Real-Time Prediction of Filling Pattern for Polymer Injection Molding

Filling pattern is an important factor that affects the quality of injection molded products. Presently, the prediction of filling pattern is heavily relied on either experts' experience or the results of time-consuming numerical simulation software. In this paper, a real-time filling pattern prediction method for polymer injection molding was proposed. Through studying the isothermal filling behavior of molten polymers, the relationship between the flow length and the gap-wise thickness is first established. Then, a shortest path algorithm on a weighted triangular mesh model is adopted to predict the filling pattern of molten polymers based on this relationship. Experimental results show that the proposed method can clearly reflect the "speedway" phenomenon and it agrees well with the short shot experiment. With the help of this method, the molding personnel can quickly predict the filling pattern and thereby optimize the design of injection molds as well as the setting of injection parameters.