Online control of the injection molding process based on process variables

TLDR: In this paper, a pvT-based process control for the injection molding process is presented, where the quality determining process variable cavity pressure can be determined directly and a desired course of cavity pressure in the injection and holding pressure phases can be realized.

Abstract: The conventional control of the injection molding process is based on machine variables, which cannot sufficiently characterize the course of the process. Hence, a system that controls the injection molding process based on process variables has been developed at the Institute of Plastics Processing at RWTH Aachen University during the last years. It controls the quality determining process variable cavity pressure directly and realizes a desired course of cavity pressure in the injection and holding pressure phases. The cavity pressure course in the holding pressure phase is controlled online on the basis of pvT behavior of the processed plastic material. Thus, an optimal course of the process in the pvT diagram can be guaranteed and the quality constancy of the molded parts can be clearly increased. Using the pvT-based process control, the effect of varying mold and melt temperatures on the molded part weight can be decreased by about 90% compared with the conventional process control. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 28:65–76, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/adv.20153