Vocabulary Flashcards
Air Burn
Air Burn: A patch or streak of brown or black material on the component caused by air or gases that have not been properly vented from the mold and have caused the material to overheat and burn.
Antioxidant
Antioxidant: Additive used to help protect plastics from degradation through sources such as heat, age, chemicals, stress, etc.
Anti Static Agent
Antistatic Agent: Additive used to help eliminate or lessen static electricity from the surface of the plastic part.
Aspect Ratio
Aspect Ratio: Ratio of total flow length to average wall thickness.
Back Pressure
Back Pressure: The pressure applied to the plastic during screw recovery. By increasing back pressure, mixing and plasticating are improved; however, screw recovery rates are reduced.
Backing PLate
Backing Plate: A plate used as a support for the mold cavity block, guide pins, bushings, etc.
Blistering
Blistering: A raised or layered patch of material on the surface of the component.
Boss
Boss: Protuberance on a plastic part designed to add strength, facilitate alignment, provide fastening, etc.
Broken Mold Marks
Broken Mold Marks: Filled in areas not per drawing specification due to mold damage.
Bubbles
Bubbles: Air pockets that have formed in the material of the component. Bubbles may vary in size.
Cavity
Cavity: The space inside a mold into which material is injected.
Charge
Charge: The measurement or weight of material necessary to fill a mold during one cycle.
Clamp
Clamp: The part of an injection molding machine incorporating the platens that provides the force necessary to hold the mold closed during injection of the molten resin and open the mold to eject the molded part.
Clamping PLate
Clamping Plate: A plate fitted to a mold and used to fasten the mold to a platen.
Clamping Plate
Clamping Plate: A plate fitted to a mold and used to fasten the mold to a platen.
Clamping Pressure
Clamping Pressure: The pressure applied to the mold to keep it closed during a cycle, usually expressed in tons.
Clarifiers
Clarifiers: Additive used in polypropylene random copolymers to improve clarity.
Closed Loop Control
Closed-loop Control: System for monitoring complete, injection molding- process conditions of temperature, pressure and time, and automatically making any changes required to keep part production within preset tolerances.
Cold Flow/orange peel/lumps
Cold Flow/Orange Peel/Lumps: Any material that has not cooled uniformly causing the appearance of either a speck of material lighter than what was used or a rippling effect on the surface of the component.
Cooling Channels
Cooling Channels: Channels located within the body of a mold through which a cooling medium is circulated to control the mold surface temperature.
Crack/Splits/Chips
Crack/Splits/Chips: A physical separation or tearing of the part.
Cushin
Cushion: Extra material left in barrel during cycle to try and ensure that the part is packed out during the hold time.
Cycle
Cycle: The complete sequence of operations in a process to complete one set of moldings. The cycle is taken at a point in the operation and ends when this point is again reached and moving platens of the clamp unit in the fully open position.
Delamination
Delamination: When the surface of a finished part separates or appears to be composed of layers. Strata or fish-scale-type appearance where the layers may be separated.
Diaphragm Gate
Diaphragm Gate: Used in symmetrical cavity filling to reduce weld-line formations and improve filling rates.
Dimensional Problems
Dimensional Problems: Parts not made to drawing dimensional specifications due to internal part stress warping, mold damage, incorrect mold manufacturing, etc.
Direct Gate
Direct Gate: The sprue that feeds directly into the mold cavity.
Discolartion
Discoloration: Any change from the designated color of the material or component. Incorrect color of the component.
Dispersion Aids
Dispersion Aids: Perforated plates placed in the plasticator nozzle to aid in mixing or dispersing colorant as it flows through the perforations.
Draft
Draft: The degree of taper of a mold-cavity sidewall or the angle of clearance designed to facilitate removal of parts from a mold.
Drag Marks
Drag Marks: A form of deep scratch or scratches on the surface of the component that have no visible signs of loose chips or material.
Drooling
Drooling: The extrudation or leakage of molten resin from a plasticator nozzle or nozzle sprue bushing area while filling or shooting the mold.
Dwell
Dwell: A pause in the applied pressure to a mold during the injection cycle just before the mold is completely closed. This dwell allows any gases formed or present to escape from the molding material.
Ejection Pin Marks
Ejection Pin Marks: See Raised Ejector Site.
Ejector Pins
Ejector Pins: Pins that are pushed into a mold cavity from the rear as the mold opens to force the finished part out of the mold. Also called knockout pins.
Ejector Return Pins
Ejector Return Pins: Projections that push the ejector assembly back as the mold closes. Also called surface pins or return pins.
Ejector Rod
Ejector Rod: A bar that actuates the ejector assembly when the mold opens.
Embedded Particulate
Embedded Particulate: Any completely embedded foreign particulate such as grease, metal, paint chips, burnt material, etc. that cannot be smeared or removed from the component.
Family Mold
Family Mold: A multi-cavity mold where each of the cavities forms one of the component parts of an assembled finished part.
Fan Gate
Fan Gate: A gate used to help reduce stress concentrations in the gate area by spreading the opening over a wider area. Less warping of parts can usually be expected by the use of this type of gate.
Fill
Fill: The packing of the cavity or cavities of the mold as required to give a complete part or parts that are free of flash.
Fin
Fin: The web of material remaining in holes or openings in a molded part which must be removed for final assembly.
Flash
Flash: Any excess material that is formed with and attached to the component along a seam or mold parting line.
Flow
Flow: A qualitative description of the fluidity of a plastic material during the process of molding. A measure of its moldability generally expressed as melt flow rate or melt index.
Flow Line
Flow Line: Marks visible on the finished items that indicate the direction of the flow of the melt into the mold.
Flow Marks
Flow Marks: Wavy surface appearances on a molded part caused by improper flow of the melt into the mold.
Gate
Gate: An orifice through which the melt enters the mold cavity.
Gate Trim
Gate Trim: Remnant of plastic left over from cutting the component from the runner or sprue, usually to be cut flush with the edge of the component.
Hob
Hob: A master model in hardened steel. The hob is used to sink the shape of a mold into a soft metal block.
Homopolymer
Homopolymer: Plastic that results by the polymerization of a single monomer.
Hopper Dryer
Hopper Dryers: Auxiliary equipment that removes moisture from resin pellets.
Hot Runner Mold
Hot-Runner Mold: A mold in which the runners are insulated from the chilled cavities and are kept hot. Hot-runner molds make parts that have no scrap.
Injection Pressure
Injection Pressure: The pressure on the face of the injection screw or ram when injecting material into the mold, usually expressed in PSI.
Insert Molding
Insert Molding: Insert molding is the process of molding plastic around preformed metal inserts. This process is compatible with both thermoplastic and thermoset materials.
Insulated Runner
Insulated Runner: See hot-runner mold.
IZOD impact test
Izod Impact Test: Test to determine impact strength of a sample by holding a sample bar at one end and broken by striking. Sample specimen can be either notched or unnotched.
Jetting
Jetting: A turbulent flow in the melt caused by an undersized gate or where a thin section rapidly becomes thicker.
Jig
Jig: A tool for holding parts of an assembly during the manufacturing process.
Knit Lines
Knit Lines: Where melted material flows together to form a line or lines that may cause weakening or breaking of the component.
Knockout Pins
Knockout Pins: A rod or device for knocking a finished part out of a mold.
L/D Ratio
L/D Ratio: A term used to help define an injection screw. This is the screw length-to-diameter ratio.
Melt Flow Rate
Melt Flow Rate: A measure of the molten viscosity of a polymer determined by the weight of polymer extruded through an orifice under specified conditions of pressure and temperature. Particular conditions are dependent upon the type of polymer being tested. MFR usually is reported in grams per 10 minutes. Melt flow rate defines the flow of a polypropylene resin. An extrusion weight of 2160 grams at 446°F (230°C) is used.