Design and Manufacturing of Conformal Cooling Channels for Injection Molding: A Review

It has been shown that conformal cooling in injection molding has the potential to replace conventional cooling due to its many advantages. The overall quality of the injection molding process is closely related to heat removal from the product and the mold, which is most uniform and efficient with conformal cooling. The disadvantages of conformal cooling are mainly in the manufacture of the mold, which is more expensive and time-consuming, which also affects the production of spare parts. To examine the current state of conformal cooling, an overview is given, organized according to the life cycle of the injection molding process. The main topics covered are process simulation, mold design and optimization, mold manufacturing, injection molding process control, and final quality evaluation based on product quality and financial benefits. Finally, the most promising solutions and their limitations are presented.