Optimization Of The Injection Molding Process Parameters Of Water Segregator Using Taguchi Method

Injection molding is one of the most widely used method of plastics molding, which has many characteristics, such as mass production, high production efficiency and complex shape of plastic parts production with high dimensional accuracy, etc. It often begins with the source of products-"design" to produce the high quality plastic products that meet the harsh conditions of use and actual production. How to design the forming die with high quality and the optimized injection parameters become determining factors which can affect the quality of plastic products. Taguchi method can reduce the interference of noise factors in the process of production and use based on the control of the quality of the source. To achieve the goal of improving the quality of plastic products this article uses Taguchi method to optimize the design of injection molding process.In this paper, the quality of product is improved by using taguchi method and artificial neural network, combining with Pro/E, Moldflow (a simulation software) and Hypermesh (a finite element software). The water segregator of a household electrical appliance is used as an example.In this paper, by using Pro/E to finish the 3D modelling design of the water segregator, and then export the data to Hyperworks to mesh. As we all know, Moldflow’s quality of meshing is not good enough and it often takes a lot of time to repair the mesh, it is such a complicated process. Hyperworks is a kind of finite element software that is very powerful to mesh and the quality of which is better than Moldflow. It can generate the finite element model you need quickly and make up the shortfall of Moldflow. The feed system and cooling system were established by using Moldflow. Taguchi method was used to research the impact of mold temperature, melt temperature, filling time, holding pressure and injecting pressure on the warpage and weld lines of the products. A better combination of parameters is determined by using the analysis of variance and analysis of means. At the same time with the aid of artificial neural network, the warpage was predicted and the best combination of parameters was obtained. At last, the best combination of parameters was verified in practical production. The effectiveness of Taguchi method to improve the quality of the products was also verified.Given the fact that the injection parameters are often determined by the experience of the designers and repeated actual production in many small and medium-sized enterprises, this paper can provide the theoretical support, make production period shorten and production cost reduction, and raise productivity.