Computer aids, injection molding

K.K. Wang, S.F. Shen, J.F. Stevenson, C.A. Hieber, and S. Chung. Computer-aided injection molding. NSF report, College on Engineering, New York, 1975. 

Computer-Aided Injection Mold Design and Manufacture,... 

Computer-Aided Injection Mold Design and Manufacture, J. Y. H. Fuh,... 

DETERMINATION OF GATE LOCATIONS IN COMPUTER-AIDED INJECTION MOLDING ANALYSIS... 

Developments. A variety of process modifications aimed at improving surface finish or weld line integrity have been described. They include gas assisted, co-injection, fusible core, multiple Hve feed, and push—pull injection mol ding (46,47). An important development includes computer-aided design (CAD) methods, wherein a proposed mold design is simulated by a computer and the melt flow through it is analy2ed (48). 

L. T. Manzione, Applications of Computer Aided Engineering in Injection Molding, Hanser Pubhshers, Munich, Germany, 1987. 

The standard injection molding machine used had a screw diameter of 30 mm and the aspect ratio of 23.70. The barrel temperature profile was 270, 280, 290, and 295°C. The mold temperature was about 90°C. The injection molded tensile samples were processed according to the CAMPUS specification (Computer Aided Materials Preselection by Uniform Standards) [24] and DIN 53455 Form 3. To obtain the different flow conditions, four groups of samples were injection molded by varying melt... 

Computer-aided engineering applications have been developed to optimize the molded part design with respect to manufacturing and end use performance. Many, if not most, commercial molding applications utilize mold filling analyses to analyze the melt flow and pressure distribution in the injection mold before the mold is manufactured. Typically, these analyses... 

For the geometrical layout of a mold, CAD (Computer Aided Design) systems are available nowadays, with which an injection molding tool cannot only be described by two-dimensional drawings, but also shown as a complete 3-D model. The latter is of particular interest for the description of the often complex, shape-giving mold contours. The input for producing such a model... 

Making a mold is expensive and it should be checked for fit by experimental injection runs, vmtil the exact dimensions are attained. Currently computer aided design and production (CAD/CAM) are very helpful, but the expertise of the mold maker should never be underestimated. 

Bernhardt, E. C., Computer Aided Engineering for Injection Molding, Hanser, 1983. 

Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) refers to the production or alteration of control data for manufacturing. Often the term is used to specifically refer to computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine tooling. With regard to the plastics industry, CAM generally refers to the generation of CNC cutter paths for the production of molds and dies. More recently, plastics CAM has been extended by the availability of smart controllers for injection-molding machines. This is an important development and will be discussed in detail subsequently. 

The term computer-aided engineering (CAE) describes the use of computers for analysis of a particular design. Often the design is a new product, but in the context of plastics it could be a cooling circuit layout for an injection mold or even the mold itself. Frequently, the term CAE is used to embrace both CAM and CAD though, strictly speaking, it refers to the analysis stage only. There are many types of analyses available these days. Typical examples include... 

C. A. Austin, Filling of Mold Cavities, in E. C. Bernhardt, ed.. Computer Aided Engineering for Injection Molding, Hanser, New York, 1983. 

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