TEMPERATURE ADAPTIVE CONTROL USING THE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING FOR INJECTION MOLDING POLYMERIC PRODUCTS

Abstract

This paper presents the adaptive control of the temperature in the injection mold using additive manufacturing in order to achieve the controlled and specific cooling channels in the components parts of the injection molds of polymeric products. The increasing complexity of technical characteristics by construction and technology of the polymer products lead to increasingly stringent specifications for their dimensional stability and to complicated injection molds cost prices involving high reliability issues. The adaptive control of the temperature in the injection molds produced polymeric is the solution that solves these performance requirements. The main problems in the adaptive control of the temperature by injection molds is given by the thermodynamic characteristics of active plate material of the mold and by the distribution of the thermal fields and the cooling of the polymer product injected. The differential temperature control of the various areas of the active plaque cavity by injection mold using the conventional or assisted cooling systems lead to high manufacturing times and the bad quality of the product. This paper presents ways to realize of specific cooling channels so that they will be conform to the contour of the parts or integrated in the specific heat conductive material, embedded in the active plate for the injection polymer product. It is also presents the technologies used to achieve the specific cooling channels like direct laser metal forming, "direct metal laser sintering" (DMLS) and the method of introduction of high conductivity material in the active areas of the injection molds plate. Each type of product requires a specific construction technology to achieve specific.By creating these specific channels occurs adaptive temperature control in injection mold active areas resulting low manufacturing times and conformal quality.