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Cover: Film insert molded tensile specimens are bent after ejection such that the inserted film side is protruded. After annealing at higher temperature, the specimens undergo a warpage reversal phenomenon (WRP) such that the inserted film side is intruded. Further details can be found in the article by

Film‐insert‐molded (FIM) tensile specimens were prepared under various molding conditions to investigate the effects of wall temperature and packing pressure on the residual stress distribution and thermoviscoelastic deformation. The warpage of the specimen increased with increasing mold‐wall temperature difference and decreased with increasing packing pressure. The FIM specimens produced with unannealed films showed the warpage reversal phenomenon (WRP) during annealing and the degree of WRP was affected significantly by the molding conditions and thermal shrinkage of the film. The warpage of the specimen was predicted by three‐dimensional flow and stress analyses and the prediction was in good agreement with the experimental results.magnified image

In order to investigate effects of injection molding conditions on viscoelastic behavior and thermal deformation of film insert molded (FIM) parts, injection molding was performed with various conditions such as injection speed, melt temperature, and packing time. It was shown that variation of the warpage was decreased monotonically with increasing injection speed and exhibited a bell-shaped curve as a function of melt temperature. Warpage variation was not affected by the packing time significantly and the proportional relationship between warpage of the film insert molded part and shrinkage of the injection molded part without film was observed. The FIM specimens produced with unannealed films showed the warpage reversal phenomenon (WRP) during annealing and the magnitude of reversed warpage was affected significantly by the injection parameters and the extent of thermal shrinkage of the unannealed film. Warpage of the FIM specimen was predicted by three dimensional numerical flow and stress analyses and the predicted values showed a good agreement with the experimental results.

Virgin injection-molded tensile specimens without any inserted film and four kinds of film insert molded (FIM) tensile specimens were prepared. They were annealed at 80 C to investigate the effect of residual stresses and thermal shrinkage of the inserted film on thermal deformation of tensile specimens. The FIM specimens with the unannealed film were bent after ejection in such a way that the film side was protruded and the warpage was reversed gradually during annealing and the film side was intruded. Warpage of the FIM specimen with the film annealed at 80 C for 20 days was not reversed during annealing. Processing of the FIM specimens have been modeled numerically to predict thermoviscoelastic deformation of the part and to understand the warpage reversal phenomenon (WRP).Nonisothermal three-dimensional flow analysis was carried out for filling, packing, and cooling stages. The flow analysis results were transported to a finite element stress analysis program for prediction of deformation of the FIM part. The WRP was caused by the combined effect of thermal shrinkage of the inserted film and relaxation of residual stresses in the FIM specimen during annealing. It is expected that this study will contribute towards the improvement of the FIM product quality and prevention of large viscoelastic deformation of the molded part.