University of Engineering and Technology

Lahore, Pakistan.

Muhammad Khizar Shafique

Muhammad Umer Farooq

Department of Polymer and Process Engineering

Injection Molding Simulation Analysis of a Computer Exhaust Fan Using

Introduction

The material should have following properties:

Should bear external stresses due to strong
rotation of the fan
Should bear hot currents when ventilating the
heat from CPU
Should be fully insulated to avoid any electrical
discharges
Should be light weight so as to require lesser
energy to rotate around its axis

Figure 2: Pressure at End of Fill for 1 and 2 gates respectively

1.

Designing
Computer fan, as the name signifies, is a type of fan
used in computers for cooling and exhaust
purposes. It removes the hot air thus keeping the
computer cool. Better fans are needed for complex
computers. Moreover, these fans are used in other
appliances too for the same purpose, heat
exhaustion.
The simulation of a polymeric part in SolidWorks includes various steps. A mesh of the designed part
has to be created. Smaller mesh size increases
accuracy of simulation, which can be very effective
in concluding the results, but this also increases
simulation time (depending on processing power of
the system). On the other hand, larger mesh size
can be used which, although, creates a decrease in
accuracy but increases the simulation time of the
designed part.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Property
Max. Melt Temp.
Glass Transition Temp.
Specific Heat Constant
Thermal Conductivity
Elastic Modulus
Poissons Ratio
Thermal Expansion
Coefficient

Value
320C
147C
1700 J/(kg.K)
0.173 W/(m.K)
2400 MPa
0.38
7 x10-5 C-1

Melt and Mold Temperature

Melt & mold temperature are one of the most
important parameter in the simulation of a
polymeric part. They had many prominent effects
on the molded part. Thus they were varied to study
their effects. Both have almost same effects. Both
of them effect volumetric shrinkage, shear stresses,
air traps, weld lines and pressures at end of fill.
Mold Temperature Effect

Conclusions
SolidWorks Plastics is very helpful in analysis of
injection molding simulation process. The analysis
shows that the number of gates, melt temperature,
mold temperature and packing pressure holding
time are important in injection molding process
because these parameters has greater effect on
weld lines, volumetric shrinkage, frozen layer and
sink marks that are the main defects in the part
quality. From the analysis simulation, SolidWorks
Plastics provides the sufficient information about
the processing parameters to avoid the defects in
actual injection molding process.

Acknowledgement
The author would like to grab this opportunity to
thank Dr. Shafiq Irfan, without whose guidance and
continued support, this paper would have been far
from possible. Moreover. The author is grateful for
the resources the department has provided for
making this project a success

References

100
90
80

12.7

12.8

12.9

13

13.1

13.2

% Volume Shrinnkage

Simulation Results

Melt Temperature Effect

300

If incorrectly placed, the gate location can have

adverse effects on the designed part. It could be
responsible for weak weld lines, gas trapping and
jetting which resulted in poor appearance, less
mechanical properties and irregular color of
product.

Plastics

110

12.6

Gate Location

SolidWorks

120

Mold Temperature

Keeping in view all these constraints,

Polycarbonate made by Bayer MAKROLON coded
2605 is chosen to make computer fan. It has the
following properties,

S.
No.
Figure 1: General 3D Design of front and back side of
Computer Fan

If incorrectly placed, the gate location can have

adverse effects on the designed part. It could be
responsible for weak weld lines, gas trapping and
jetting which resulted in poor appearance, less
mechanical properties and irregular color of
product.

Melt Temperature

A model of computer exhaust fan was created and

studied in this paper using Solidworks Plastics. In
this way, several construction factors of the object
under consideration could be studied e.g. melt
temperature, injection temperature, gate selection
and mesh sizes. All the main aspects of polymer
simulation were studied using photographs and
tables. Thus defects could be detected easily and
by selecting optimum parameters for the product,
these defects could be removed before the
practical application of the product.

Material Selection

Muhammad Sheharyar

290
280
270
260
11.5

12

12.5

13

13.5

14

% Volume Shrinkage

14.5

15

15.5

1. M.R. KAMAL, A.I. ISAYEV, AND S.J. LIU, 2009,

Injection Molding: Technology and Fundamentals
Michigan: Hanser Publications.
2. JAY SHOEMAKER, 2006. Moldflow Design Guide,
USA: Hanser Publications.
3. DAVID WATSON, 2008. CAD Tutor, ed. by Matt
Bill, USA: John Wiley and Sons Publications.
4. FISCHER, J. 2013. Handbook of Molded Part,
Warpage and Shrinkage, UK Intermediate
Technology Publication.
5. SHEN, J. 2010. Design and Molding Simulation of
the Plastic Part, USA: John Wiley and Sons
Publications.