PARAMETRIC MODELLING OF POLYMER INJECTION MOLDING PROCESS

This paper presents the development and validation of a parametric model for injection molding of polymer products. The model formalizes the interrelationships between critical technological parameters such as melt temperature, mold temperature, injection pressure, casting speed, and holding time. It allows analysing key output characteristics of finished items, including shrinkage, residual stresses, and density uniformity. The study addresses the urgent problem of improving press-form design efficiency and reliability, as conventional engineering calculations rely heavily on sequential trial-and-error parameter adjustment. The research aims to increase productivity and enhance the quality of polymer injection molding production. The objective is to construct, verify, and test a comprehensive parametric model that integrates the physical aspects of flow, heat exchange, and polymer melt solidification within the mold cavity. The study incorporates rheological modelling of non-Newtonian fluids and computational experiment planning methods. The research methods draw on geometric modelling fundamental theories, bioinspired optimization algorithms, namely genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization. The novelty of the work lies in creating an integrated parametric model, which unlike specialized commercial CAE packages, provides a universal tool for rapid simulation of the injection molding process, sensitivity analysis, and cost-quality ratio optimization at early design stages. The result is a parametric model presented as a structural diagram. Computational experiments reveal the process stability zones for various combinations of materials and geometries of items. The proposed parametric model serves as an effective predictive analysis and optimization tool for injection molding, facilitating reduced equipment setup time, minimized defect rates, and increased mold durability.