Foreword
Preface
Contents
Summary

Selection of IM Machine

Technological Solutions

Technological Tools

This book is prepared to help moulders to understand the role of material, mould and machine. Most of the time, people are expecting the solution for a given problem from the settings of machine parameters. The problem belonging to the part design, mould design and mould precision can not be solved satisfactorily by manipulating machine controls. When the first step is taken with mistakes, such mistakes can not be corrected in subsequent steps. Unfortunately mistakes committed at earlier steps, pertaining to fundamentals, can not be set right at later steps. To correct such mistakes you have to go back to earlier step for correction. This may or may not be (fully or partly) possible. It is bound to be very expensive to correct at later steps.

Therefore, it is always better to think more about all the possible subsequent problems at design stage of the moulding project. Here design, means screening the Part design for moudability, is very essential. Once mouldability is improved and ascertained, then only mould design should be carried out.

If plastic moulding is our bread and butter, then all of us must try to understand as many things as possible about injection moulding. To understand scientifically one must understand the fundamentals of physics studied up to 10^th standard in school. Chemistry is important up to polymerisation and granules are made. Understanding of polymer chemistry is important in compounding, PVC compounding and reaction injection moulding.

To produce zero defect parts one must understand the moulding process, quality problems, root cause of these problems and methods to avoid these problems at the first step of part design itself. This book helps you to understand all steps involve in the field of Injection Moulding of Plastics.

Today lots of software are available;

• Software for material selection to suit functionality and influence of environment,
• CAD software for part design,
• CAE software to verify the mouldability of plastic part and give valuable inputs for mould design,
• Special software for quick drafting of mould design from the standard mould bases and other mould parts available in the market,
• CAM for manufacturing of mould,
• Software for managing Tool Room,
• CIM for managing moulding shop.

Material selection software and CAE software enable you to learn more details of process in iterative manner. It provides learning environment for you and you will be thrilled to discover causes of many mysteries of moulding. You will be delighted to know more and more complexities of the process and you will be wondering how you thought in the past that moulding is the simplest of all process.

The days of thumb rules are gone and therefore one should be bold enough to learn new technologies, offered through software. The learning environment, provided by software, help you to master the subject over a period of time. Therefore there is a need for popularising these new and powerful tools of technology. These technologies are quite popular in USA, Germany and many parts of Europe. Where as in our country the industry is very slow to appreciate and absorb these technologies. This book prepares you to absorb the basics of process and develop skills to see inside the screw/ barrel and mould.

This book is written in question–Answer format or FAQ format. It contains 121 figures and 87 tables. The discussions in the book are divided in to four parts; - Machine for injection moulding, Injection moulding process, Quality related problems and engineering and technology.

Part I gives overview of the subject. It discusses what are the subjects you are expected to know to understand Injection Moulding of Plastics. It describes Injection Moulding Machines of different design and features. It also discusses the support equipment and service lines.

Part II discusses Injection Moulding Process. It provides correct perspective of the process that is required to understand CAE analysis. Part III discusses quality related problems and its origin. It also discusses how to avoid such problems.

Very valuable information on Mould, Hot runner mould, Mechanical failures in Mould, Energy efficiency, Testing of machine, Technology, Robot, Multicomponent moulding, Gas assisted moulding, Thermoset moulding are provided under Engineering ∓mp;mp; Technology part IV. A chapter on Myths ∓mp;mp; Truth clarifies the misunderstood aspects in injection moulding.

Your feed back on the content and the subject is most welcome.

PRABODH C. BOLUR

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