Experimental and numerical analysis of the temperature distribution of injection molded products using protruding microprobes

Injection molding has been one of the most important polymer processing methods for manufacturing plastic parts. In the process, the temperature is an important parameter that influences process features such as cycle times, crystallization rates, degree of crystallinity, melt flow properties, and molded product qualities. This study aims to, experimentally and numerically, examine the three-dimensional temperature distribution along the melt flow path of injection molded parts. A special experimental set-up, which includes an injection mold equipped with protruding microprobes for guiding embedded thermocouples, was designed and built to measure the temperature field along the flow path, i.e., inside the runner and the cavity, of injection molded products. The experimental results suggested that the disturbance induced by the probes remained negligible and precise temperature profiles could be measured at various positions inside the cavity. A significant increase of melt temperature was found to result from the viscous dissipation of the polymeric materials in the runner. Additionally, a commercially available code was employed to simulate and predict the temperature variation in injection molded parts. It was shown that the numerical simulation predicted better the temperature distributions inside the cavity than those along the runner.