Investigating demoulding characteristics of material jetted rapid mould inserts for microinjection moulding using inline monitoring and surface metrology
ISSN: 1355-2546
Article publication date: 3 July 2024
Issue publication date: 30 July 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the demoulding characteristics of material-jetted rapid mould inserts having different surface textures for micro-injection moulding using in-line measurements and surface metrology.
Design/methodology/approach
Material-jetted inserts with the negative cavity of a circular test product were fabricated using different surface finishes and printing configurations, including glossy, matte and vertical settings. In-line measurements included the recording of demoulding forces at 10 kHz, which was necessary to capture the highly-dynamic characteristics. A robust data processing algorithm was used to extract reliable demoulding energies per moulding run. Thermal imaging captured surface temperatures on the inserts after demoulding. Off-line measurements, including focus variation microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, compared surface textures after a total of 60 moulding runs.
Findings
A framework for capturing demoulding energies from material-jetted rapid tools was demonstrated and compared to the literature. Glossy surfaces resulted in significantly reduced demoulding forces compared to the industry standard steel moulds in the literature and their material-jetted counterparts. Minimal changes in the surface textures of the material-jetted inserts were found, which could potentially permit their prolonged usage. Significant correlations between surface temperatures and demoulding energies were demonstrated.
Originality/value
The research presented here addresses the very topical issue of demoulding characteristics of soft, rapid tools, which affect the quality of prototyped products and tool durability. This was done using state-of-the-art, high-speed sensing technologies in conjunction with surface metrology and their durability for the first time in the literature.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The research in this work was supported by the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC) at WMG under the projects “Capacity Building for Prototyping Compatible Injection Moulding (Project number: 8225)” and “Additive Layer & Advanced Manufacturing for Battery Innovation (Project number: 8130)”.
Author contributions: Mert Gulcur is the leading author of this work who wrote the manuscript, developed the data acquisition hardware and software, performed μ-IM and characterisation experiments, analysed all the data, managed the project, and acquired funding. Dmitry Isakov contributed to the development of the automated high-speed data acquisition software and writing of the manuscript. Gregory Gibbons and Jerome Charmet also acquired funding. All authors have read the final manuscript and contributed to the discussion and analysis of the results.
Citation
Gülçür, M., Isakov, D., Charmet, J. and Gibbons, G.J. (2024), "Investigating demoulding characteristics of material jetted rapid mould inserts for microinjection moulding using inline monitoring and surface metrology", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 30 No. 7, pp. 1322-1336. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-03-2024-0129
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited