UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD MicroMoulding 2003 UkMIG – Update and Future Work Dr Ben Whiteside IRC in Polymer Engineering Bradford February

MicroMoulding 2003MicroMoulding 2003

UNIVERSITY OFBRADFORD


UkMIG – Update and Future WorkUkMIG – Update and Future Work

Dr Ben WhitesideDr Ben Whiteside

IRC in Polymer EngineeringIRC in Polymer Engineering

Bradford Bradford

February 2003February 2003

Dr Ben WhitesideDr Ben Whiteside

IRC in Polymer EngineeringIRC in Polymer Engineering

Bradford Bradford

February 2003February 2003




Current WorkCurrent Work

• 1 Microsystem50 process monitoring• 2 Moulding Trials• 3 Morphology Measurements• 4 Publications• 5 Going smaller• 6 Future Work

• 1 Microsystem50 process monitoring• 2 Moulding Trials• 3 Morphology Measurements• 4 Publications• 5 Going smaller• 6 Future Work




Dynisco PCI 4011 Piezo load transducer ( 10kN)

Dynisco PCI 4011 Piezo load transducer ( 10kN)

Dynisco PCI 4006 piezo load transducer (2.5kN)

Dynisco PCI 4006 piezo load transducer (2.5kN)

1 Process Measurement - Sensor Installation

1 Process Measurement - Sensor Installation

Temposonics R series displacement transducer

Temposonics R series displacement transducer

J-type thermocouplesJ-type thermocouples




1 Process Measurement – Data Capture

1 Process Measurement – Data Capture

Injection Pressure

Cavity Pressure

Ram Displacement

Ram Velocity

3 Temperature Channels

Injection Pressure

Cavity Pressure

Ram Displacement

Ram Velocity

3 Temperature Channels

Max sampling rate ~ 30 000HzMax sampling rate ~ 30 000Hz




Nylon6 NC in stepped plaque mould

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

80.00

90.00

100.00

0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40 1.60 1.80 2.00

Time (s)

Inje

cti

on

/Ca

vit

y P

res

su

re

(Mp

a)/

Dis

pla

ce

me

nt

(mm

)

0.00

100.00

200.00

300.00

400.00

500.00

600.00

700.00

Inje

cti

on

Ve

loc

ity

(m

m/s

)Injection Pressure

Displacement

Cavity Pressure

Injection Velocity




Process data for Nylon6 NC in 0.25mm plaque

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00

Time (s)

Inje

ctio

n P

ress

ure

(M

Pa)

/Dis

pla

cem

ent

(mm

)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Inje

ctio

n V

elo

city

(m

m/s

)Injection Pressure

Displacement

Injection Velocity




Process data for Nylon6 NC in 0.25mm plaque

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90

Time (s)

Inje

ctio

n P

ress

ure

(M

Pa)

/Dis

pla

cem

ent

(mm

)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Inje

ctio

n V

elo

city

(m

m/s

)

Injection Pressure

Displacement

Injection Velocity




1 Process Measurement -Issues/Discussion

1 Process Measurement -Issues/Discussion

Isolate source of oscillation

• Servo drive?

• Mechanical linkage?

Intelligent monitoring

• Reject bad parts

• Process control

Isolate source of oscillation

• Servo drive?

• Mechanical linkage?

Intelligent monitoring

• Reject bad parts

• Process control




2 Moulding Trials 2 Moulding Trials

Materials moulded Dec 2002/Jan 2003: -

• BP Rigidex 5050 HDPE

• BIP POMC 109 Polyacetal co-polymer

• PA6 w/ 2% Carbon Nano-composite

Materials moulded Dec 2002/Jan 2003: -

• BP Rigidex 5050 HDPE

• BIP POMC 109 Polyacetal co-polymer

• PA6 w/ 2% Carbon Nano-composite




2 Moulding Trials2 Moulding Trials

Materials due for moulding Feb 2003: -

• PP based Nano-composite (Brunel)

• Hapex bone analogue material

• PEEK?

• High temperature oil heaters arrived Jan 2003

Materials due for moulding Feb 2003: -

• PP based Nano-composite (Brunel)

• Hapex bone analogue material

• PEEK?

• High temperature oil heaters arrived Jan 2003




3 Morphology Measurements - AFM3 Morphology Measurements - AFM




3 Morphology Measurements - Structure3 Morphology Measurements - Structure

Nano-indentNano-indent

Crystal StructureCrystal Structure




3 Morphology Measurements – Spherulite size

3 Morphology Measurements – Spherulite size




3 Morphology Measurements – Amorphous layer

3 Morphology Measurements – Amorphous layer




3 Morphology Measurements - Importance

3 Morphology Measurements - Importance

• Proportion and geometry/orientation of crystal structures have a very significant influence on the mechanical properties of the product

• Material data sheets specify mechanical property data based on tests on thick ~4mm sections

• Not applicable to these components

• Proportion and geometry/orientation of crystal structures have a very significant influence on the mechanical properties of the product

• Material data sheets specify mechanical property data based on tests on thick ~4mm sections

• Not applicable to these components

How will the micromoulded component perform?How will the micromoulded component perform?




3 Morphology Measurements - Application

3 Morphology Measurements - Application

• Influence of processing parameters upon morphology can be assessed

• Careful control of processing conditions may allow the moulder to ‘tune’ the mechanical performance of the final product

• Influence of processing parameters upon morphology can be assessed

• Careful control of processing conditions may allow the moulder to ‘tune’ the mechanical performance of the final product

• Proportion of amorphous material is inversely proportional to the size of product

• Smaller products offer more control

• Proportion of amorphous material is inversely proportional to the size of product

• Smaller products offer more control




4 Publications4 Publications

Conference Papers: -

• Antec2003 – Nashville, USA, 2003• PPS19 – Melbourne, Australia, 2003

Journal Papers: -

• Plastics Rubber Composites• Polymer Engineering and Science

Conference Papers: -

• Antec2003 – Nashville, USA, 2003• PPS19 – Melbourne, Australia, 2003

Journal Papers: -

• Plastics Rubber Composites• Polymer Engineering and Science




5 Going smaller…5 Going smaller…

Mini/Micromoulding cavities have proved useful for:

• Familiarisation with the micromoulding process

• Surface finish measurements

• Developing property measurement techniques

Mini/Micromoulding cavities have proved useful for:

• Familiarisation with the micromoulding process

• Surface finish measurements

• Developing property measurement techniques

But the work performed so far suggests we now need to move to smaller length scalesBut the work performed so far suggests we now need to move to smaller length scales




5 Going smaller…5 Going smaller…




5 Going smaller - ‘Top Hat’ Moulding5 Going smaller - ‘Top Hat’ Moulding

‘Disc’ diameter = 1mm‘Cylinder’ diameter = 0.5mm Volume = 0.34mm2

‘Disc’ diameter = 1mm‘Cylinder’ diameter = 0.5mm Volume = 0.34mm2

1 m

m




6 Future Work – coming months6 Future Work – coming months

February 2003

• Complete moulding trials with remaining materials

• Commissioning of ‘top hat’ micromoulds

March 2003

• Complete characterisation of moulded samples

• Morphology measurements

• Nano-composite dispersion

• Mould/product surface detail comparisons

February 2003

• Complete moulding trials with remaining materials

• Commissioning of ‘top hat’ micromoulds

March 2003

• Complete characterisation of moulded samples

• Morphology measurements

• Nano-composite dispersion

• Mould/product surface detail comparisons




6 Future Work - onwards6 Future Work - onwards

March

• Moulding of ‘top hat’ cavities

• Product assessment

• Bradford/Rondol Micro-Injection Compounder experiments

• Bringing it all together – EPSRC final report

March

• Moulding of ‘top hat’ cavities

• Product assessment

• Bradford/Rondol Micro-Injection Compounder experiments

• Bringing it all together – EPSRC final report




6 Future Work – New Bid6 Future Work – New Bid

Areas of interest:

• Mould manufacture – techniques, precision, detail, surface finish

• Modelling of the process – can accepted theories cope?

• Smaller length scales – build on existing infrastructure

• Controlling morphology

Areas of interest:

• Mould manufacture – techniques, precision, detail, surface finish

• Modelling of the process – can accepted theories cope?

• Smaller length scales – build on existing infrastructure

• Controlling morphology




Thank YouThank You

Documents

UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD MicroMoulding 2003 UkMIG – Update and Future Work Dr Ben Whiteside IRC in Polymer Engineering Bradford February