Development and Simulation Analysis of an Efficient Cooling System for Injection- Molded Plastic Components

Abstract

Abstract The Injection Moulding (IM) process holds a pivotal role in plastic manufacturing, and the cooling phase, taking up nearly half of the entire cycle time, is of particular significance. The effectiveness of cooling channels plays a crucial role, exerting a substantial impact on both the quantity of production and the standard of the component. In Given the increasing prevalence of additive manufacturing (3D Printing), a viable solution to address this issue involves creating moulds with conformal cooling. This method enables accurate regulation of temperature distribution uniformity throughout the plastic solidification process in molding operations. This study is cantered around the design and simulation of various conformal cooling channel types, including hybrid, zig-zag, spiral and porous configurations. These are compared with traditional straight cooling methods for a plastic part. The comparative analysis encompasses parameters such as mould ejection temperature, shrinkage, Warpage, temperature profiles to determine which configuration is better suited for achieving uniform cooling with minimal cycle time. The investigation utilizes SolidWorks Simulation Moldflow Analysis software to scrutinize the performance outputs of the cooling channels.