Development of a low-cost epoxy resin mold with high cooling efficiency

Kuo, Chil-Chyuan; Wu, Jiaqi

doi:10.1007/s00170-021-06716-0

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 79 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In general, the surface quality of the mold fabricated by direct metal laser sintering, vacuum diffusion bonding, or electron beam melting was not good due to staircase effect [27]. A distinct advantage was found that no extensive machining was needed to obtain the required surface roughness and tolerance compared to an injection mold fabricated by direct metal laser sintering, vacuum diffusion bonding, or electron beam melting, since injection mold was fabricated by casting process [28][29][30][31]. Figure 15 shows the photos of the conventional cooling channels and optimum CCCs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid Development of an Injection Mold with High Cooling Performance Using Molding Simulation and Rapid Tooling Technology

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rapid tooling technology (RTT) provides an alternative approach to quickly provide wax injection molds for the required products since it can reduce the time to market compared with conventional machining approaches. Removing conformal cooling channels (CCCs) is the key technology for manufacturing injection mold fabricated by rapid tooling technology. In this study, three different kinds of materials were used to fabricate CCCs embedded in the injection mold. This work explores a technology for rapid development of injection mold with high cooling performance. It was found that wax is the most suitable material for making CCCs. An innovative method for fabricating a large intermediary mold with both high load and supporting capacities for manufacturing a large rapid tooling using polyurethane foam was demonstrated. A trend equation for predicting the usage amount of polyurethane foam was proposed. The production cost savings of about 50% can be obtained. An optimum conformal cooling channel design obtained by simulation is proposed. Three injection molds with different cooling channels for injection molding were fabricated by RTT. Reductions in the cooling time by about 89% was obtained. The variation of the results between the experiment and the simulation was investigated and analyzed.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid Development of an Injection Mold with High Cooling Performance Using Molding Simulation and Rapid Tooling Technology

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Compared with the traditional method, the principal advantages of this technology involve simple manufacturing processes, low production costs and short processing times. A further study was performed by Kuo and Wu, 28 where different epoxy-filler recipes were investigated to manufacture a low-cost wax injection mould with high cooling performance. Moulds made with the preferred recipes improved the cooling efficiency and material cost compared with the commercial aluminium-filled epoxy mould.…”

Section: Recent Investigations Of Epoxy Toolingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epoxy tooling: Technologies, developments, sustainability and future interest to industry 4.0

Díez-Barcenilla

Gómez-Alonso

Gondra

et al. 2021

Polymers and Polymer Composites

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The technology of epoxy tooling, at present under continuous development, is used for the rapid manufacture of cost-effective tools for small batch production. It is a valid alternative with no need for expensive investment in metallic moulds for the development of new products. Current investigations are focused on improvements to the production system, improved tool performance, the cost reduction of moulds and tool manufacturing sustainability. In this paper, both the advantages and the disadvantages of epoxy tooling in injection moulding, wax injection, metal stamping and hot embossing are compared with conventional techniques. Following a brief introduction of rapid tooling technologies, the latest advances of epoxy tooling and their implementation in different manufacturing processes are all analysed. These developments refer to the production of new ad-hoc epoxy composites, increased productivity using conformal cooling channels, the reduction of the tooling manufacturing costs through waste reuse and the emerging industry 4.0 technologies for smart manufacturing and tooling. The main objective is to identify both the challenges facing epoxy tooling techniques and future research directions.

show abstract

“…Figure 1 a illustrates that the majority of simulation studies focus on steel molds and their various alloys [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], due to their high conductivity and durability. Mold materials, such as epoxies [ 16 , 17 , 18 ], reinforced liquid silicones [ 19 , 20 ], and other types of polymers [ 21 , 22 ], have begun to be used as CCC substitutes in well-known rapid tooling applications for low-volume injection molding. However, alternative mold materials such as polycarbonate have not been used to date.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Cooling Efficiency of Polymer Injection Molds by Computer Simulation Using Conformal Channels

Vargas-Isaza,

Benitez-Lozano,

Rodriguez

2023

Polymers

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Injection molds are production tools that require detailed analysis based on the quality of the resulting part, the impact on cycle times, and the expected production volume. Cooling channels also play a critical role in mold performance and product quality as they largely determine cycle time. Designs that incorporate conformal cooling channel (CCC) geometries that conform to or align with the part contour are currently being explored as an alternative to conventional cooling channel designs in injection molds. In this study, a simulation of CCC geometries was performed and their effects on mold temperatures and warpage were investigated. Two cross-sectional geometries, circular and square, were selected for a three-factor level design of experiments (DOE) analysis. The response variables used were mold temperatures and part warpage. A cup-shaped part with upper and lower diameters of 54 and 48 mm, respectively, a height of 23 mm and a thickness of 3 mm was used for the injection molded part. A comparison was also made between two materials for the injection mold, steel and polycarbonate. The DOE results showed that the distance between the CCC and the injected part and the diameter or side of the square have significant effects on the response variables for both systems (steel and polycarbonate molds). In addition, a comparison between conventional and conformal cooling channels was analyzed using a cup-shaped part and a less rigid part geometry. The finite element simulation results show a 9.26% reduction in final warpage in the cup-shaped part using CCCs compared with the conventional cooling methods in steel. When using parts with lower geometry stiffness, the use of CCCs reduced final part warpage by 32.4% in metal molds and by 59.8% in polymer molds.

show abstract

Development of a low-cost epoxy resin mold with high cooling efficiency

Cited by 12 publications

References 79 publications

Rapid Development of an Injection Mold with High Cooling Performance Using Molding Simulation and Rapid Tooling Technology

Rapid Development of an Injection Mold with High Cooling Performance Using Molding Simulation and Rapid Tooling Technology

Epoxy tooling: Technologies, developments, sustainability and future interest to industry 4.0

Evaluating the Cooling Efficiency of Polymer Injection Molds by Computer Simulation Using Conformal Channels

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About