How to solve the side wall dent of injection molding products

The “dent” is caused by the local shrinkage after the gate is sealed or caused by the lack of material injection. The depression or micro depression on the surface of injection molded products is an old problem in the process of injection molding.

Dents are generally caused by the increase of the shrinkage rate of plastic products caused by the increase of the wall thickness. They may appear near the external sharp corner or the sudden change of the wall thickness, such as the bulge, the back of the stiffener or the support, and sometimes in some uncommon parts. The root cause of the dent is the thermal expansion and cold shrinkage of the material, because the coefficient of thermal expansion of thermoplastic is quite high. The degree of expansion and shrinkage depends on many factors, among which the most important are the properties of plastics, the maximum and minimum temperature range and the packing pressure in the cavity. The size and shape of injection parts, cooling rate and uniformity are also influencing factors.

The amount of expansion and shrinkage in the molding process of plastic materials is related to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the processed plastics, which is called “molding shrinkage”. With the cooling shrinkage of the molding part, the close contact between the molding part and the cooling surface of the mold cavity is lost. At this time, the cooling efficiency decreases. After the molding part continues to cool, the molding part shrinks continuously. The shrinkage depends on the comprehensive effect of various factors.

The sharp corner on the molding part cools the fastest and hardens earlier than other parts. The thick part near the center of the molding part is farthest from the cooling surface of the cavity and becomes the last part to release heat on the molding part. After the material at the corner solidifies, with the melt cooling near the center of the part, the molding part will continue to shrink. The plane between the sharp corners can only be cooled on one side, and its strength has no change The strength of the material at the sharp corner is high. The cooling shrinkage of the plastic material in the center of the part pulls the relatively weak surface between the partially cooled and the more cooled sharp corner inward. In this way, a dent is produced on the surface of the injection molded part.

The existence of the dent indicates that the shrinkage of the molding is higher than that of the surrounding parts. If the shrinkage of the molded part is higher in one place than in another, the reason for the warpage of the molded part is analyzed. The residual stress in the mold will reduce the impact strength and temperature resistance of the molded parts. In some cases, the dent can be avoided by apintejinusting the process conditions. For example, in the packing process of a molded part, additional plastic material is injected into the mold cavity to compensate for molding shrinkage. In most cases, the gate is much thinner than the other parts of the part. When the molding part is still very hot and continues to shrink, the small gate has been cured. After curing, the packing pressure has no effect on the molding part in the cavity.

The results show that the shrinkage of semi crystalline plastics is high, which makes the dent problem more serious; the shrinkage of non crystalline materials is low, which will minimize the dent; the shrinkage of filling and maintaining reinforced materials is lower, and the possibility of dent is smaller.

About PTJMould Industrial Company Limited

PTJmould is a China mold maker of plastic molds- injection mold, die casting moulds, plastic blow molding, rotational molding, medical plastic injection molding, two shot plastic injection molding, insert molding, overmolding, metal injection molding, micro injection molding, powder injection molding, ceramic injection molding, liquid injection molding, husky injection molding, household mold, casting mold, die mold tool, custom molds, china moulds, rapid prototyping tooling, plastic prototyping tooling, punch press tooling, die and tooling for mobile/ cell phone parts, automotive parts, vacuum cleaners, rechargeable tools, telephones, copiers, computers, multimedia speakers, and many other electronic products and household appliances. And also a plastic product manufacturer, mold manufacturer China– plastic parts, plastic water tank, plastic balls, plastic containers, plastic buckle, plastic anchor, plastic hanger, plastic spoon, plastic pipe fitting, plastic tumble, plastic tableware, plastic cups, plastic bottles, plastic tray, plastic cosmetic container, plastic case, plastic food container, plastic chairs, plastic caps, plastic cap closure, plastic tubes, plastic water pipes, plastic knobs, plastic tubing, plastic utility boxes, plastic racks and so on.