Computer simulation of injection molding

The injection-molding process consists of three consecutive stages: filling, packing, and cooling. In order to obtain some insight into the phenomena involved in the process, and particularly in order to evaluate the moldability of certain resins and to predict the microstructure and properties of products molded therefrom, a number of workers have employed a variety of techniques based on mathematical simulation of the process. Mathematical simulation involves writing the relevant continuity, momentum, and energy equations governing the system, with appropriate boundary and initial conditions representing the prevailing conditions in the cavity and delivery channels. In order to obtain meaningful solutions to the above equations, detailed information is required regarding the thermodynamic, thermal, and rheological properties of the resin. Moreover, the prediction of the microstructure and ultimate properties of the molded article requires a knowledge of the morphological, crystallization, and orientation phenomena that take place under the influence of the thermo-mechanical history experienced by the resin. The complexity of the equations involved results in the utilization of a number of simplifying assumptions and the resort to computer simulation and numerical solutions of these equations. A variety of numerical schemes based on finite difference and finite element methods has been employed by various researchers.