SOME CRITICAL ISSUES FOR INJECTION MOLDING Edited by Jian Wang Some Critical Issues for Injection Molding Edited by Jian Wang Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2012 InTech All chapters are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. As for readers, this license allows users to download, copy and build upon published chapters even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. Notice Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published chapters. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Martina Blecic Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic Cover Designer InTech Design Team First published March, 2012 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from orders@intechopen.com Some Critical Issues for Injection Molding, Edited by Jian Wang p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0297-7 Contents Preface IX Part 1 Basics for Injection Molding 1 Chapter 1 PVT Properties of Polymers for Injection Molding 3 Jian Wang Part 2 Optimization of Injection Molding Process 31 Chapter 2 Effective Run-In and Optimization of an Injection Molding Process 33 Stefan Moser Part 3 Powder Injection Molding 63 Chapter 3 Powder Injection Molding of Metal and Ceramic Parts 65 Joamín González-Gutiérrez, Gustavo Beulke Stringari and Igor Emri Chapter 4 Wick Debinding – An Effective Way of Solving Problems in the Debinding Process of Powder Injection Molding 89 Lovro Gorjan Chapter 5 Micro Metal Powder Injection Molding 105 Kazuaki Nishiyabu Chapter 6 Ceramic Injection Molding 131 Zdravko Stanimirović and Ivanka Stanimirović Chapter 7 Optimization and Simulation for Ceramic Injection Mould of ZrO 2 Fiber Ferrule 149 Bin Lin, Meiming Zhang, Chuhan Wu and Feng Liu VI Contents Part 4 Microcellular Injection Molding 173 Chapter 8 Microcellular Foam Injection Molding Process 175 Hu Guanghong and Wang Yue Part 5 Other Topics 203 Chapter 9 Insert Molding Process Employing Vapour Chamber 205 Jung-Chang Wang, Tien-Li Chang and Ya-Wei Lee Chapter 10 Thermoplastic Matrix Reinforced with Natural Fibers: A Study on Interfacial Behavior 225 Mohammad Farsi Chapter 11 Properties of Injection Molded High Density Polyethylene Nanocomposites Filled with Exfoliated Graphene Nanoplatelets 251 Xian Jiang and Lawrence T. Drzal Preface Plastic products are indispensable in our everyday life. Today, the injection molding is the most used method for producing plastics parts. Using injection molding process, the plastic materials can be melted or remelted and injected at high pressure into the mold cavity to produce parts with desired shape. I started my study on injection molding seven years ago. When I was an undergraduate student, I got acquainted with mechanics and control. Then, injection molding opened a new and interesting world for me to know mechanical engineering and plastic materials. To research in this direction, I got the opportunity to do a PhD study at Beijing University of Chemical Engineering. In the first of my PhD study, ARBURG, a famous global manufacturers of injection molding machines, supported a machine to my laboratory. It became the first injection molding machine which I used. Then, I used different kind of injection molding machines from LK Machinery, Haitian, GSK, etc. The basic of my research is from the PVT (Pressure-Volume- Temperature) properties of polymers which are important for both engineering and polymer physics. According to the polymer PVT properties, mold design, numerical simulation and process control for injection molding could become easily to realize. The on-line PVT measurement and one application example presented in one chapter of this book had been presented in my two articles. After graduation, I became a teacher in Beijing Institute of Technology, and I am still doing research on polymer engineering. Fields of my interest include injection molding and innovative plastics manufacturing processes, micro-injection molding, design and process optimization, computer-aided engineering (CAE) and numerical simulation, properties for plastics. I am still working hard on these fields and hoping more research achievements will benefit to our life and society. This book is composed of different chapters which are mainly related to the subject of injection molding. All the contents not only contain the fundamental knowledge but also have many new research results and techniques by the authors, some leading international academic experts in the field. I define the book title as “Some Critical Issues for Injection Molding” in the context of the research field covered. X Preface Chapter 1 of this book contains introduction on polymer PVT measurements and two main application areas of polymer PVT data in injection molding including numerical simulation and process control. The knowledge on PVT properties of polymers could be the fundamental concepts for the engineers in injection molding. Chapter 2 presents the effective run-in and optimization of an injection molding process guiding readers how to install robust processes or how to review and optimize them. Chapter 3 to 7 are mainly on powder injection molding which was invented and developed in the early 1970s and comprises ceramic injection molding and metal injection molding. Powder injection molding has been accepted as one of the fundamental manufacturing techniques in recent years, and it is leading the way to new prospective market segments. Chapter 8 is about microcellular injection molding which was originally concetualized and invented at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984. Microcellular technology has already had a significant impact on the worldwide plastics industry. The insert molding process employing vapour chamber is introduced in Chapter 9. Insert molding process is a simplified injection molding method that eliminates secondary processing and assembly. Chapter 10 focused on the natural fiber-thermoplastic composites, reviewed some influence factors on the injection molding process to produce natural fibers thermoplastic compound, and introduced some research on interfacial strength of injection molded composites. Chapter 11 explored and analyzed the properties of injection molded high density polyethylene nanocomposites filled with exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets. It is now a great pleasure for me to complete one chapter and the review of the other chapters in this book. Finally, I am grateful to all the authors and the support of different foundations or companies for their research. I very much hope that the contents presented here will provide some clear presentation of injection molding process and equipment to direct people in plastics manufacturing to solve problems and avoid costly errors. With useful, fundamental information for knowing and optimizing the injection molding operation, I also hope the readers could gain some working knowledge of the injection molding. Jian Wang School of Chemical Engineering and Environment, Beijing Institute of Technology China . SOME CRITICAL ISSUES FOR INJECTION MOLDING Edited by Jian Wang Some Critical Issues for Injection Molding Edited by Jian Wang Published. orders@intechopen.com Some Critical Issues for Injection Molding, Edited by Jian Wang p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0297-7 Contents Preface IX Part 1 Basics for Injection Molding 1 Chapter. melts. Injection molding is the most common technique for the mass production of complex shaped products that require accurate dimensions. In injection molding process, some Some Critical Issues