Course Description

Instructor: Brad Johnson

Fee: $1,600

Educational Goals

The Injection Molding Principles workshop is designed to provide a thorough understanding of injection molding basics and terminology. Hands-on experience through lab exercises reinforces the concepts introduced in the classroom sessions. While in the lab, a maximum of four participants per press will allow each participant the opportunity to learn by doing. Participants are encouraged to bring their problem parts to the workshop for diagnosis and discussion during the problem-solving session.

Who Should Attend

Those who want to improve their knowledge of thermoplastic injection molding technology and the language needed to succeed in the business of plastics should plan to participate. Among those who can benefit from this two-and-one-half-day workshop are operators, process and project engineers, manufacturing engineers, molding technicians, team leaders, designers, mold makers, and sales and marketing staff.

Course Outline

1. Overview of the Injection Molding Cycle
   • The injection unit
   • The clamp
   • The mold
2. Injection Control
   • The feedback loop
   • Charting pressure and velocity
   • Utilizing velocity-controlled filling
   • Pressure limited velocity
3. Plastics Flow During Injection Molding
   • The worm analogy
   • Laminar flow and fountain flow
   • Effects of temperature, pressure, and molecular weight
4. Shrinkage and Volume Changes
   • Pressure-volume-temperature relationship
   • Amorphous and semi-crystalline materials
   • Cavity pressure and mold shrinkage
   • Flow and temperature effects
   • Fiber fillers
5. Problem Solving
   • Quality planning
   • Troubleshooting common molding defects
   • DOEs and other tools
6. Molding Strategies
   • Traditional molding
   • Two-stage molding
   • Three-stage molding
   • Velocity to pressure transfer methods
   • Process monitoring
   • Initial mold tryout procedure