Design against part defects in injection molded parts is difficult because molded part quality is related to molding parameters through complex multi-dimensional and nonlinear relationships. Particularly, designers are frequently faced with multiple q...
Design against part defects in injection molded parts is difficult because molded part quality is related to molding parameters through complex multi-dimensional and nonlinear relationships. Particularly, designers are frequently faced with multiple quality issues in injection molded part. These issues are usally in conflict with each other, and thus tradeoff needs to be made to reach a final compromized solutions. The objective of this study is to develop automated injection molding design methodologies, wherein part defects such as warpage and weldline are minimized. Uniquenesses of this study are as follows: first, Utility Function approach is applied to transform the original multi-criteria problems into single-criteria problems. Second is an implementation of a direct search-based injection molding optimization procedure with automated consideration of process variation. The Complex method and the Space Reduction method are used as a general optimization tool through this study. The computational experimental verification of the methodology was partially carried out for a can model of Cavalero Plastics Incorporation. The significance of this study is the synthesis of the injection molding computer simulation, optimization techniques, and robustness analysis into a monolithic part quality system. Applied to production, this study will be of immense value to companies in reducing the product development time and enhancing the product quality.