Papers by Keyword: Conformal Cooling Channel

Abstract: Cooling channels are critical in injection mould tooling as cooling performance influences component quality, cycle time, and overall process efficiency. Additively Manufactured moulds allow the incorporation of cooling channels conforming to the shape of the cavity and core to improve heat removal. These conformal channels can reduce the cycle time, reduce mould temperature, and enhance the temperature uniformity on the mould's surface, leading to improved quality of the moulded components and reduced wastage in the production. The design of such channels is more challenging than conventional channels; thus, Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) has a significant role within the design process. In this paper, a novel design for conformal cooling channels for the production of a commercial component from an industrial partner is investigated. This component had issues of high cycle time and a high defect rate due to residual stresses, resulting in component shrinkage. First, the existing conventional drilled cooling channels in the mould were simulated in Autodesk Moldflow Insight to evaluate temperature distribution and cycle time. Based on the temperature distribution, conformal cooling channels were designed in Solidworks, addressing the problem areas. Next, a simulation of fluid flow in the conformal channels was conducted in ANSYS-Fluent to ensure equal flow distribution in the entire circuit, iteratively arriving at an optimal configuration. Finally, the results of the new conformal channels, including mould temperature and cycle time, were compared with conventional cooling channels in simulation. The results showed a significant reduction in cycle time and improvement in the temperature distribution, thereby minimising residual stresses and shrinkage.

Abstract: Press hardening is a technology increasingly used in the automotive industries to produce high-strength structural parts in boron steel. The part strengthening is due to a martensitic microstructure, which is obtained during the quenching phase of the process by imposing cooling rates typically higher than 27 K/s. To improve cooling efficiency, conformal cooling channels (CCC) are increasingly adopting thanks to opportunities offered by additive manufacturing (AM) technologies in combination with the development of powders with high thermal conductivity.In this work a methodology for the design of CCC inside hot stamping tools is presented and the press hardening of an automotive B-Pillar in 22MnB5 has been used as case study. The proposed methodology provides for an optimization of the distance between the cooling channels (p) and distance between the tool surface and the cooling channel center (d).

Abstract: Warpage is a type mold defect due to non-uniform temperature variation which causes differential shrinkage rate on the moulded parts. An accurate warpage prediction is so important in helping mould designers to achieve successful mold design with minimum warpage defects. This work is performed with a purpose to determine and compare the best parameters can be selected in manufacturing of thin shallow shell using two different types of cooling channels which are straight cooling channels and conformal cooling channels. The results were obtained using Taguchi Method and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and run through simulation software. Both parameters are then compared with each other in recommending to the mold designers which is the best to be applied at mold design stage. It has been found from this work that two factors that significantly cause warpage on both cooling channels are packing pressure and filling time.

Abstract: The challenging in injection molding process is to get the uniform thermal distribution on the molded parts during the cooling stage which is mainly depend on the design of the cooling channels in injection mold. Poor design of cooling channels will result a non-uniform thermal distribution which lead to a longer cycle time, differential shrinkage and warpage defects on the molded parts. In this study, the performance of conformal cooling channels compared to the straight drilled cooling channels in order to minimize the warpage on the front panel housing is evaluated. The simulation results from Autodesk Moldflow Insight (AMI) 2013 are analyzed by using Taguchi Method and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The analyses show that conformal cooling channels are able to improve the quality of the molded parts in term of warpage compared to the conventional straight drilled cooling channels and the results are beneficial for the molding industries which involving the precise parts.

Abstract: The cooling process of injection molding is a complicated process related to thermodynamics and hydrodynamics, and it has a direct impact on quality and productivity of injection molded parts. With increasing requirements on high quality of injection molded parts, the research on the design of conformal cooling channels of injection mould gradually becomes a popular subject. The paper introduced the process of heat transfer for plastic injection mold with conformal cooling channels and its feature; analysed the optimization of conformal cooling channels; A new set of design methodology and rules is developed.

Abstract: Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technology can be used to fabricate plastic mould with complex conformal cooling channels directly and rapidly. In this paper, 316L stainless steel powders were used to produced a mould with an emphasis on attaining excellent mechanical properties.The precision, density and mechanical properties of parts were studied. Simulation and experimental results showed: the mould manufactured by SLM reveals good accuracy and performance, and the cooling efficiency of conformal cooling channels in mould has been greatly improved and the uniformity of cooling has been also upgraded.

Abstract: Cooling stage is a key stage of injection molding. It affects both the quality and efficiency of injection molding of products. Conformal cooling channel, due to its advantages in uniform cooling and rapid cooling, could improve the cooling effect obviously. Therefore, study on methods of machining curved hole are proposed to be used for practice. In this thesis, some methods of machining curved hole and their features in general were introduced.

Abstract: The cooling system of a plastic injection mould is important as it affects the quality and productivity of the polymeric components or assemblies. Contemporary cooling channel design is confined to simple configurations of straight-drilled coolant passageway around the mould insert. Undesirable defects resulted during injection moulding, such as warpage, are inevitable. The application of rapid tool (RT) based on solid freeform fabrication (SFF) technologies with conformal cooling channel (CCC) design has provided a profound opportunity in quality improvement of polymeric components. In this study, a novel design of variable radius conformal cooling channel (VRCCC) is proposed to achieve better uniform cooling performance. Thermal-FEA and melt flow analysis are used to validate the method.