9.a Injection moulding is a cyclic operation.

The cycle consists of

Mould close and clamp, (few seconds -depends on machine speeds)

Injection - Fill (speed) phase, (few seconds) Switchover and Pack (pressure) phase,
(few seconds)

Cooling time, (40 to 60% of cycle time)

Total injection stroke is divided in to two phase by a switch over point on the scale
of injection stroke. First phase has 80-95% of injection stroke and remaining part of
stroke is for pressure phase.

The melt gets compressed in plasticising cylinder prior to entry of melt in to the
mould. At the end of filling phase inside the mould, melt is relaxed - i.e. it expands
resulting in filling up of remaining space in the mould. This causes pressure peak
inside the cavity.

Initially there is no resistance to flow of melt. Resistance increases as the cavity is

being filled up -as more and more resistance felt-. This is seen as pressure rising
before switch-over. Fill pressure is the measure of resistance to flow of melt.
Resistance is directly proportional to melt viscosity and maximum length of flow and
inversely proportional to thickness of flow.

During pressure phase, the melt flows into the mould in order to compensate for the
shrinkage due to falling melt temperature.

The injection molding window is represented as

9b Viscoelastic behavior reflects the combined viscous and elastic responses, under
mechanical stress, of materials which are intermediate between liquids and solids in
character. This results in time-dependent behavior, which means that a material's
response to deformation or force may change over time. Their viscoelastic
properties determine the mechanical performance of the final products of these
industries, and also the success of processing methods at intermediate stages of
production. The mechanical properties of solid polymers show marked sensitivity to
time compared with traditional materials like metals and ceramics. Several
examples illustrate this point. (1) The stressstrain properties of polymers are
extremely rate dependent. For traditional materials, the stressstrain behavior is
essentially independent of strain rate. (2) Under a constant load, the deformation of
polymeric material increases with time (creep). (3) When a polymer is subjected to
a constant deformation, the stress required to maintain this deformation decreases
with increasing time (stress relaxation). (4) The strain resulting from a polymer
subjected to a sinusoidal stress has an in-phase component and an out-of-phase
component. The phase lag (angle) between the stress and strain is a measure of the
internal friction, which in principle is the mechanical strain energy that is
convertible to heat Viscoelastic Properties of Polymers examines, in detail, the
effects of the many variables on which the basic viscoelastic properties depend.
These include temperature, pressure, and time; polymer chemical composition,
molecular weight and weight distribution, branching and crystallinity; dilution with
solvents or plasticizers; and mixture with other materials to form composite
systems. With guidance by molecular theory, the dependence of viscoelastic
properties on these variables can be simplified by introducing certain ancillary
concepts such as the fractional free volume, the monomeric friction coefficient, and
the spacing between entanglement loci.

When viscoelastic materials such as polymers are subjected to stress they undergo
deformations by molecular rearrangements and by viscoelastic flow. To study the
irreversible deformations, creep recovery experiment are often conducted at various
loads and temperatures. In these experiments, a sample is subjected to an
instantaneous load for a time t1. After removal of the applied load, the strain
recovery is recorded as a function of time.
In the case of an ideal elastic material (fully crosslinked elastomer), the creep
recovery can be described with the one-dimensional Voigt model. The basic equation
for the time dependence of strain during creep recovery is

0 = E + d / dt

or

0 = (T) d / dt +

where (T) is the response or relaxation time of the one-dimensional Voigt element
which is represented by the ratio of viscosity to Young's modulus E. Separation of
the variables and integration yields

(t > t1) = (t1) exp[-(t - t1) / (T)]

Notice that the strain is completely reversed during the creep recovery phase, or in
other words, no irreversible deformation occurs. This behavior is typical for
crosslinked elastomers when the stress during the deformation phase does not
exceed the elastic limit.

Plastic materials, on the other hand, undergo irreversible deformation when

exposed to stress. This situation can be best described with the one-
dimensional Maxwell model. If a constant stress 0 is applied for a time intervall t1,
then the Maxwell element reaches following strain:

(t1) = 0 {1 / E + t1 / }

After the stress is removed, the spring of the Maxwell element recovers
instantaneously. The remaining deformation is given by

(t) = (t1) - 0 / E = 0 t1 /

There is no time dependent creep recovery because setting = 0 in the Maxwell

equation yields

d / d t = 0

This behavior is typical for amorphous polymers without chemical crosslinks which
exhibit viscous flow (chain slippage) when exposed to stress.

When a plastic material is subjected to a constant load, it deforms continuously

(Figure 2). The initial strain is roughly predicted by its stress-strain modulus. The
material will continue to deform slowly with time indefinitely or until rupture or
yielding causes failure. The primary region is the early stage of loading when the
creep rate decreases rapidly with time. Then it reaches a steady state which is
called the secondary creep stage followed by a rapid increase (tertiary stage) and
fracture. This phenomenon of deformation under load with time is called creep. Of
course, this is an idealized curve. Some materials do not have secondary stage,
while tertiary creep only occurs at high stresses and for ductile materials. [1] All
plastics creep to a certain extent. The degree of creep depends on several factors,
such as type of plastic, magnitude of load, temperature and time. The standard test
method for creep characterization is ASTM D2990. In this Log Time Stress Strain
constant strain section isometric section constant time section isochronous section
constant stress section creep curve 2 test procedure, the dimensional changes that
occur during time under a constant static load are measured. Figure 2. Creep curve
for plastics, a constant load is applied [1] If the applied load is released before the
creep rupture occurs, an immediate elastic recovery equal to the elastic
deformation, followed by a period of slow recovery is observed (Figure 3). The
material in most cases does not recover to the original shape and a permanent
deformation remains. The magnitude of the permanent deformation depends on
length of time, amount of stress applied, and temperature.

9 c. Once produced, plastic parts may be subjected to one or more finishing

processes, including:

degating
 deflashing

cleaning

decorating

Degating: Degating is the process of removing the molded part from the gate and
runner system. Degating can be accomplished by simply snapping off the runner
and gate system, using hand tools such as side cutters, employing dedicated
trimming fixtures, or by using special injection molding tooling such as the cold-
runner three plate mold and runnerless style injection molds.

Deflashing: During the injection process, excess material, called flash, may leak
out between mold cavity halves. Deflashing methods are used to remove this flash,
and include: cutting and trimming, media blasting, or cryogenic deflashing. Cutting
and trimming are the most common methods of deflashing molded parts, and are
performed manually using knives, or other cutting utensils. Media blasting involves
the spraying, or broadcasting, of either particulate polymers, or organic materials
such as ground walnut shells, to break up both external and internal flash.
Cryogenic deflashing involves loading parts to a cryogenic deflashing machine
where they are then tumbled or vibrated. Liquid nitrogen, carbon dioxide or dry ice
is then added, quickly freezing and embrittling the thin flash on plastic parts. While
still frozen, the parts are then blasted with media to break up and remove the flash.

Cleaning: Plastic parts often require some form of cleaning after molding. Processing
aids, such as mold release agents may leave a residue, while grease and dirt can be
picked up from the molding machine. Even the natural oils of the operators hands
can interfere with final surface treatment. All these contaminants will interfere with
the bonding action of any post-molding decoration or surface treatment. Cleaning is
accomplished by spraying or dipping parts in a mild detergent solution followed by a
final rinsing and drying.

Decorating: Virtually all molded plastic products receive some sort of final
decoration. These decorations are either "molded-in" or "applied" types. Molded-in
decorations are those designed into the mold, such as textures; or by implant, as
with two-shot molding. Color is considered a molded-in decoration by virtue of pre-
colored resins injected into the mold. Applied decorations are those added to the
plastic part after molding. These applied decoration methods include:

painting

plating

vacuum metallizing

pad printing
10 d In this process, a thermosetting charge (preform) is loaded into a chamber
immediately ahead of the mold cavity, where it is heated; pressure is then applied
to force the softened polymer to flow into the heated mold where curing occurs.
There are two variants of the process: (a) pot transfer molding, in which the charge is
injected from a pot through a vertical sprue channel into the cavity; and
(b) plunger transfer molding, in which the charge is injected by means of a plunger
from a heated well through lateral channels into the mold cavity. In both cases,
scrap is produced each cycle in the form of the leftover material in the base of the
well and lateral channels, called the cull. In addition, the sprue in pot transfer is
scrap material. Because the polymers are thermosetting, the scrap cannot be
recovered.

11 a In fluidized bed coating, air flows upwards through a bed of polymer particles.
The bed is lifted by the air, creating a fluid-like cloud of particles. A heated object is
then dipped into the cloud. Particles that contact the object fuse to the exposed
surface, coating the object. The thickness of the coat is determined by the amount
of time the object spends in the bed.

fluidized bed process is used when a heavy coating (0.01 to 0.04 inches) is needed.
Fluidized beds also provide excellent edge coverage and are an economical way to
prevent corrosion by encapsulating parts. A fluidized bed is made up of a powder
container and an air receiver that are separated by a porous fluidizing bottom.

Advantages

Superior edge coverage.

More cost effective than electrostatic spray.

Corrosion resistance.

Total encapsulation most effective use.

Disadvantages

Selective deposition of powder is difficult to achieve.

Frequent addition of powder needed to prevent stratification of bed and poor coat
quality.

11d The Polymer Solution Casting process utilizes a mandrel, or inner diameter mold,
that is immersed in a tank of polymer solution or liquid plastic that has been
specifically engineered for the process. Due to a combination of thermal and
frictional properties, the polymer solution then forms a thin film around the mold.
[1]
The mold is then extracted from the tank in a precisely controlled manner,
followed by a curing or drying process. Once the first layer of thin film is
appropriately solidified, secondary features can be added to the product such as
braided or coiled wire, laser-cut hypotubes or engineered metal reinforcements to
prevent kinking, or imaging targets specific to the intended medical application.
Multiple casting steps can then be repeated to encapsulate the reinforcements,
build up wall thickness, add additional lumens and optimize column strength. The
part is then removed from the mold after it is cured or solidified.

The most notable attribute of this thin-film process technology is the ability to
alternate the material properties (i.e. strength, durometer, color, lubricity) amongst
the individual layers or even down the length of the part, resulting in a feature-rich
single-piece construction.

Another notable advantage of polymer solution casting technology is that the total
manufacturing cost for both prototyping and production volumes are frequently less
than the conventional technologies.

Ans. L and inverted L type roll arrangements are 4-roll arrangements used in
calendaring process of polymer.

The pictures are given below

L-type Inverted L-type

They are used for production of sheets of small thickness (0.1 to 2 mm). They are
usually used in laboratory calenders due to their small size. They can be fed without
difficulty. The thickness of the sheet can be easily adjusted by adjusting the gaps
between the rollers.

Both these setups have become popular and because some rollers are at 90 o to
others their roll separating forces have less effect on subsequent rollers. L type
calenders are often used for processing rigid polymers and inverted L type
calenders are normally used for flexible polymers.