Wear of die materials in full scale plastic injection moulding of glass fibre reinforced polycarbonate

In this study an experimental methodology to study surface wear of injectio n moulds on a full scale polymer injection moulding machine is developed. A comparative study of four different tool materials for mould cavities is c arried out in situ. The polymer injection conditions (geometry cavities, ma chine settings, polymer) are chosen in order to accelerate the degradation of the mould cavity surface. The reinforced polycarbonate resin Lexan 341R- 739, containing 40% of weight of short glass fibres, well known for their a brasive character, was injected with jetting and normal injection condition s. Jetting conditions implies high pressure and velocity of the injected re sin. The die wear is discussed in relation to the polymer flow conditions a nd the die materials. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.