FEM for injection molding processes of polymers

The main objective of this paper is to know about injection molding, process, material properties and its behavior, then how to run simulation and check estimate the defects are tolerable for the production by using simulation software. The product used to test in this thesis is fabricated by a company called Comelit Group S.p.A. The company is planning to increase control over the injection molded parts, presently outsourced from abroad. In particular, it aims to perform feasibility test on new components through FEM simulation. They have an idea to buy efficient simulation software from the market. So they wish to check the applicability of that simulation software as a mean to assess the quality level that can be achieved. For this task, they plan to rely on their own crew and rely less on external consultants. My main objective given by the company is to study and understand the process, input and output parameters of injection molding process. This task involves several steps. First, learning how the software analysis can be performed in subsequent steps. Second, understanding the parameters setup of the process which is given as an input and its effects on the process, last dealing with simulation result or output of the analysis and identifying which are the important results to check at every step. Results from this thesis helped me to understand the process of injection molding used for plastics and the effects of parameter setup. I have used two different simulation software for injection molding process, starting from product design to simulation which includes the input and output parameters used for optimize results of the product are explained in detail in this paper. The plastics characteristics, properties and their effects on injection molding process are also discussed. This paper will provide a basic guideline for the new engineer who enters into the plastic world and how to use and perform simulation software on any simple product.