Plastics Workshops and Seminars
Mold Cooling
Instructors: Martin Dropik
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
This one day seminar will provide a basic understanding of the thermal behavior of plastics, mold steels and cooling fluids. Those interested in understanding these principles and how they can be used to optimally design and use cooling layouts for injection molds should attend this seminar. It is appropriate for plastic mold engineers, mold designers, tool makers, part designers, process engineers, and others involved with the designing, building, and processing of injection molds.
EDUCATIONAL GOALS:
This seminar has been developed to provide participants with the basic understanding of the thermal behavior of all the components involved in the injection molding process and how these components work together during the injection molding cycle. This seminar will discuss and review simple calculations that can be used to properly size and place cooling lines and calculate the requirements of the external cooling systems to provide optimal cooling, faster cycles, and more evenly cooled parts.
SEMINAR OUTLINE:
1. Thermal Behavior of Plastic Materials
- Understanding units
- Various thermal properties
- Specific heat of plastics Thermal conductivity of plastics
- Thermal diffusivity of plastics
- Cooling simulation using CAE
2. Thermal Behavior of Mold Materials
- Cooling analysis
- Rates of heat transfer
- Conduction through mold materials
- Heat transfer through mold steels
- Effects of cooling channels on heat transfer
3. Thermal Behavior of Mold Fluids
- Heat transfer mechanisms
- Convection
- Fluids effects
- Reynolds number
- Laminar vs. Turbulence
- Effects of cooling line geometry
- GPM Requirements
- Pressure requirements
- Cooling simulation using CAE
4. Plastics, Mold Material, and Fluids Acting Together
- Cooling expectations of an injection mold
- Plastic heat content
- Conductivity of molds
- Heat transfer through cooling medium
- Understanding effects of cooling line sizes
- Understanding effects of cooling line placement
- Practical cooling for injection molding