Product Design - A low cost Product Design for daily labour...

                                     When I saw this low-cost low-tech simple yet extremely useful Product design – I was quite amazed as to why have we not seen it as yet. It would have saved back aches of thousands, if not millions of people who carry / push load on daily basis.

                                       This winning product was made at a miniscule cost of Rs. 300 and has potential to affect lives of millions of people across the globe. “Load carrier for labor” project aims to improve the working condition of labourers and workers at many places globally like construction site, factories, ports, railway stations, etc The objective is to prevent various occupational hazards and demonstrating Product design and ergonomic consideration in welfare of human life.

Load Carrier for Labourer Pictures

[A push cart as well as a backpack which can pick-up heavy loads]

[To carry Loads overhead with ease]

[and a pushcart as well...]

Won’t this Rs. 300 product be a dream come true for labourers who carry heavy loads day-in and day-out. This is the Real grass-roots innovation!

Tool Making - Copper Alloys for Plastic Injection Molding ...a intro

                                         COPPER ALLOYS-A boon for MOLD industry:-

                                                                                           

                                Copper alloys are attractive to the mold industry because of their high thermal conductivity, ease of machining by a variety of processes, and corrosion resistance to water, cooling fluids and the plastics being injected. 

 

                                Copper is the most thermally conductive of the common solids; only silver, cubic boron nitride and diamond are more conductive. This makes copper an excellent choice for plastic injection molds that must remove heat from the injected, molten plastic to make it solidify. However, copper is neither hard nor strong enough in its pure form to serve as an injection mold. Fortunately, metallurgists have developed alloys of copper that retain much of the conductivity while attaining strength and hardness that approaches or even exceeds that of steels. The purpose of this article is to review those copper alloys now common to the injection molding industry.

Copper Alloy Classes, Attributes and Applications:-
                                                   There are four classes of copper alloys used in the injection molding industry. These are listed in below.

The least expensive of these is aluminum bronze (C62400 or C95400). Although less costly, it is also the softest and least conductive.

                                             The next class of alloy is the Corson bronzes. They include C18000 and the more heavily alloyed Cu- 7Ni-2Si-1Cr alloy. C18000 is available in large sections thickness and has moderate hardness and excellent conductivity. The Cu-7Ni-2Si-1Cr alloy while having good conductivity and hardness is not readily available in thicknesses greater than 6”. 

                                            The next class of alloy is Cu-9Ni-6Sn spinodal copper (C96970). It has moderate conductivity and good hardness. It is available in large section thicknesses. The final class of alloys is the beryllium coppers, including C17510 with excellent conductivity and moderate hardness and C17200 with good conductivity and excellent hardness. 

                                             These are the premier copper molding alloys, providing the highest hardness for a given conductivity. A chart of the hardness and conductivity of these alloys along with other common mold alloys is given in Figure 

 

                                           The attributes of copper alloys that make them attractive to the mold industry are high thermal conductivity, ease of machining by a variety of processes, and corrosion resistance to water, cooling fluids and the plastics being injected. With thermal conductivity of two to 10 times that of common tool steels, these alloys can be used in injection mold core and cavity applications to remove hot spots, reduce warpage and reduce cycle time. This has been demonstrated in several studies.1,2 The overall effect is improved part quality and higher productivity.

                                             To demonstrate the cooling efficiency of high conductivity mold materials, a study was conducted in which polycarbonate ophthalmic lenses were molded in 24 W/m/K (14 Btu/hr/ft/˚F) 420 stainless steel inserts and also in 130 W/m/K (75 Btu/hr/ft/˚F) C17200 copper alloy inserts. The polycarbonate lenses were 2 mm thick and formed from an ophthalmic grade polycarbonate injected at 310˚C. Cooling water was circulated at 55˚C. 

                                          Thermographic images of the lenses ejected from the mold are shown in Figure below.The images show that even with a cooling cycle 60 percent shorter (10 vs. 25 seconds) the high conductivity copper mold removed more heat than the stainless steel mold.

Copper alloys are traditionally used in core applications where the copper attains a lower temperature than would steel in a difficult-to-cool area, enabling the plastic in these areas to solidify more quickly. With proper design, inserts can be added to trouble spots in a steel mold after initial fabrication and first article operation of the mold so that hot spots can be reduced and dimensional stability from shot to shot can be improved. An example of an inserted core used to solve a molding problem is shown in Figure below

 A copper beryllium insert has been added to this core for a chair base to aid in removing heat from a deep rib structure.

                                     A number of fabrication methods can be employed to produce an injection mold from copper alloys. Alloy producers cast or forge copper alloys into a variety of shapes (e. g. rod, rings and disks), minimizing the amount of input material needed compared to taking material from plate. When needed, most of the copper alloys, can be made into large plates, to aid in the molding of large parts. An example of this is shown in below Figure , a 2½ ton C17200 copper beryllium block.3 The high conductivity and low modulus of copper alloys allow the use of high speed machining, allowing the fabricator to achieve metal removal two to five times higher than possible with steel in milling turning and drilling processes. Copper alloys can also be welded. Specialized heat treatments can improve the loss of hardness these alloys experience from the high temperatures of the welding process. Finally, a variety of coatings can be applied to copper alloys to increase durability and facilitate mold release.

A 6” x 40” x 100” C17200-AT plate of sufficient size to manufacturing both halves of a large appliance or automotive fascia die.

Summary                     With cycle time reduction and mold durability being two of the keys to profitable injection molding, the high thermal conductivity and good strength of copper alloys make them an important tool of the injection molder. Mold builders now have many copper alloys and fabrication methods at their disposal to realize efficient and durable molds.

Tool Design - Six Best Practices for Mold Design...

                        A few key mold design strategies can go a long way in improving your mold building operations and customer support. 

                        The success of a mold manufacturer boils down to its ability to deliver high quality products at the shortest possible time and the lowest possible cost. Following are some mold design best practices that will help you achieve these goals.

1. Think Process Not Features                                                      
                                                      All too often, companies invest in a new technology just to find out that their new “toy” merely moved their production bottlenecks from one stage of the process to another. To really make a difference in business outcomes, companies must first establish a streamlined process that covers all deliverables and milestones— from the initial price quotation to the finished product. Inputs and outputs for each step in the process need to be clearly identified, along with quality expectations and the value added to the finished product. Once the entire process has been laid out, specific technologies and methods can be considered based on their impact on the process outcome, not the latest bells and whistles.


                                                  "The design process is 30 to 40 percent faster than it used to be and as much as two to three times faster on some molds. The flow from design to manufacturing is much smoother, shortening our delivery dates, making us more efficient and improving quality.It has impacted our bottom line.

2. It All Starts with the Quote

                                                   Quoting is the lifeline of the business. It is also the first time the part data is being handled at the shop. Incorporating common design standards and strategies into the quoting process—for example, material shrinkage parameters, part rotation and tip positions, and what standard components are going to be used¬—will ensure the quote reflects how design and engineering will approach the job.

               “The person performing tooling quotations must want an experienced more than 8 to 15 years. When we receive an RFQ, we evaluate the data and look for anything that will cause problems with the tool manufacturing or could lead to cosmetic problems with the part, so we can provide immediate feedback to the customer,” shares a , business development engineer from Tooling Technology Centre for EIMO Americas (Vicksburg, MI).


3. 3-D or Bust                        
                                      Using 3-D solids design makes it substantially easier to achieve standardization and synchronization across design and manufacturing, resulting in fewer errors, speeding up delivery, and obtaining more reliable results. Working in 3-D solids enables many of the manufacturing issues to be identified upfront, allowing the designer to detect potential collisions, verify correct shrink values and determine whether parting surfaces are manufacturable. With 3-D, a fully detailed and consistent model is maintained throughout the design and manufacturing processes, so changes can be quickly and reliably incorporated from design to manufacturing and assembly.

                                            “Nobody wants to look at a 2-D model anymore. The people on the shop floor want to see exactly what they’re building, and the customers want to see exactly what they’re getting. Some of the very large and extremely complex molds we make today have more than 800 components and can weigh over 40 tons. We probably couldn’t even handle these types of jobs in a 2-D environment,” explains Doug Draca, Lead Design Engineer from Germany.

4. Concurrent Engineering
                                                      Concurrent engineering can drastically shorten mold design time, as multiple design tasks can be performed simultaneously. For example, one designer may work on the cavity side while another works on the core side or one designer can finalize ejection while another designs the manifold and hot drops or one designer is finishing waterlines while another begins pulling electrodes. Manufacturing and assembly work can start while the design details are still being worked out, further compressing product delivery times.
                                             “Since there is no need for translation between design and manufacturing, changes in design are automatically updated and toolpaths are flagged to show any changes. Machine operators can view the toolpaths and clearly understand the production process, eliminating the need for excessive documentation. In the assembly area, toolmakers can access the data online to do preliminary checks and verify dimensions, saving valuable engineering time,” notes Gary Neeley, Project Manager of a company.

5. Repeatability Not Repetition
                                                     Standardization goes a long way towards increasing the quality of work and reducing delivery time and cost. Creating a rich library of mold bases and related components that can be readily reused in new tools will streamline the design process and leave far less room for errors. Standard components and user-defined templates that can be applied with a single click will minimize time spent on repetitive tasks, promoting consistency across jobs and uniformity among designers.


                                                      “There are still some unique characteristics to each mold, but if we can get to the point where 60 or 70 percent can be standardized or automated, then we are focusing our time on the high value added for the customer,” says Mike Pavlica, VP of Operations for Omega Plastics (USA).


“Milling templates allows us to make only minor changes during the machining of a new part, which greatly streamlines the process. Now, we can create a mold in just a day or two,” adds Pete Mathis, moldmaker at Rifton (Rifton, New York).

6. Put Your Design in Motion
                                                  Designing a moving object in a static CAD environment is a challenge that mold designers have grappled with for ages. Nowadays, advanced motion simulation technologies provide designers with the benefits of complete visual representation of mold kinematics and comprehensive collision detection, including automated recognition for mold components like lifters, sliders and ejectors. With a realistic view of the tool in motion built into their CAD environment, designers are able to prevent common errors and improve communication with customers.

Product Design - Colleges for PRODUCT DESIGN courses- in INDIA...

Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay Powai, Mumbai 400076 India Phone: 91-22-576 7801 Fax: 91-22-576 7803 Contact: Office@idc.iitb.ac.in Programs: Doctoral programme in Design (Ph. D) as well as 2 year Master of Design (M.Des) in Industrial Design Admission: open to graduates of Design, Architecture and Engineering + Ceed + Interview National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad Paldi Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 380 007 India Phone (079) 663 9692 / 660 5243 Fax (079) 662 1167 e-mail : academic@nid.edu Undergraduate Program: 4 year Graduate Diploma Programme in Industrial Design (GPD) with specialisations in Product Design, Furniture and Interior Design, Ceramic & Glass Design Admission: open to students who have passed or who will appear for qualifying examinations under the Higher Secondary (10+2), or equivalents like AISSCE/IB/ICSE etc + Entrance Examination + Interview. Post Graduate Program: 2 and 1/2 year Post-Graduate Diploma Programme in Industrial Design (PGPD) with specialisation in Product Design, Furniture and Interior Design, Ceramic & Glass Design and Toy Design  Admission: open to graduates of Architecture and Engineering + Entrance Examination + Interview     North Guwahati 781039, India Tel: 0361-690321 to 28 Fax: 0361-690762 Contact: dod@iitg.ernet.in Department of Design, Guwahati Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati  Admission: open to students who have passed or who will appear for qualifying examinations under the Higher Secondary (10+2), + JEE Undergraduate Programs: 4 year Bachelors of Design in Industrial Design and Communication Design Post Graduate Program: 2 year Master of Design M.Des in Industrial Design and Communication Design Admission:open to graduates of Design, Architecture and Engineering + Ceed + Interview  Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi  Instrument Design and Development Centre IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016 India Tel: 011-666979 Contact: arpgsr@admin.iitd.ernet.in or ind_design@safe-mail.net Programs: 2 year Master of Design M.Des in Industrial Design Admission: open to graduates of Design, Architecture and Engineering + Ceed + Interview   Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur  Design Programme,  Kanpur 208016, India e-mail: head_des[at]iitk.ac.in, aray[at]iitk.ac.in Tel: +91-512-2597048 Programs: 2 year Master of Design M.Des in Industrial Design Admission: open to graduates of Design, Architecture and Engineering + Ceed + Design Test + Interview   Centre for Product Design and ManufacturingCPDM Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 India Tel: 091-80 - 2293 2359 Contact: office@cpdm.iisc.ernet.in Programs: 2 year Master of Design (M.Des) programme in Product Design and Manufacturing and Design Research Program both at M.Sc. ( Engg.) and Ph D level Admission: open to graduates of Design, Architecture and Engineering + Gate or Ceed + Design Test + Interview  Department of Industrial Design, N Delhi School of Planning & Architecture, 4,Block-B, I.P.Estate, New Delhi - 110002, India Phone: +91 011 - 2370 2375 , 2370 2376 E-mail: info@spa.ac.in Programs: 2 year graduate Programme in Industrial Design (M. Des) Admission: open to graduates of Architecture + Gate or Ceed + Interview   M S Ramaih School of Advanced Studies , Bangalore Gnanagangothri Campus, New BEL Road, Banaglore-560 054 Fax/Ph: 080-2360 5539/2360 1983/2360 4759 Contact: pm.npd@msrsas.org Programs: 2 year M.Sc. [Engineering] in Product Design   NTTF School of Post Graduate Studies , Bangalore  Nettur Technical Training Foundation Post Box No,5857, Plot No. 23/24 , II Phase Peenya Industrial Area, Bangalore -560 058. Phone: +91-80-28393167 Fax: +91-80-51272146 E-Mail : pgschool@nttf.co.in Programs: 2 year Postgraduate Programme in Product Design & Engineering (PGPDE) Admission: Graduate in Mechanical / Production / Industrial & Production / Industrial Engineering & Management / Automobile Engineering with a minimum of 55% marks IILM School of Design, Gurgaon Plot 69-71, Sector 53, Near DLF Golf Course, Gurgaon - 122003 (NCR-Delhi.) Phone: 011-33330132, 0124-3096874 Contact: adm@iilminstitute.org Programs: 4 year graduate programme in Product Design, Communication Design, and 2 year Post Graduate program in Communication Design, Product Design, Interior and Furniture Design, Animation Design, Exhibition Design and Textile Design Admission: Undergraduate programs open to students who have a pass in Pre-University 10 + 2 Examination MAEER's MIT Institute of Design, Pune  "Rajbaug", Loni-Kalbhor, Pune-412201, Maharastra, India Phone: +91 - 20 39210183/ 91 20 39210122, 9850994211/9822462155 Contact: design@mitpune.com Programs: 4.5 year Graduate Diploma Programme in Product Design, and Transportation Design Admission: open to students who have a pass in school 10th + Entrance Examination 2.5 year Post Graduate Diploma Programme in Product Design and Transportation Design Admission: open to students who have a degree or diploma or its equivalent in any discipline + Entrance Examination DSK International School of Design, Pune  Survey No. 55/54, Tarwadi, Fursungi, Pune - Solapur Road, Pune - 412308, Maharashtra, India Tel.: + 91 20 66784310 / 66784311 Fax : +91 20 66784317 email id : info@dsksic.com Programs: UG: 5 year Certification Programme in Product Design Admissions: open to 12 std students + Written Test + Interview PG: 3 years certification program in Product Design Admissions: open to any degree/diploma/ certificate holder + Written Test + Interview D J Academy of Design, Coimbatore  Coimbatore Pallachi Highway, Othakkalmandappam(PO), Coimbatore 641 032, Tamilnadu, India Phone: +91 - 4222610428, 2610 33339506224 Contact: office@djad.in Programs: 4 year Graduate Diploma Programme in Industrial Design and Communication Design 1.5 year Post Graduate Certificate Programme in Product Design College of Architecture, Nasik Opposite Prasad Mangal Karyalaya Near Maratha Boarding Complex Off Gangapur Road, Nasik 422 013 Maharastra India Tel : 0253 570822 Contact: admin@cansnashik.com , mvpcans_nsk@yahoo.co.in Programs: 4 year Bachelor of Design(B. Des) in Product Design , Interior Design, Furniture Design and Set Design Admission: open to students who have passed 10 + 2 examination    Symbiosis Centre of Design, Pune  Symbiosis Institute of Design [SID] Viman Nagar, Pune 411 014, Maharastra, India Phone: +91 20 2663 4547 / 48 Contact: info[at]symbiosisdesign.ac.in Programs: Graduate Degree Programme in Communication Design, Product Design and Fashion Design Admission: open to students who have passed or who will appear for qualifying examinations under the Higher Secondary (10+2)  Indian Institute of Information Technolgy, Design & Manufacturing, Jabalpur  Dumna Airport Road, P.O.: Khamaria, Jabalpur - 482 005, Madhya Pradesh, IndiaTel: +91-761-2632273 Fax: +91-761-2632524 email: query@iiitdmj.ac.in  Programs: 2 Year Post-Graduate Diploma Programme in Design Admission: Open to graduates of Design, Architecture and Engineering + Gate or Ceed + Design Test + Interview Srishti School of Design, Bangalore  Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology P.O. Box No. 6430, Yelahanka New Town, Doddabalapur Road, Opp. Wheel & Axle plant Bangalore-560 064, India Phone: 91.80.28462506/07/08, 28560238. TeleFax: 91.80.28560240 Contact: admissions@srishti.ac.in Programs: 2 + 2 year Professional Diploma in Industrial Design with focus on Furniture and Interiors Admission: open to students who have passed or who will appear for qualifying examinations under the Higher Secondary (10+2] + Entrance Examination + Interview. Indian Institute of Craft and Design, Jaipur-8 , Jhalana Institutional Area, Jaipur - 302017. Tel: 0141-2701504, Fax: 0141-2700160 Email: info@iicd.ac.in Programs: 4 Year Under-Graduate Diploma Programme and 2 year Post-Graduate Diploma Programme in Craft and Design Admission: Undergraduation open to students who have a pass in Pre-University 10 + 2 Examination and Post-graduate programme for graduates in any discipline. Centre for Design and Technology, BangaloreCEDT Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 India Tel : 080 - 23600810, 080 - 22932246 Contact: office@cedt.iisc.ernet.in Programs: 2 year Master of Technology (M. Tech) in Electronic Design and Technology Admission: open to graduates of Engineering Raffles Design International, Mumbai  Raheja Centre, Linking Rd & Main Avenue, Santacruz (W) Mumbai 400 054 Tel: 022-5572 6711, 5502 9522, 98190 24429 Contact: rdi-India-enquiries@raffles-design-institute.com1 Programs: 3 year Bachelor of Arts in Design (Product Design) degree programme in Product Design Admission: 12th Pass with TOEFL scores

G.K - National Institutes And Research Stations In India...

Name	Place
Atomic Reactors	Trombay
Artificial Limb Centre	Pune (Maharashtra)
Air Force Flying College	Jodhpur (Rajasthan)
Administrative Staff College	Hyderabad
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)	New Delhi
Atomic Energy Institute	Mumbai
Bose Research Institute	Kolkata
Birla Planetarium	Kolkata
Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleobotany	Lucknow (UP)
Bharat Electronics Ltd.	Jalahalli (Bangalore)
Bharat Dynamics Ltd.	Hyderabad
Central Electronics Engineering Institute	Pilani (Rajasthan)
Central Drug Research Institute	Lucknow (UP)
Central Road Research Institute	New Delhi
Central Salt Research Institute	Bhavnagar
Central Glass and Ceramics Research Institute	Jadhavpur (West Bengal)
Central Tobacco Research Institute	Guntur (AP)
Central Fuel Research Institute	Dhanbad (Jharkhand)
Central Rice Research Institute	Cuttack
Central Building Research Institute	Roorkee (Uttaranchal)
Central Food Technology Research Institute	Mysore (Karnataka)
Central Mechanical Engineering Institute	Durgapur (West Bengal)
Central Leather Research Institute	Chennai
Central Electro-Chemical Research Institute	Chennai
Central Arid Zone Research Institute	Jodhpur (Rajsthan)
Central Research Laboratory	Gulmarg (Kashmir)
Central Coconut Research Institute	Ernakulam (Kerala)
Central Family Planning Institute	New Delhi
Central Scientific Instruments Organisation	Delhi
Central Sanskrit Institute	Tirupati (AP)
Central Jute technology Research Laboratory	Kolkata
Central Mining Research Laboratory	Dhanbad (Jharkhand)
Defence Services Staff College	Wellington (Tamil Nadu)
Forest Research Institute	Dehradun (Uttaranchal)
Fast Breeder Test Reactor	Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu)
Film and Television Institute of India	Pune (Maharashtra)
Haffkine Institute	Mumbai
Hindustan Aircraft Factory	Bangalore
Hindustan Antibiotics	Pimpri (Maharashtra)
Hindustan Shipyard Ltd.	Visakhapatnam
Himalaya Mountaineering Institute	Darjeeling (Assam)
High Altitude Research Station	Gulmarg (Kashmir)
Hindustan Aluminium Corporation	Renukoot (Uttaranchal)
Heavy Engineering Corporation	Ranchi (Jharkhand)
Hindustan Motor Ltd	Uttarapara (Kolkata)
Indian Agricultural Research Institute	New Delhi
Indian Naval Academy	Cochin (Kerala)
Indian Institute of Petroleum	Dehradun (Uttaranchal)
Indian Institute of Nuclear Science	Bangalore
Indian Institute of Nuclear Physics	Kolkata
Indian School of Mines and Applied Geology	Dhabad (Jharkhand)
Indian Institute of Management	Kolkata
Indian Institute of Mass Communication	New Delhi
Indian Lac Research Institute	Ranchi (Jharkhand)
Indian Institute of Science	Bangalore
Indian Institute of Philosophy	Amalner
Indian Rare Earth Factory	Alwaye (Kerala)
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology	Pune (Maharashtra)
Indian Institute of Sugar Technology	Kanpur (UP)
Indian Standards Institute	New Delhi
Indian Cancer Research Station	Mumbai
Lalit Kala Akademi	New Delhi
Lal Bahadur Institute of Public Administration	Mussoorie (Uttaranchal)
National Geophysical Research Institute	Hyderabad (AP)
National Sugar Institute	Kolkata
National Defence Academy	Khadakvasla (Maharashtra)
National Defence College	New Delhi
National School of Drama	New Delhi
National Malaria Institute	Delhi
National Environment Engineering Institute	Nagpur (Maharashtra)
National Institute of Oceanography	Panaji (Goa)
Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports	Patiala (Punjab)
National Police Academy	Mount Abu (Rajasthan)
National Geographical Research Institute	Hyderabad (AP)
National Instruments Ltd	Kolkata
National Botanical Garden	Lucknow (UP)
National Institute of Foundry & Forge Technology	Ranchi (Jharkhand)
National Research Institute	Hyderabad (AP)
National Archives of India	New Delhi
National Dairy Research Institute	Karnal (Haryana)
National Aeronautical Laboratory	Bangalore
National Chemical Laboratory	Pune
National Physical Laboratory	New Delhi
National Metallurgical Institute	Jamshedpur (Jharkhand)
Nehru Planetarium	New Delhi
Paratrooper’s Training College	Agra (UP)
Public Health Engineering Research Institute	Nagpur (Maharashtra
Regional Research Laboratory	Jammu
Space Research Stations	Thumba (Kerala)
Rocket Launching Sites	Sriharikota (AP)
Earth Station	Arvi (Maharashtra)
School of Tropical Medicine	Kolkata
Solar Physics Laboratory	kodai Kanal (Tamil Nadu)
Scientific Precision Instruments Institute	Chandigarh (Punjab)
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research	Mumbai
Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute	Delhi

G.K - SI Base Units and Prefixes...

SI Base Units
Quantity	Unit	Symbol
Length	meter	m
Mass	kilogram	kg
Time	second	s
Temperature	kelvin	K
Amount of Substance	mole	mol
Electric current	ampere	A
Luminous intensity	candela	cd

SI Derived Units
Quantity	Unit	Symbol
Area	Length squared	m2
Volume	Length cubed	m3
Density	Mass per cubic volume	kg/m3
Speed	Distance traveled per unit time	m/s
Acceleration	Speed changed per unit time	m/s2
Force	Mass time acceleration of object	kg . m/s2
Pressure	Force per unit area	kg/(m.s2)
Energy	Force times distance traveled	kg.m2/s2

SI Prefixes
Multiple	Prefix	Symbol
1018	exa	E
1015	peta	P
1012	tera	T
109	giga	G
106	mega	M
103	kilo	k
102	hecto	h
10	deka	da
10-1	deci	d
10-2	centi	c
10-3	milli	m
10-6	micro	µ
10-9	nano	n
10-12	pico	p
10-15	femto	f
10-18	atto	a

Tool Design - Water/Gas assisted injection moulding... a intro

Water-assist injection molding (WAIM) is one of the latest and most promising developments in “assisted” injection molding. As in the established gas-assist injection molding process, WAIM technology uses a fluid under pressure to core out a hollow plastic part in the mold. In water assisted injection molding (WAIM) liquid water is injected during molding which expands to hollow out a plastic part. The thermal conductivity of the water leads to 50% faster cooling cycles and 25% thinner wall sections.Because of similarities between the two processes, both provide several of the same benefits:

• Lower material costs
  
• Lower tool cost
  
• More part consolidation and less finishing than with un-assisted injection molding or metals.

The differences between water and gas, however, enable WAIM to introduce significant improvements of its own:

• 50% faster cooling cycle time than with gas-assist molding
• Up to 25% thinner wall sections, based on resin / composition
  

Water Injection Molding
Water Assisted Injection Molding - new methods of using water instead of gas to further reduce time cycles of thick section tubular products. The mold cavity is filled and partially packed with plastic gas. Gas or water injection creates the initial bubble, followed by water injection to pack the cavity and then sequencing the opening of a shut-off valve to enable the expulsion of molten plastic to the secondary cavity. The secondary cavity is then pierced to allow water to flow through the gas channel(s) to cool the plastic. Water is then drained from the cavity by gas pressure or by air injection to dry the part before opening the mold and ejecting the part.

Molders may also combine gas-assist and water-assist technology in sequence to achieve further benefits in certain applications.

Advantages of WAIM Technology

Cooling:-
                  WAIM reduces cooling cycle time to as little as half that of gas-assist molding both because of the properties of water and the structure of the process. To begin with, the thermal conductivity of water is 40 times greater thanthat of gas; its heat capacity, four times greater. After injection, the continuous flow of water coring out the hollow section cools plastic from the inside at the same time that the mold tool’s metal cools the plastic from the outside. Although the mold tool performs the same cooling function in gas-assist, injected gas simply cannot cool as well as water can. In fact, studies performed by BASF demonstrate that the temperature of parts molded with gas-assist continues to rise after demolding. The temperature of WAIM-molded parts drops. In addition, WAIM creates thinner walls that cool faster.

Thinner walls, less material:-
                                                              Compared to gas, water has higher viscosity and is incompressible. In WAIM, water compresses plastic uniformly into thinner walls – approximately 25% thinner than is typical in gas-assist molding. Uniformity of wall thickness around bends and other geometric shapes is aparticular advantage of WAIM. Thinner walls directly correlate to materials savings; uniform walls, directly to uniform strength.

Material surface and performance:-
                                                                 Even with hygroscopic resins, such as polyamides, the water injection process does not have a negative effect on material characteristics – probably because the rapid cooling with WAIM prevents water ingress. The molecular weights of WAIM-molded resins are comparable to those measured in gas-assist-molded resins. In studies conducted by BASF, both polyamides and polyesters at 25% regrind levels exhibit expected molecular weight retention over five heat histories. And the water-assist-molded parts can be successfully powder-coated or painted.

Proven process technology, materials:-
                                                                       WAIM has been under development for some 10 to 15 years and is already successfully commercialized in Europe. In North America, BASF Corporation has built upon its European experience and established WAIM technology and application development capabilities. At its Budd Lake, New Jersey, location, the company can perform pilot-scale WAIM, gas-assist injection molding, or the combination of the two processes (GAS-WAIM). BASF has already optimized several resin grades* (LINK) specifically for use in WAIM or GAS-WAIM, and in several product applications. Applications
WAIM is especially well suited for a number of hollow-parts applications:

• Automotive fluid handling tubes for oils and coolants
• Automotive door handles
• Oven and refrigerator handles
• Chain saw handles
• Office furniture chair arms
• Structural components in many industries.

Gas-assisted process

The gas-assisted injection molding process begins with a partial or full injection of polymer melt into the mold cavity. Compressed gas is then injected into the core of the polymer melt to help fill and pack the mold. This process is illustrated below.

FIGURE 1. Gas-assisted injection molding: (a) the electrical system, (b) the hydraulic system, (c) the control panel, and (d) the gas cylinder.

Benefits of the gas-assist process 
The gas-assisted injection molding process is capable of producing hollow, light-weight, rigid parts that are free of sink marks and less likely to warp. Other advantages include:

• Reduced cycle time
• Reduced pressure and clamp force tonnage
• Part consolidation with both thick and thin sections.

Typical applications 
Typical applications for the gas-assisted injection molding process can be classified into three categories, or some combination of them:

1. Tube-and rod-like parts, where the process is used primarily for saving material, reducing the cycle time by coring out the part, and incorporating the hollowed section with product function. Examples are clothes hangers, grab handles, chair armrests, shower heads, and water faucet spouts.
2. Large, sheet-like, structural parts with a built-in gas-channel network, where the process is used primarily for reducing part warpage and clamp tonnage as well as to enhance rigidity and surface quality. Examples are automotive panels, business machine housings, outdoor furniture, and satellite dishes.
3. Complex parts consisting of both thin and thick sections, where the process is used primarily for decreasing manufacturing cost by consolidating several assembled parts into one single design. Examples are television cabinets, computer printer housing bezels, and automotive parts.

Learn More About WAIM:-
                                                            Every new processing technology comes with a learning curve. Because WAIM resembles gas-assist injection molding, molders already familiar with gas-assist should grasp the intricacies of WAIM most quickly. Before launching a successful WAIM operation, however, some details regarding equipment, process variations, materials and applications (and investment) require explanation and mastering.
                                                                    Fortunately, several companies in Europe – and now North America – have already done much of the research and development work to ensure this technology’s value and viability. In addition, courses are available to help molders master WAIM.