OBJECTIVES

1. To determine max open daylight of different injection moulding mould for 60 tonne,
350 tonne and rubber injection moulding.
2. To determine max clamp stroke of different injection moulding
3. To draw examples of 2 and 3 plate mould.

INTRODUCTION

Injection moulding is commonly used processes for manufacturing plastics parts from
toys and plastics trinkets to automotive body panels, water bottles and cell phone cases. It
can be used for producing part form thermoplastic or thermoset polymers. The first injection
moulding was patented in 1872 and used to produce simple everyday items such as hair
combs. Nowadays many of the plastics part in daily life is made from injection moulding. It is
a quick process to create a mass amount of identical plastics part.

Injection moulding consist of two basic part which is injection unit and clamping unit.
Mould can be fastened by injection moulding in either a vertical or horizontal position. It is
depending on the size or type of application. Injection unit melts the plastic and conveys or
moves the material to the confined chamber or mould. There are three main components of
injection unit which are screw motor drive, reciprocating screw and barrel heaters. The main
function of clamping unit is to open and close the mould along with ejecting the parts.
Clamping unit consist of three main component which are mould, clamping motor drive and
tie rods sender that is clamped onto the edge of a workbench. The most common type of
mould clamp is hydraulic and mechanical (toggle). In the hydraulic, oil under pressure is
introduced behind a piston connected to the moving platen of the machine. However, the
toggle is a mechanical device used to amplify force. In the clamp unit, there are max open
daylight, max closed daylight and max clamp stroke. These are related with distance
between to mould design.

The modern-day injection mould tool is often a complex arrangement of mechanical,

electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic components expected to fulfil a range of demanding
tasks. Whatever the complexity, the mould design must essentially specify a tool that will
operate satisfactorily in production. To produce moulded articles in thermoplastics it is
necessary to heat the material to a liquid state, and then force the liquid ‘melt’ to conform to
the shape of a mould. The liquid melt is then cooled, thereby returning it to solid condition,
and removed from the mould. These operations can be fulfilled by the compression moulding
process, but this process is wasteful of both heat and time and is better suited to
thermosetting materials, where it is not necessary to cool the material before removal.
RESULTS & DISCUSSION

Table 1 Technical data of 350 and 60 tonne mould pieces

Clamping Unit 350 600

Clamp force kN 3500 600
Opening force kN 3850 39,6
Platen area mm 1010 -
Distance between tie bars mm - 320
(stand.)
Distance between tie bars mm - 370
(special)
Tie-bar diameter mm 115 370
Size of mould platens (stand.) mm - 490
Size of mould platens (special) mm - 540
Distance between tie-bars mm 710 -
Mould height adjustable from-to mm 300…710 150
Opening stroke at max mould mm 570 425
height
Max. daylight mm 1380 150
Ejector force k/n 59 27,5
Ejector stroke mm 200 150
Dry cycle rate - - 39

Table 2 Technical Data of Rubber Injection Moulding

Stroke Maximum 200

Mould height Maximum 200
Mould height + stroke Maximum 400
Safety gate
Safety gate + stroke
Max Daylight

Figure 1 Injection mould schematic for 350 tonnes

 Max Daylight

Max Daylight

Figure 2 Injection mould schematic for 60 tonnes

Max daylight
Figure 3 Rubber injection moulding schematic
 The clamp unit is the part of the machine that carries, closes and opens the mould. It
provides the force required to keep the mould closed during the injection phase and it ejects
the moulding once the mould is opened. The clamp unit consists of three platens and are
connected through the tie bars. The function of the clamping mechanism is to open and
close the moveable platen thus opening, closing and clamping the mould. The size of the
mould tool that can be mounted on a machine is determined by the mould height, the
daylight, and the distance between the tie bars. Mould height is the maximum amount of
space with the machine toggles closed or the ram fully extended that is available between
the fixed and moving platens. The mould height available is dependent on the type of
mechanism used. The mould height for 350 and 60 tonnes is 300-710 mm and 150 mm. The
height for rubber mould is maximum 200 mm.

The distance between the tie bars also determines the maximum size of mould tool
that can be mounted on a machine once the mould has been in the register ring hole in the
platen, it can be secured to the platen directly with cap screws or indirectly with tool clamps.
The maximum size of mould tool for 350 and 60 tonnes is 710- and 370-mm. Adequate time
must be allowed for ejection of components from the mould. Automatic ejection can be
mechanical, hydraulic or pneumatics systems, depending on the design of the ejector
system. Holding period, mould close, ejection & open period, mould opening, cooling and
injection stroke are elements of moulding cycle. Dry cycle time is based on the empty
injection unit, and it only take milliseconds to inject into the mould (Geoffry, 2008). In
practice, clamp stroke is adjusted to the amount required for the moulding of any given parts.
Mould opening required for a complete separation of the part from the cavity matching the
core clearance. Mould opening takes place more slowly than mould closing. Due to ejection
parts takes place usually with a significant level of force to separate the part from the core
onto which it will shrunk. The precise motion of clamp unit depends upon the clamp design
and its adjustment, thus maximum clamp stroke for a given machine. Daylight is the furthest
distance that the machine platens can be separated from each other. In figure 1 and 2, the
maximum daylight for 350 and 60 tonnes is 710 mm and 575 mm. For rubber injection
moulding is 400 mm(see Figure 3). The usage of different mould parameters to be applied
on different products and capacity produced.
 A mould is consists of two parts: stationary half (cavity plate) on the side which
molten polymer is injected, and a moving half (core plate) on the closing or ejector side of
the injection moulding equipment. An injection mould involve two basic sets of components
which are cavities and cores; the second is the base in which the cavities and cores are
mounted. Table 3 represented several basic components of mould with their
function[ CITATION Jos87 \l 1033 ].

Table 3 Basic parts of a mould

Components Function
Locating Ring Surround sprue bushing
Sprue Feed channel where injected material is
transferred
Located in sprue bushing
Clamping Plate Holds the fixed side of the mould to the
fixed platen of the injection machine
Fixed Cavity Plate Used to hold the fixed cavity block, leader
pin/bushing, and sprue bushing
Movable Cavity Plate Used to hold the movable cavity block,
leader pin/bushing
Core Plate Hold the main core
Has support plate which supported by
pillars against U-shaped structure known as
ejector housing that comprise of rear
clamping plate and spacer blocks
Support Plate Used to support cavity plate, attach the hole
for return pin's spring, and cooling channel
when in cavity plate could not make it
Spacer blocks Mounted between the movable clamping
plate (bottom plate) and the movable cavity
plate to give space and allow the ejector
plate to move when ejecting the
part. the required length of spacer block
depends on ejector stroke that needed to
eject product
Ejector Retainer To hold the ejector, Z pin, shoulder bolts,
and give space to ejector leader pin and
support pillar
Ejector pins Pushes the ejector pins and return pins,
 connected with ejector rod
Ejector Plate Pushes the ejector pins and return pins at
the same time. Mounted to the ejector
retainer plate to form the ejector unit
Rear Clamping Plate Holds The movable side of the mould like
spacer block, support plate, cavity plate and
ejector mechanism to the movable platen of
the injection machine.

In two plate mould type (see Figure 4), the runner system, sprue, runners, and gates
solidify with the part being moulded and are ejected as a single connected item. Therefore,
the operation of this mould usually needs continuous machine attendance as the operator
has to separate the runner system from parts (which break easily at the narrow gates) and
periodically shredding the runner systems into small pieces that can be reintroduces into the
machine hopper[ CITATION Geo94 \l 1033 ].

For the runner system that located in different plane of injection location, a three-
plate mould is used (refer Figure 5). The mould consists of a) the stationary or runner plate
(sprue and half of the runner location), b) the middle or cavity plate (the other half of the
runner, the gates and cavities and is allowed to float when mould is open) and c) the
movable or core plate (core and ejector system). Three plate mould design facilitates the
separation of the runner system and the part when the mould opens; the two items usually
fall into separate bins below the mould. The benefits of three-plate moulds are cheaper and
less likely to break down than hot-runner mould as well as thermally sensitive materials are
less likely to degrade. However, during the process, more material is wasted with increasing
cycle time due to ejection of the runner system. Additionally, more power is consumed
because greater injection pressure is needed to fill the mould.
Figure 4 Two plate mould
Figure 5 Three plate mould
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

REFERENCES

B.Dym, J. (1987). Injection Moulds and Moulding: A Practical Manual. USA: Springer
Science & Business Media.
1. Geoffrey Boothroyd, P. D. (1994). Product Design for Manufacture and Assembly,
Second Edition, Revised and Expanded. New York: CRC Press.

2. S.Thompson. (1999). Handbook of Mould, Tool and Die Repair Weilding, Abington
Publishing
3. Jones, P. (2008). The Mould Design Guide, Smithers Rapra Technology Limited.
4. Douglas M. (1998) Volume 3: Fundamentals of Injection Molding Series, Plastic
Injection Molding, Society of Manufactruing Engineers