Optimal design of heating channels for rapid heating cycle injection mold based on response surface and genetic algorithm

Rapid heating cycle molding (RHCM) technology is a novel polymer injection molding method developed in recent years. In this paper, the principle of RHCM was introduced and a RHCM mold for producing a large-size LED TV panel was presented. Aiming at achieving a uniform temperature distribution on the cavity surface of the stationary mold insert, the distances between the neighbor heating channels were considered as the main design variables. An objective function for optimizing the temperature distribution uniformity was proposed. The experiment samples for calculating the objective function were selected by using the Latin Hypercube Design experiment method. A quadric response surface equation for calculating temperature distribution uniformity was established. The design variables were optimized by using genetic algorithm and the optimal solutions were obtained. The temperature distribution uniformity on the stationary mold insert cavity surface was greatly improved. The effectiveness of the optimization method presented in this paper was also demonstrated by industrial injection production of a LCD TV panel. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.