Influence of different process settings conditions on the accuracy of micro injection molding simulations: an experimental validation

Currently available software packages exhibit poor results accuracy when performing micro injection molding (µIM) simulations. However, with an appropriate set-up of the processing conditions, the quality of results can be improved. The effects on the simulation results of different and alternative process conditions are investigated, namely the nominal injection speed, as well as the cavity filling time and the evolution of the cavity injection pressure as experimental data. In addition, the sensitivity of the results to the quality of the rheological data is analyzed. Simulated results are compared with experiments in terms of flow front position at part and micro features levels, as well as cavity injection filling time measurements.