Integrative Graduate
Education and
Research Traineeship

Highlight

Decreasing cycle time in injection molding

Pressurized water pellets process

Projects:

Molecular Engineering of Microdevices (MEMD)

Institution:

Ohio State University Research Foundation

Primary Strategic Goal:

Discovery: Foster research that will advance the frontiers of knowledge, emphasizing areas of greatest opportunity and potential benefit and establishing the Nation as a global leader in fundamental transformational science and engineering.

Secondary Strategic Goal:

Research Infrastructure: Build the Nation's research capability through critical investments in advanced instrumentation, facilities, cyber infrastructure, and experimental tools.

Achievement/Results

We developed a novel injection molding approach using water containing thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) to reduce the cycle time and to improve the dimensional stability of parts without any equipment or mold modifications. A small amount of water was pressurized into TPO pellets pre-mixed with water carrier particles such as highly porous activated carbon or tubular-shaped nanoclay. Our results showed that the cycle time could be drastically reduced with substantially reduced surface sink mark and part warpage without any adverse effects on mechanical properties. This is a major accomplishment for the injection molding industry.

Address Goals

Decreasing the cycle time without affecting mechanical properties as well as improving dimensional consistency will give the US a critical advantage in the injection molding industry.

The equipment set up to accomplish this task makes improves the hability of our lab to support industry.