초록
Gas-assisted injection molding (GAIM) process reduces the required injection pressure during mold filling stage as well as the shrinkage and warpage of the part and cycle time. Despite of these advantages, this process needs new parameters and makes the application more difficult because gas and melt interact during the injection molding process. Important GAIM factors involved in this process are gas penetration design, locations of gas injection points, shot size, delay time to inject gas as well as common injection molding parameters. In this study, the experiments are conducted to investigate effects of GAIM process variables on the gas penetration for PP (Polypropylene) and ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) moldings by changing the gas injection point. Taguchi method is used for the design of the experiments. When the gas is injected at a cavity's center, the most effective factor is the shot size. When the gas is injected at a cavity's end, the most effective factor is the melt temperature. The injection speed is also an effective factor in GAIM process.