Injection mold design for a plastic component with blowing agent

Foam injection molding is a variant of conventional injection molding that uses a chemical blowing agent (CBA). The main advantages are the reduction of density and elimination of sink marks. On the other hand, the ever-increasing customer demands for quality and low cost have led to the requirement of best possible quality. Thus, mold designers are using Finite Element Method (FEM) for optimization. This work aims to design a mold for injection with CBA. The three-dimensional (3D) mold design process aims to predict problems that may occur in the mold and to present the advantages of injecting with CBA. The injected component is a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pallet. The CBA enables obtaining parts with smaller warp in a shorter cycle, and in smaller injection machines. In addition, it was possible to save in raw material, with a considerable reduction of weight. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.