Estudo comparativo e experimental de materiais aplicados a insertos macho de moldes de injeção dentro do conceito de molde híbrido

Abstract

The application of plastic components has grown significantly in most of industrial segments during last years. This has attracted considerably attention for the injection mould design and manufacturing processes, which is one of the most expensive phases of injected plastic components development process. Techniques such as Rapid Prototyping/Rapid Tooling have appeared as potential solution in the field. However, one issue not resolved is how the prototypes obtained by these techniques can attend all features demanded by a true prototype. This research explores the application of softer alternative material to hybrid prototype injection moulds within the concept of rapid tooling, providing a better understanding about the influence of these materials in the final properties of plastic injected prototypes. An experimental injection mould, assembled with temperature sensors, and with interchangeability of the moulding blocks (core and cavity) has been designed and manufactured based on a tubular reference component. The different properties of the core materials, in special thermal, have been analyzed, as well as their influence on the reference component. A set of twelve configurations (core material mould temperature) have been defined to obtain the samples. Mathematical computational simulation was used to identify the more appropriate injection moulding parameters. The final samples have been analyzed in terms of mechanical properties (stress-strain and impact), physical properties (dimensions, morphology and crystallinity) and chemical properties. The conclusions show the influence of alternative materials, applied to core injection mould, on the final injected components. Also, a relationship between the different injection moulding parameters and the final prototype component properties are discussed.