Effect of mould surface roughness adjustments to increase the flow path length in the injection moulding process

To increase the flow path length in the mould for thin-walled packaging applications or thick-walled technical components with long flow paths, a mould surface machined by electrical discharge machining is used. By varying the process parameters, the moulding compound and the roughness of the surface, the influence of the mould surface structure on the achievable flow path length is investigated. A flow meander mould is used for this purpose. A material dependent, positive influence of the surface roughness on the flow path length can be determined. However, the influence is small compared to other influences such as mould or melt temperature.

Automated summary

To increase the flow path length in the mould for thin-walled packaging applications or thick-walled technical components with long flow paths, a mould surface machined by electrical discharge machining is used. The influence of the mould surface structure on the achievable flow path length is investigated by varying process parameters, moulding compound, and surface roughness. While there is a material dependent, positive influence of the surface roughness on the flow path length, it is small compared to other influences such as mould or melt temperature.