A Global Approach to Modeling Injection Molding

A problem of modeling plastic injection forming (molding) is presented, including both the plasticizing system of the injection-forming machine and the mold. When modeling the plastic flow in the mold, the input quantities are essentially unknown, e.g., the plastic melt temperature. Thus, a comprehensive (global) model of the injection-forming process is needed for the flow in the plasticizing system and in the mold. The process output quantities from the plasticizing system will be the input quantities for the mold. When modeling the plastic flow in the injection-forming machine, a comprehensive approach should be applied to consider the solid material conveying, material plasticizing, and the material melt flow. The model of material plasticizing is a basis for building such global models. In this research, the effect of the flow (including plasticizing) in the injection-forming machine on the flow in the mold is studied by simulation (using Moldex3D 2023R3OR 64-bit software) and experimentation. These studies are carried out for the injection forming of selected material using a specialized spiral mold. Simulations performed with the use of Moldex3D software for the plasticizing system significantly improved the accuracy of the simulation of the flow in the mold. However, the best results were obtained using experimental data (plastic melt temperature) as input quantities for mold filling simulations. The novel concepts of injection-forming process modeling based on our previous experimentations are also discussed.