Conformal cooling and rapid thermal cycling in injection molding with 3D printed tools

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1999.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Xu, Xiaorong
Other Authors: Emanuel M. Sachs.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2005
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9344
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author Xu, Xiaorong
author2 Emanuel M. Sachs.
author_facet Emanuel M. Sachs.
Xu, Xiaorong
author_sort Xu, Xiaorong
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description Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1999.
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spelling mit-1721.1/93442019-04-09T18:52:38Z Conformal cooling and rapid thermal cycling in injection molding with 3D printed tools Xu, Xiaorong Emanuel M. Sachs. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical Engineering. Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1999. Includes bibliographical references. Solid Freeform Fabrication processes such as 30 Printing have demonstrated the potential to produce tools with complex internal geometry. This work explores the application of this capability to improved thermal management for injection molding tooling through: i)cooling lines which are conformal to the mold surface which provide improved uniformity and stability of mold temperature and ii) tools with low thermal inertia which, in combination with conformal fluid channels allow for rapid heating and cooling of tooling, thereby facilitating isothermal filling of the mold cavity. This work presents a systematic, modular, approach to the design of conformal cooling channels. Recognizing that the cooling is local to the surface of the tool, the tool is divided up into geometric regions and a channel system is designed for each region. Each channel system is itself modeled as composed of cooling elements, typically the region spanned by two channels. Six criteria are applied including; a transient heat transfer condition which dictates a maximum distance from mold surface to cooling channel, considerations of pressure and temperature drop along the flow channel and considerations of strength of the mold. These criteria are treated as constraints and successful designs are sought which define windows bounded by these constraints. The methodology is demonstrated in application to a complex core and cavity for injection molding. In the area of rapid thermal cycling, this work utilizes the design methods for conformal channels for the heating phases and adds analysis of the packing and cooling phases. A design is created which provides thermal isolation and accommodation of cyclic thermal stresses though an array of bendable support columns which support the molding portion of the tool where the heating/cooling channels are contained. Designed elasticity of the tool is used to aid in packing of the polymer during the cooling phase. Methodology for the design of this structure is presented. A set of tools has been fabricated and subjected to thermal and mechanical tests. by Xiaorong Xu. Ph.D. 2005-08-22T20:28:39Z 2005-08-22T20:28:39Z 1999 1999 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9344 44392123 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 218 leaves 19718878 bytes 19718637 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Mechanical Engineering.
Xu, Xiaorong
Conformal cooling and rapid thermal cycling in injection molding with 3D printed tools
title Conformal cooling and rapid thermal cycling in injection molding with 3D printed tools
title_full Conformal cooling and rapid thermal cycling in injection molding with 3D printed tools
title_fullStr Conformal cooling and rapid thermal cycling in injection molding with 3D printed tools
title_full_unstemmed Conformal cooling and rapid thermal cycling in injection molding with 3D printed tools
title_short Conformal cooling and rapid thermal cycling in injection molding with 3D printed tools
title_sort conformal cooling and rapid thermal cycling in injection molding with 3d printed tools
topic Mechanical Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9344
work_keys_str_mv AT xuxiaorong conformalcoolingandrapidthermalcyclingininjectionmoldingwith3dprintedtools