like a big heat sink, there by destabilising the possible balance between heat given to the mould by the hot melt, and heat taken away by circulating water through mould. • The cooling channel layout is suitable when the isothermal i.e. the equi-potential lines, are at a constant distance from surface of the mouldings. This ensures that heat flow density is same everywhere. • Provision for thermocouple fixing should be available at specific one or two places in core as well as cavity to monitor the temperature of mould. • Use efficient sealing methods and materials to eliminate cooling leaks. • Poor mould surface temperature control can cause following quality problems: Axial eccentricity, Radial eccentricity, Angular deviation, Warpage, Surface defects, Flow lines, The mould has to be heated or cooled depending on the temperature outside mould surface and that of environment. If heat loss through the mould faces is more than the heat to be removed from moulding, then mould has to be heated to compensate the excess loss of heat. This heating is only a protection for shielding the cooling area against the outside influence. The heat exchange takes place during cooling time. The design of cooling system has to depend on that section of part, which requires longest cooling time to reach demoulding temperature. Cooling Channel layout depends on : • part geometry, • number of cavities, • ejector and cam systems, • part quality, • dimensional precision, • part surface appearance, • polymer etc. The sizing of cooling channels is dependent on the rate of cooling and temperature control needed for controlling part quality. CAE software like MOLDFLOW or C-Mold can be used to determine the optimised dimension of cooling channel and distance from mould surface, distance between cooling channel, flow rate.

Understanding Mould cooling channel and Cooling system in factory

Understanding Mould cooling channel and Cooling system in factory Introduction Injection moulding process is cyclic in characteristic. Cooling time is about 50 to 75% of the total cycle time. Therefore, optimising cooling time for best performance is very important from quality and productivity point of view. Cooling time is proportional to square of wall thickness. Therefore part design should ensure more or less uniform wall thickness through out the part. Part design should also ensure that the melt flow is uniform in all direction from the gate and melt should reach the boundary of the part more or less at the same time. Cooling channel design - location and size and type - should ensure that melt freezes uniformly inside the mould. Cooling channel design can be perfected with the help of MOLDFLOW analysis. It is necessary to understand Heat Exchange and Cooling Channel design in the mould. Heat Exchange in mould During every injection moulding cycle following heat transfers take place: • from the hot melt to mould steel (heat input to the mould) and • from mould steel to coolant flowing through cooling channel of the mould. (heat removal from the mould) If heat input is more than heat removal, then the mould temperature would keep on increasing from cycle to cycle. Therefore moulding quality would not be constant from cycle to cycle. The moulding quality would be erratic- i.e. varying from cycle to cycle. Therefore, there is a need to balance between the heat input and heat removal in the mould after the desired mould surface temperature is reached. In other words, removal of heat by circulating coolant through the mould cooling channel would arrest the rise of mould temperature above the desired value. In practice, it may not be possible maintain constant mould temperature with respect to time. However, the mould temperature would fluctuate between two values around the desired value. During injection moulding cycle heat flow takes place from polymer melt to mould steel by • effective thermal difusivity of polymer melt and • conduction. This heat is to be removed by circulating cooling fluid through the cooling channels in core as well as cavity during cooling period in order to maintain the desired temperature. Uneven temperature of the mould surface results (uneven shrinkage) in parts with moulded-in stresses, warped sections, sink marks, poor surface appearance and varying part dimensions from cycle to cycle and even cavity to cavity. cont...

What are bioplastics? Tear-resistant waste bags for compost

The term “bioplastics” describes two groups of products – “bio-based” and “biodegradable” plastics. Biobased plastics are made either wholly or partly from renewable raw materials and include polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoates, starches, cellulose, chitin and gelatine. Biobased plastics can also be biodegradable – but this is not always the case. Nonbiodegradable biobased materials include biocomposites and composite materials made from wood and plastic. Biodegradable plastic: Special bacteria release enzymes that break down the material’s long polymer chains into small parts that the bacteria subsequently digest and turn into water, carbon dioxide and biomass. To be designated biodegradable in line with the European standard DIN EN 13432, at least 90 percent of the material must have decomposed within 180 days under controlled conditions – high temperature and humidity, and defined oxygen levels. Once these standards are met, the product may display the seedling logo signifying compostability. Biodegradable plastics do not have to be made from renewable raw materials; they can also be petroleum-based. The raw material is unimportant; what matters is the chemical structure of the plastic. When is using bio-based and/or biodegradable plastic a good idea? There are no clear-cut advantages or disadvantages to using fossil-based or renewable raw materials per se. It is best to decide on a case-by-case basis, taking environmental concerns, cost-effectiveness and social impact over the entire product life cycle into account. BASF’s Eco-Efficiency Analysis has shown time and again that bio-based plastics are not always more eco-efficient than their petrochemical-based counterparts. If relatively little water and fertiliser are required, and transportation routes are short, using plant-based raw materials can be best for the environment. But if a large amount of energy is needed to process the materials, this beneficial effect can soon be reversed. Bio-degradable plastics are not necessarily more eco-friendly than other plastics. But for certain applications, they are the best solution – such as mulch films for agriculture, compostable food packaging or shopping bags. The latter have been available at discount supermarket Aldi Süd for the past few years: shoppers can use them a number of times before reusing them at home as compostable bin liners.