Investigation of the Effect of Various Coolants on Cooling Time in Injection Moulding Process

Abstract

This paper presents the design of injection mould and study of cooling time with different coolants and compare the results with practical experiments. Clamping, injection, dwelling, cooling, mould opening, and ejection are the six major phases in injection moulding. The process parameters and cycle time are affected by each stage. Cooling is an essential stage in injection molding process that accounts for over 60% of the total cycle time. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of different coolants on cooling time, mould temperature, and part temperature. Additionally, the study aims to identify a suitable alternative to water that can be used as an effective coolant. The study was carried out on plastic component made of Polycarbonate Seven alternative coolants were selected in addition to water for this study. The simulation results showed that, among the selected coolants, Multitherm PG-1 delivered the best performance, achieving the shortest cooling time of 14.02 seconds. In contrast, Coolanol 45 recorded the longest cooling time of 15.95 seconds. To validate the simulation results, practical experiments were conducted using an injection moulding machine. Each coolant was tested by replacing the existing coolant, and the cooling time required for the component to be ejected was recorded. In addition, the temperatures of both the mould and the moulded part were measured. The experimental results closely matched the simulation findings. Multitherm PG-1 again demonstrated the best performance, with a cooling time of 14.09 seconds, while Coolanol 45 exhibited the longest cooling time of 15.60 seconds. These results indicate that Multitherm PG-1 is a promising alternative coolant to water for improving cooling efficiency in injection moulding applications.