| CODE | ENR5102 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Tool Design and Manufacture | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | In this study-unit, the following topics will be covered: 1) Injection Moulding: - Benefits and drawbacks. - Basics of injection moulding process. - Injection moulding machine, including machine structure, injection unit, clamping unit and Euromap rating. - Polymer materials, including structure, influence of material properties (e.g. viscosity) on process parameters (e.g. injection pressure) and applications. 2) General mould construction: - Tool related terminology - Mould cavities and cores, bolsters, standard mould parts. - Use of inserts, parting line, line of draw, draft angle. - Different types of moulds such as two-plate mould, underfeed mould, unscrewing mould, undercut mould, hot runner moulds. - Methods of tool fabrication such as rapid tooling, CNC milling, spark erosion. 3) Injection mould design: - Feed system, including runner design and different types of gates. - Ejection system, including parting surface, different types of ejection techniques (e.g. stripper plate, ejection pins, air and collapsible cores). - Cooling system, including different techniques to cool cavity and core plates having complex geometries. - Mould filling simulation. 4) Design of injection moulded parts: - Different form features such as webs, gussets, undercuts etc. - Design guidelines (e.g. for reinforcing features, corner radii etc.) - Typical defects in moulded parts and actions required to mitigate them. 5) Jigs & fixtures 6) Mould materials and heat treatment - Low carbon, pretoughened, fully hardening and stainless steels - Non ferrous materials, case hardening, nitriding etc. - Materials for prototype moulds. - Mould surface engineering, mould finishes, polishing and texturing. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims at equipping learners with knowledge required to understand the principles related to the design and construction of an injection mould tool to fabricate polymer parts. This includes mould materials available and surface treatment techniques. Another aim is that learners acquire knowledge on principles related to the design and fabrication of jigs and fixtures. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe how an injection moulding machine works - Demonstrate understanding on the basic construction of an injection moulding tool - Describe different types of injection moulds - Demonstrate understanding on principles related to feeding system, ejection system and cooling system of a mould - Give examples of materials and surface treatment techniques employed in tooling - Avoid basic tooling related problems through proper material selection - Recall techniques used in design and manufacture of jigs and fixtures 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Communicate effectively tooling-related issues with other stakeholders involved in the design and fabrication of injection moulding tools, jigs and fixtures. - Identify defects in injection moulded parts and take corrective actions to mitigate them - Apply the knowledge gained to outline a mould for the task at hand - Design a jig and fixture for the task at hand Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Injection Molding Troubleshooting Guide, Jay W. Carender, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011, ISBN-13: 978-1466414341. - Injection Mould Design; An Introduction and Design Manual for the Thermoplastics Industry, R.G.W. Pye, East-West Press Pvt, Inc., 2000, ISBN-13: 978-8176710107. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Independent Study and Project | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Stephen Abela Philip Farrugia (Co-ord.) Arif Rochman |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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