Rapid Control of mold Temperature during Injection Molding Process: Effect of Packing Pressure

A thorough analysis of the effect of operative conditions of injection molding process on the morphology distribution inside the obtained molded is performed, with particular reference to semi-crystalline polymers. In particular, fully characterized injection molding tests are presented using an isotactic polypropylene, previously carefully characterized as far as most of properties of interest. The effects of mold temperature and packing conditions are analyzed. The mold temperature was controlled by a thin heating device, composed by polyimide as insulating layer and polyimide loaded carbon black as electrical conductive layer, that is able to increase temperature on mold surface in few seconds (70 degrees C/s) by joule effect and cool down soon after. The shear layer thickness in the molded is reduced in the samples produced at high mold temperatures, that means high electrical power and long heating time, and this reduction is more significant at lower packing pressures, indeed, at 360bar as packing pressure and 20s as heating time the shear layer disappear. The resulting morphology was analyzed by optical microscope.