Experimental study of penetration interfaces in the overflow fluid-assisted co-injection molding process

The fluid-assisted co-injection molding (FACIM) process can be used to produce hollow plastic products with outer and inner layers. It can be divided into two categories: water-assisted co-injection molding (WACIM) and gas-assisted co-injection molding (GACIM). An experimental study of penetration interfaces in overflow FACIM was carried out based on a lab-developed FACIM system. High-density polyethylene and polypropylene were used as the outer layer and inner layer plastics, respectively, in the experiments and the injection sequence was reversible. Six cross-section cavities were investigated in the experiments. The penetration behaviors of water and gas in different sequences and cavities were compared and analyzed. The penetration interfaces were characterized by the residual wall thickness (RWT). The experimental results showed that the RWT of the inner layer in WACIM fluctuated along the flow direction, while that in GACIM was more even. The difference of viscosity between the outer and inner layer melts affected the stability of the interface between them. The penetration sections of the inner layer and the gas were closer to the cavity sections in GACIM, while the penetration sections of the inner layer and the water were closer to the circular forms in WACIM.