Vincenzo Bellantone

Effects of Process Parameters on the Properties of Replicated Polymeric Parts

The increasing demand for small and even micro scale parts is boosting the development of reliable micro system technologies. Micro-fabrication process capabilities should expand to encompass a wider range of materials and geometric forms, by defining processes and related process chains that can satisfy the specific functional and technical requirements of new emerging multi-material products, and ensure the compatibility of materials and processing technologies throughout these manufacturing chains. Micro injection moulding is the process of transferring the micron or even submicron precision of microstructured metallic moulds to a polymeric products. It represents one of the key technologies for micro manufacturing because its mass production capability and relatively low production cost. Polymers have relatively low cost, and offer good mechanical and thermal strength, electrical insulation, optical transparency, chemical stability and biocompatibility.In this work the authors investigate the micro injection moulding process parameters on the overall quality of a miniaturized dog-bone shaped specimen. The aim of the experimentation is to calibrate the process and set the machine for the correct filling of the component. A set of injection parameters are selected for study by experimental plan and simulation tool and then discussed. Simulation results are used to better understand the polymer flow behaviour during the filling phase. A commercial software is used and input data, collected during the micro injection moulding process, are included using as performance indicators flow front position and moulded mass. Process simulation can provide, at the present time, mostly qualitative input to the designer and process engineer. Two different polymers materials are tested and evaluated in relation to the process replication capability: Polyoxymethylene (POM) and Liquid Cristal Polymer (LCP). Finally, the moulding factors with significant statistical effects are identified. The holding pressure and holding time for POM and the holding pressure and injection velocity for LCP show the highest influence on achieving high part mass.Copyright

Micro Injection Moulding Process and Product Characterization

Due to its high efficiency for the large scale production of polymeric parts, micro injection moulding is one of the key technologies of the new millennium. Although a lot of researches have been conducted to identify the most effective processing conditions for micro injection moulding, the comprehension of the influence of all parameters on the quality, the properties and the reliability of the moulded parts is still an issue. In this context, this study aims to evaluate the effects of the micro injection moulding process conditions on the tensile properties of micro parts, investigating the influence of three main process parameters: the injection speed, the mould temperature and the melt temperature. A full factorial plan has been applied to study the contributions of these parameters and a second study has been performed to understand the synergic interaction between the two temperatures on the tensile strength. Due to its high level of potential crystallinity, a typical semi-crystalline thermoplastic resin was used in the experiments. The results of the analysis showed a great influence of the mould temperature (Tmould ) on the ultimate tensile strength and of the melt temperature (Tmelt ) on the deformation at the point of breaking; whereas the injection speed was significant on the overall mechanical performance. A new studied factor (Tmelt -Tmould ) could affect the resulting molecular structure and consequently the mechanical behaviour, but itself is not sufficient to thoroughly explain the observed behaviour. Moreover, the visual inspection of the deformation mechanism at break shows three distinctive trends demonstrating the great variability of the mechanical properties of micro-injected specimens due to process conditions.Copyright

Mechanical characterisation and replication quality analysis of micro-injected parts made of carbon nanotube/polyoxymethylene nanocomposites

The increasing demand for small and cheap parts is boosting the development of reliable micro-system technologies. Fabrication process capabilities should expand to encompass a wider range of materials and geometric forms, which can satisfy the specific requirements of new emerging micro-products, and ensure the compatibility of new materials and processing technologies. Polymeric composites are very promising materials, since they offer new combinations of properties not available in traditional homogeneous materials. Because of their advantageous light weight, high strength, fatigue life, and corrosion resistance, they are forecast to replace conventional materials in several applications. Among the plastic process technologies, injection moulding is one of the key technologies for manufacturing miniaturised components due to its mass production capability and relatively low production cost. Micro-injection moulding allows to transfer micron and even submicron precision features to small products. Since final product properties strongly depend on materials and production processes and parameters, the process conditions of compounding as well as of product manufacturing have to be carefully studied and controlled. This is particularly important for the manufacturing of micro-products, since, at the micro-scale, some phenomena negligible at the macro-scale (as hesitation effect or capillarity forces for examples) can become important. However, only few studies concern the micro-injection of nanocomposites. Therefore, in this paper the micro-injection of two composites made of polyoxymethylene and carbon nanotubes has been studied. First, the electrical properties of the compounds have been measured; the fillers are dispersed in the matrix and form a network that dramatically increases the conductivity of the composites in comparison with the pristine resin. Then the compounds have been injected using a micro-injection machine and the components have been analysed. The mechanical analysis, based on tensile tests and dynamic-mechanical experiments on miniaturised dog-bone specimens, shows a slight reinforcing effect of the filler; however, the ductility is considerably reduced. This is likely due to a scarce adhesion of the carbon nanotubes and the polymer and the presence of some agglomerates. Moreover, as expected, the mould temperature affects the mechanical properties of the specimens, probably due to its effect on the internal structure of the solidified materials. The dimensional analyses carried out on micro-rib specimens show that replication capability is increased by the presence of the filler and using high values of the process parameters. Finally, microscopic analyses have been done in order to verify the dispersion and orientation of the fillers in the compounds. These effects have been observed only when high shear rates are involved.

Polymeric Micro-Filter Fabrication Using a Micro Injection Moulding Process

This paper reports on fabrication and characterization of a micro-filter for hearing aid, dialysis media and inhaler. The micro-feature specifications consist in a diameter of 2.3 mm, a thickness of 0.2 mm and it is composed by a mesh with grid of 80 μm and ribs with width of 70 μm.The proposed micro-filter is fabricated by micro injection moulding process adopting a steel mould manufactured by micro Electrical Discharge Machining process (micro EDM). Different polymeric materials (POM, HDPE, LCP), particularly indicated for the injection moulding applications due to their flowability and stability, are tested and evaluated in relation to the process replication capability. Since the polymer micro-filter is made of a complex grid of micro-ribs, the injection moulding process must ensure complete filling of the micro-parts, preventing any defects (i.e. premature solidification, incomplete filling, flash and air traps). To this aim, different system parameters configurations (melt and mould temperature, injection velocity, holding time and pressure, cooling time, pressure limit) are tested for obtaining acceptable part in all polymers grade. Finally, the component is dimensionally characterized by confocal microscopy and its filtration capacity is then verified. Although the feature complexity was high, the results showed that the object could be successfully replicated by filling completely the micro cavities with two of them: POM and HDPE. The most significant parameters influencing the part filling were the mould temperature and the injection velocity. These findings allow to further optimize the micro-injection process parameters to obtain a high quality product.Copyright

Effects of Injection Moulding Parameters on Dimensional Accuracy of POM/MWCNT Micro Parts

Nowadays, the study of polymer nanocomposites is an active area of materials development because nanofillers and in particular Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) can significantly improve or adjust the properties of the materials into which they were incorporated such as optical, electrical, mechanical and thermal properties. MWCNTs have been adopted in quite a number of applications, but advancements in their properties are needed for spreading their potential. Moreover their behaviour and filling properties in micro injection moulding process have still to be studied.Therefore, in this work, experimental and statistical studies were performed to analyze the parameters effect on replicating capability of micro parts manufactured in POM/MWCNT by micro injection moulding process. Two compounds with different filler fraction (3 and 6 wt%) were tested and processed with different conditions and their operating range have been pointed out and compared with that of pristine POM (PolyOxyMethilene).The results show that the filler content has the effect to change slightly the operative range of the micro injection process parameters and to increase the replicating capability. The most effective parameters on replicating capability of micro ribs, evaluated by a dimensional index, are the mould temperature for the POM/MWCNT 3% and injection velocity for the 6% filler fraction.Copyright