Control of properties in injection molding by neural networks

Adequate control of product properties in injection molded plastics requires very accurate predictions. The problem is that the mechanical properties of these plastics, such as tensile modulus, are highly non-linear with the process variables. hence they are tough to predict. Consequently, up to date. injection molding machines include only closed loop control of process variables. Control of product properties is virtually non-existent. We show here for the first time, that mechanical properties, such as tensile modulus values. can be predicted using Artificial Neural Networks quite accurately within a reasonable time. This is a major step towards an integrated self-taught control mechanism for the injection molded plastics industry. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.