Application of new conformal cooling layouts to the green injection molding of complex slender polymeric parts with high dimensional specifications

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Alba, Abelardo Torres, Colmenero, Jorge Manuel Mercado, Garcia, Juan de Dios Caballero, Donate, Cristina Martin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Alba, Abelardo Torres
Colmenero, Jorge Manuel Mercado
Garcia, Juan de Dios Caballero
Donate, Cristina Martin
author_facet Alba, Abelardo Torres
Colmenero, Jorge Manuel Mercado
Garcia, Juan de Dios Caballero
Donate, Cristina Martin
contents Eliminating warpage in injection molded polymeric parts is one of the most important problems in the injection molding industry today. This situation is critical in geometries that are particularly susceptible to warping due to their geometric features, and this occurs with topologies of great length and slenderness with high changes in thickness. These features are, in these special geometries, impossible to manufacture with traditional technologies to meet the dimensional and sustainable requirements of the industry. This paper presents an innovative green conformal cooling system that is specifically designed for parts with slender geometric shapes that are highly susceptible to warping. Additionally, the work presented by the authors investigates the importance of using highly conductive inserts made of steel alloys in combination with the use of additively manufactured conformal channels for reducing influential parameters, such as warpage, cooling time, and residual stresses in the complex manufacturing of long and slender parts. The results of this real industrial case study indicated that the use of conformal cooling layouts decreased the cycle time by 175.1 s 66% below the current cooling time; the temperature gradient by 78.5% specifically, 18.16 C; the residual stress by 39.78 MPa or 81.88%; and the warpage by 6.9 mm or 90.5%. In this way, it was possible to achieve a final warping in the complex geometry studied of 0.72 mm, which was under the maximum value required at the industrial level of 1 mm. The resulting values obtained by the researchers present a turning point from which the manufacturing and sustainability in the injection molding of said plastic geometries is possible, and they take into account that the geometric manufacturing features analyzed will present a great demand in the coming years in the auto parts manufacturing industry.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_17723
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Application of new conformal cooling layouts to the green injection molding of complex slender polymeric parts with high dimensional specifications
Alba, Abelardo Torres
Colmenero, Jorge Manuel Mercado
Garcia, Juan de Dios Caballero
Donate, Cristina Martin
Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
Eliminating warpage in injection molded polymeric parts is one of the most important problems in the injection molding industry today. This situation is critical in geometries that are particularly susceptible to warping due to their geometric features, and this occurs with topologies of great length and slenderness with high changes in thickness. These features are, in these special geometries, impossible to manufacture with traditional technologies to meet the dimensional and sustainable requirements of the industry. This paper presents an innovative green conformal cooling system that is specifically designed for parts with slender geometric shapes that are highly susceptible to warping. Additionally, the work presented by the authors investigates the importance of using highly conductive inserts made of steel alloys in combination with the use of additively manufactured conformal channels for reducing influential parameters, such as warpage, cooling time, and residual stresses in the complex manufacturing of long and slender parts. The results of this real industrial case study indicated that the use of conformal cooling layouts decreased the cycle time by 175.1 s 66% below the current cooling time; the temperature gradient by 78.5% specifically, 18.16 C; the residual stress by 39.78 MPa or 81.88%; and the warpage by 6.9 mm or 90.5%. In this way, it was possible to achieve a final warping in the complex geometry studied of 0.72 mm, which was under the maximum value required at the industrial level of 1 mm. The resulting values obtained by the researchers present a turning point from which the manufacturing and sustainability in the injection molding of said plastic geometries is possible, and they take into account that the geometric manufacturing features analyzed will present a great demand in the coming years in the auto parts manufacturing industry.
title Application of new conformal cooling layouts to the green injection molding of complex slender polymeric parts with high dimensional specifications
topic Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.17723