Plastic Thermoplastic Thermosetting Polymers

Injection moulding uses a ram or screw-type plunger to force molten plastic material into a mould
cavity; this solidifies into a shape that has conformed to the contour of the mould. It is most
commonly used to process both thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers, with the volume used of
the former being considerably higher.[3]:13 Thermoplastics are prevalent due to characteristics which
make them highly suitable for injection moulding, such as the ease with which they may be recycled,
their versatility allowing them to be used in a wide variety of applications,[3]:89 and their ability to
soften and flow upon heating. Thermoplastics also have an element of safety over thermosets; if a
thermosetting polymer is not ejected from the injection barrel in a timely manner, chemical
crosslinking may occur causing the screw and check valves to seize and potentially damaging the
injection moulding machine.[3]:3
Injection moulding consists of high pressure injection of the raw material into a mould which shapes
the polymer into the desired shape.[3]:14 Moulds can be of a single cavity or multiple cavities. In
multiple cavity moulds, each cavity can be identical and form the same parts or can be unique and
form multiple different geometries during a single cycle. Moulds are generally made from tool steels,
but stainless steels and aluminium moulds are suitable for certain applications. Aluminium moulds
typically are ill-suited for high volume production or parts with narrow dimensional tolerances, as
they have inferior mechanical properties and are more prone to wear, damage, and deformation
during the injection and clamping cycles; however, aluminium moulds are cost-effective in low-
volume applications, as mould fabrication costs and time are considerably reduced.[1] Many steel
moulds are designed to process well over a million parts during their lifetime and can cost hundreds
of thousands of dollars to fabricate.
When thermoplastics are moulded, typically pelletised raw material is fed through a hopper into a
heated barrel with a reciprocating screw. Upon entrance to the barrel the temperature increases and
the Van der Waals forces that resist relative flow of individual chains are weakened as a result of
increased space between molecules at higher thermal energy states. This process reduces
its viscosity, which enables the polymer to flow with the driving force of the injection unit. The screw
delivers the raw material forward, mixes and homogenises the thermal and viscous distributions of
the polymer, and reduces the required heating time by mechanically shearing the material and
adding a significant amount of frictional heating to the polymer. The material feeds forward through
a check valve and collects at the front of the screw into a volume known as a shot. A shot is the
volume of material that is used to fill the mould cavity, compensate for shrinkage, and provide a
cushion (approximately 10% of the total shot volume, which remains in the barrel and prevents the
screw from bottoming out) to transfer pressure from the screw to the mould cavity. When enough
material has gathered, the material is forced at high pressure and velocity into the part forming
cavity. To prevent spikes in pressure, the process normally uses a transfer position corresponding to
a 9598% full cavity where the screw shifts from a constant velocity to a constant pressure control.
Often injection times are well under 1 second. Once the screw reaches the transfer position the
packing pressure is applied, which completes mould filling and compensates for thermal shrinkage,
which is quite high for thermoplastics relative to many other materials. The packing pressure is
applied until the gate (cavity entrance) solidifies. Due to its small size, the gate is normally the first
place to solidify through its entire thickness.[3]:16 Once the gate solidifies, no more material can enter
the cavity; accordingly, the screw reciprocates and acquires material for the next cycle while the
material within the mould cools so that it can be ejected and be dimensionally stable. This cooling
duration is dramatically reduced by the use of cooling lines circulating water or oil from an external
temperature controller. Once the required temperature has been achieved, the mould opens and an
array of pins, sleeves, strippers, etc. are driven forward to demould the article. Then, the mould
closes and the process is repeated.
For a two shot mould, two separate materials are incorporated into one part. This type of injection
moulding is used to add a soft touch to knobs, to give a product multiple colours, to produce a part
with multiple performance characteristics.[4]
For thermosets, typically two different chemical components are injected into the barrel. These
components immediately begin irreversible chemical reactions which eventually crosslinks the
material into a single connected network of molecules. As the chemical reaction occurs, the two fluid
components permanently transform into a viscoelastic solid.[3]:3 Solidification in the injection barrel
and screw can be problematic and have financial repercussions; therefore, minimising the
thermoset curing within the barrel is vital. This typically means that the residence time and
temperature of the chemical precursors are minimised in the injection unit. The residence time can
be reduced by minimising the barrel's volume capacity and by maximising the cycle times. These
factors have led to the use of a thermally isolated, cold injection unit that injects the reacting
chemicals into a thermally isolated hot mould, which increases the rate of chemical reactions and
results in shorter time required to achieve a solidified thermoset component. After the part has
solidified, valves close to isolate the injection system and chemical precursors, and the mould opens
to eject the moulded parts. Then, the mould closes and the process repeats.
Pre-moulded or machined components can be inserted into the cavity while the mould is open,
allowing the material injected in the next cycle to form and solidify around them. This process is
known as Insert moulding and allows single parts to contain multiple materials. This process is
often used to create plastic parts with protruding metal screws, allowing them to be fastened and
unfastened repeatedly. This technique can also be used for In-mould labelling and film lids may also
be attached to moulded plastic containers.
A parting line, sprue, gate marks, and ejector pin marks are usually present on the final
part.[3]:98 None of these features are typically desired, but are unavoidable due to the nature of the
process. Gate marks occur at the gate which joins the melt-delivery channels (sprue and runner) to
the part forming cavity. Parting line and ejector pin marks result from minute misalignments, wear,
gaseous vents, clearances for adjacent parts in relative motion, and/or dimensional differences of
the mating surfaces contacting the injected polymer. Dimensional differences can be attributed to
non-uniform, pressure-induced deformation during injection, machining tolerances, and non-
uniform thermal expansion and contraction of mould components, which experience rapid cycling
during the injection, packing, cooling, and ejection phases of the process. Mould components are
often designed with materials of various coefficients of thermal expansion. These factors cannot be
simultaneously accounted for without astronomical increases in the cost
of design, fabrication, processing, and quality monitoring. The skilful mould and part designer will
position these aesthetic detriments in hidden areas if feasible.

Plastic Thermoplastic Thermosetting Polymers

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Injection moulding uses a ram or screw-type plunger to force molten plastic material into a mould

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