Temperature and pressure evolution in fast heat cycle injection molding

An accurate mold temperature control during injection molding processes allows obtaining objects with better surface finishing, more accurate surface replication, and reduced frozen-in orientation. The control of these properties is particularly important when the thickness of the molded part is very small as in the case of microinjection. In this work, thin multilayer heaters are adopted to obtain a very fast mold surface temperature evolution during the process of an isotactic polypropylene (iPP). The effect of mold temperature history on the pressure developed inside the cavity is analyzed and correlated to both gate solidification and mold deformation. Results confirmed that, with a fast control of the cavity surface temperature, a reduction of the injection pressure is achieved, without affecting the cycle time. The understanding of the phenomena that occur during the fast temperature evolution on the cavity surface can allow the microstructural calibration of the molded parts.