Optimization of the Injection Molding Parameters Using the Taguchi Method S. Kamaruddin, Zahid A. Khan & K. S. Wan ABSTRACT In this study, the Taguchi method, a powerful tool to design and process optimization for quality, is used to determine the optimal parameters for an injection molding process. An orthogonal array, the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) are employed to investigate the quality characteristics of a plastic tray which is made on an injection molding machine from polypropylene (PP) plastic material. Through this study, not only the optimal molding parameters for an injection molding process can be obtained, but also the main parameters that affect the performance of the tray can be obtained. Experimental results are provided to confirm the effectiveness of this approach. Keywords: Optimization; Taguchi method; Injection molding; Polypropylene (PP); Bending strength; Shrinkage Introduction Plastic is known to be a versatile as well as economical material and is used in many applications [1-4]. Plastic injection molding is the primary process for producing plastic parts. In other words, injection molding is a technique for converting thermoplastics as well as thermosetting materials into all types of products [1,2]. Although the tooling is expensive, the cost per part is very low. This technology has met the current needs of industry owing to its shorter design cycles and improved design quality. Its area of application is wide which includes manufacturing, military, automobile, aerospace and other industries. Plastic injection molding uses plastic in the form of the pellets or granules as a raw material. It is then heated until a melt is obtained. Then the melt is injected into a mold where it is allowed to solidify to obtain the desired shape. The mold is then opened and the part is ejected. The process parameters such as cycle time, fill time, cooling time, injection time, injection speed, injection pressure, holding pressure, melting temperature, mold temperature and so on need to be 79 Journal of Mechanical Engineering optimized in order to produce finished plastic parts with good quality. Various studies have been conducted to improve and optimize the process, so as to obtain high quality parts produced on a wide range of commercial plastic injection molding machines [5-7]. In this paper an attempt is made to optimize injection molding process parameters for the production of polypropylene (PP) plastic tray. The plastic tray is chosen in this study because it is used as a container to store goods at many places and one example is the tool box where it is used for storing hand tools like spanner, screw driver and many others. The effect of four process parameters, i.e. melting temperature, injection speed, cooling time and holding pressure, each with two levels, on the quality characteristics of the tray is investigated. Based on the Taguchi design of experiment, experiments have been carried out in order to determine the optimum process parameters. In the following, the Taguchi method is introduced first. The experimental details of using the Taguchi method to determine and analyze the optimal process parameters are described next. The optimal process parameters with regard to performance index such as bending strength and shrinkage are considered. Finally, the paper concludes with a summary of this study and future work. The Taguchi Method The Taguchi method, indeed, is a powerful tool for the design of high quality systems. It provides a simple, efficient and systemic approach to optimize designs for performance, quality, and cost. Taguchi parameter design can optimize the performance characteristics through the settings of design parameters and reduce the sensitivity of the system performance to source variation. In the past many researchers have used the Taguchi method for design and process optimization [8-13]. In recent years, the rapid growth of interest in the Taguchi method had led to numerous applications of the method in a world-wide range of industries and nations [14]. Taguchi method uses a special design of orthogonal arrays to study the entire parameter space with a small number of experiments only and thus, it results in a lot of cost as well as time saving. A desired number of experiments as suggested by the orthogonal array are performed and the experimental results are then transformed into a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. Taguchi recommends the use of S/N ratio to measure the quality characteristics deviating from the desired values. Usually, there are three categories of quality characteristic in the analysis of the S/N ratio, i.e. the-lower-the-better, the-higher-the-better, and the-nominal-the-better. The S/N ratio for each level of process parameters is computed based on the S/N analysis. Regardless of the category of the quality characteristic stated above, a greater S/N ratio corresponds to better quality characteristics. Therefore, the optimal level of the process parameters is the level with the greatest S/N ratio. Furthermore, a statistical analysis of variance 80 Optimization of the Injection Molding Parameters Using the Taguchi Method (ANOVA) is performed to see which process parameters are statistically significant. With the S/N and ANOVA analyses, the optimal combination of the process parameters can be predicted. Finally, a confirmation experiment is conducted to verify the optimal process parameters obtained from the parameter design. Optimization of Plastic Injection Molding Process Parameters Selection of the Injection Molding Process Parameters and Their Levels Plastic injection molding process was carried out on a Battenfeld TM750/210 machine (make: Germany). Only four injection molding parameters i.e. melting temperature, injection speed, cooling time and holding pressure were investigated in this study. Melting temperature can be defined as the temperature of the cylinder of the machine which determines the temperature of the material that will be injected into the mold. On the other hand, injection speed is the speed of advance of the screw which is driven by a motor coupled with it. Cooling time can be defined as the time needed for the circulated water around the mold to cool and solidify the plastic part. Finally, holding pressure is the pressure used for regulating and closing the mold. The selected injection molding process parameters along with their levels are given in Table 1. The process parameters, shown in Table 1 were selected because they are the most critical and significant parameters and the quality of the products produced by injection molding process mainly depend upon properly selecting the level of these four parameters. The levels of the process parameters shown in Table 1 were selected in light of the data available in the literature [4]. Each parameter had two levels as being the most significant levels [4] and interaction between the parameters was not considered in the present study. Table 1: Injection Molding Process Parameters and Their Levels Symbol Process parameters Unit A B C D Melting temperature Injection speed Cooling time Holding pressure o 81 C rpm sec. psi Level 1 200 203 10 110 Level 2 230 261 20 120 Journal of Mechanical Engineering Selection of Orthogonal Array In order to select an appropriate orthogonal array for the experiments, the total degrees of freedom need to be computed. The degrees of freedom are defined as the number of comparisons between process parameters that need to be made to determine which level is better and specifically how much better it is. For example, a two-level process parameter counts for one degree of freedom. The degrees of freedom associated with the interaction between two process parameters are given by the product of the degrees of freedom for the two process parameters. In the present study, the interaction between the process parameters is neglected. Therefore, there are four degrees of freedom owing to there being four process parameters in the injection molding process. Once the required degrees of freedom are known, the next step is to select an appropriate orthogonal array to serve the specific purpose. Basically, the degrees of freedom for the orthogonal array should be greater than or at least equal to those for the process parameters. In this study, an L8 orthogonal array with seven columns and eight rows was used. This array has seven degrees of freedom and it can handle two-level design parameters. Each process parameter is assigned to a column, eight process-parameter combinations being available. Therefore, only eight experiments are required to study the entire parameter space using the L8 orthogonal array. The experimental layout for the four process parameters using the L8 orthogonal array is shown in Table 2. Since the L8 orthogonal array has seven columns, the first four columns of the array are assigned to the selected process parameters and the last three columns are left empty for the error of experiments: orthogonality is not lost by letting the columns of the array remain empty. Each row of Table 2 represents an experiment with different combination of parameters and their levels. Table 2: Experimental Layout Using L8 Orthogonal Array Experiment Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A Melting Temperature 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 Process Parameter Level B C D Injection Cooling Holding Speed Time Pressure 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 2 1 2 82 Error Error Error Optimization of the Injection Molding Parameters Using the Taguchi Method Preparation of the Test Specimen for Bending Test According to the experimental plan shown in Table 2, eight plastic trays were produced on the Battenfeld TM 750/210 injection molding machine. Figure 1 shows the isometric view of the tray. Subsequently, eight test specimens were prepared from the eight trays for performing the bending test. The size of each test specimen was 4.8 cm x 1.8 cm x 0.3 as shown in Figure 2. The test specimens were cut away manually from the base of the plastic trays. After the cutting process, the rough edges of the specimens were scrapped and polished for better surface finish. Then, the test specimens were washed with water and cleaned by using a piece of cloth. Figure 1: Isometric View of the PP Plastic Tray Figure 2: Isometric View of the Test Specimen 83 Journal of Mechanical Engineering Bending Test for the Specimen After preparing eight test specimens as discussed in section 3.3, bending tests were performed using a bending test apparatus to investigate bending deflection under the application of a constant load. The schematic view of the bending test is shown in Figure 3. The test specimens, prepared from the eight trays, were chosen in a random manner for bending test which is one of the requirements of the Taguchi method. One end of the specimen was fixed in the jig and the other end was kept free. Thus, the specimen behaved as a cantilever. The pointer of the dial indicator (having least count of ± 0.05 mm) was allowed to touch the free end of the specimen and the indicator was set at zero. A constant load of 500 gm was applied to the free end which caused bending of the specimen. The amount of bending deflection was recorded from the dial indicator. The procedure was repeated three times for each specimen to obtain three different values of bending deflections and then average bending deflection was computed. It should be noted that the higher bending deflection corresponds to the higher bending strength and vice versa. Finally, the results obtained from this test were used for further analysis. Horizontal Stand Dial Indicator Test Specimen Clamp Vertical Stand Jig for holding test specimen Pointer Magnetic Base Figure 3: Schematic Diagram of the Bending Test 84 Optimization of the Injection Molding Parameters Using the Taguchi Method Shrinkage Test for the Plastic Tray The purpose of doing shrinkage test was to observe the shrinkage behaviour of the plastic tray when it is used in extreme temperature conditions where it is exposed to change in temperature gradient. In order to perform this test the dimension of all eight trays was measured with the help of vernier dial caliper (least count = ± 0.002 cm; make: Mitotoyo, Japan) and then they were heated to a temperature of 130oC in an oven for 30 minutes. After that the specimen was taken out of the oven and cooled for 5 minutes at room temperature under normal conditions and then the dimension was measured. The difference in the dimension i.e. the difference in the length of the specimen before heating and after heating indicated the amount of shrinkage occurred in the tray due to change in temperature. The results obtained from this test were used for further analysis. Results and Discussion η1 m m In the following section, results of the bending and shrinkage tests are studied using the S/N ratio and ANOVA analyses. Based on the results of these analyses, optimal parameters of injection molding process for bending deflection and shrinkage are obtained and verified. 1 ∑T 2 i =1 i Analysis of the S/N Ratio In the Taguchi method, the term “signal” represents the desirable value (mean) for the output characteristic and the term “noise” represents the undesirable value (S.D.) for the output characteristic. Therefore, the S/N ratio is the ratio of the mean to the S.D. Taguchi uses the S/N ratio to measure the quality characteristic deviating from the desired value. The S/N ratioη is defined as [8]: = −10 log (M.S.D.) (1) where M.S.D. is the mean-square deviation for the output characteristic. As mentioned earlier, there are three categories of quality characteristics, i.e. the-lower-the-better, the-higher-the-better, and the-nominal-the better. To obtain optimal performance of the tray, the-higher-the-better quality characteristic for bending strength must be taken. The mean-square deviation (M.S.D.) for the-higher-the-better quality characteristic can be expressed as [8]: M.S.D. = (2) 85 Journal of Mechanical Engineering where m is the number of tests and Ti is the value of bending deflection for the i th test. Table 3 shows the experimental results for the bending deflection and the corresponding S/N ratio using Eqs. (1) and (2). Since the experimental design is orthogonal, it is then possible to separate out the effect of each cutting parameter at different levels. For example, the mean S/N ratio for the melting temperature at levels 1 and 2 can be calculated by averaging the S/N ratio for the experiments 1 – 4, and 5 – 8, respectively. The mean S/N ratio for each level of the other process parameters can be computed in the similar manner. The mean S/N ratio for each level of the process parameters is summarized and called the S/N response table for bending strength (Table 4). In addition, the total mean S/N ratio for the nine experiments is also calculated and listed below Table 4. Table 3: Experimental Results for Bending Deflection and S/N Ratio Experiment Melting Injection Cooling Holding Average bending S/N ratio number temperature speed time pressure deflection (dB) (oC) (rpm) (sec.) (psi) (mm) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 200 200 200 200 230 230 230 230 203 203 261 261 203 203 261 261 10 10 20 20 20 20 10 10 110 120 110 120 110 120 110 120 1.90 2.02 2.19 2.10 2.31 1.76 1.80 1.93 5.58 6.11 6.81 6.44 7.27 4.91 5.11 5.71 Table 4: S/N Response Table for Bending Deflection Symbol A B C D Process parameter Mean S/N ratio (dB) Level 1 Level 2 Max-min Melting temperature Injection speed Cooling time Holding pressure 6.24 5.97 5.63 6.19 The total mean S/N ratio = 5.99 (dB) 86 5.75 6.02 6.36 5.79 0.49 0.05 0.73 0.40 Optimization of the Injection Molding Parameters Using the Taguchi Method Figure 4 shows the S/N response graph for the output characteristic (bending deflection). As shown in Eqs. (1) and (2), the greater the S/N ratio, the smaller is the variance of the output characteristic around the desired (the-higher-thebetter) value. However, the relative importance amongst the process parameters for bending deflection still needs to be known so that optimal combinations of the process parameter levels can be determined more accurately. This will be discussed in the next section using the analysis of variance. On the other hand, the-lower-the-better quality characteristic for shrinkage should be taken for obtaining optimal performance of the tray. The M.S.D. for the-lower-the-better quality characteristic can be expressed as [8]: M.S.D.= 1 m m ∑ S i2 (3) i =1 where S i is the value of shrinkage for the i th test. Figure 4: S/N Graph for Bending Deflection Table 5 shows the experimental results for the shrinkage and the corresponding S/N ratio using Eqs. (1) and (3). The S/N response table and S/N response graph for shrinkage are shown in Table 6 and Figure 5. Regardless of the the-lower-the better or the-higher-the-better quality characteristic, the greater S/N response corresponds to the smaller variance of the output characteristic around the desired value (Eqs. (1) – (3)). 87 Journal of Mechanical Engineering Table 5: Experimental Results for Shrinkage and S/N Ratio Experiment Melting Injection number temperature speed (rpm) (oC) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 200 200 200 200 230 230 230 230 203 203 261 261 203 203 261 261 Cooling time (sec.) Holding pressure (psi) 10 10 20 20 20 20 10 10 110 120 110 120 110 120 110 120 Shrinkage S/N ratio (cm) (dB) 0.102 0.070 0.112 0.084 0.092 0.056 0.068 0.060 19.83 23.10 19.02 21.51 20.72 25.04 23.35 24.44 Table 6: S/N Response Table for Shrinkage Symbol A B C D Process parameter Melting temperature Injection speed Cooling time Holding pressure Mean S/N ratio (dB) Level 1 Level 2 Max-min 20.87 23.39 2.52 22.17 22.08 0.09 22.68 21.57 1.11 20.73 23.52 2.79 The total mean S/N ratio = 22.13 (dB) Figure 5: S/N Graph for Shrinkage 88 Optimization of the Injection Molding Parameters Using the Taguchi Method Analysis of Variance The purpose of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) is to investigate which design parameters significantly affect the quality characteristic. This is accomplished by separating the total variability of the S/N ratios, which is measured by the sum of squared deviations from the total mean S/N ratio, into contributions by each of the design parameters and the error. First, the total sum of squared deviations SST from the mean S/N ratio η m is calculated as [8]: SST = n ∑ (ηi − η m )2 i =1 (4) where n is number of experiments in the orthogonal array, η i is the mean S/N ratio for the i th experiment. The total sum of squared deviations SST is decomposed into two sources: the sum of squared deviations SSd due to each process parameter and the sum of squared error SSe. The percentage contribution p by each of the process parameter in the total sum of squared deviations SST is a ratio of the sum of squared deviations SSd due to each process parameter to the total sum of squared deviations SST. Statistically, there is a tool called F test to see which process parameters have significant effect on the quality characteristic. For performing the F test, the mean of squared deviations SSm due to each process parameter needs to be calculated. The mean of squared deviations SSm is equal to the sum of squared deviations SSd divided by the number of degrees of freedom associated with the process parameter. Then, the F value for each process parameter is simply the ratio of the mean of squared deviations SSm to the mean of squared error SSe. Usually, when F > 4, it means that the change of the process parameter has significant effect on the quality characteristic. Table 7 shows the results of ANOVA for the bending deflection. It can be found that the change of process parameters in the range given in Table 1 has an insignificant effect on the bending deflection since for all process parameters F value is less than 4. However, based on the S/N analysis, the optimal injection molding process parameters for bending strength are A1B2C2D1 i.e. the melting temperature at level 1, the injection speed at level 2, the cooling time at level 2, and the holding pressure at level 1. Table 8 shows the results of ANOVA for shrinkage. Melting temperature and the holding pressure are the significant process parameters for affecting the shrinkage behaviour of the tray. However, the contribution order of the process parameters for shrinkage is holding pressure (46.44%), then melting temperature (37.89%), then cooling time (7.30%), and then injection speed (0.04%). The optimal process parameters for shrinkage are A2B1C1D2 i.e. the melting temperature at level 2, the injection speed at level 1, the cooling time at level 1, and the holding pressure at level 2. 89 Journal of Mechanical Engineering Table 7: Results of the Analysis of Variance for Bending Deflection Symbol Process parameters A B C D Error Melting temperature Injection speed Cooling time Holding pressure Total Degrees Sum of freedom squares 1 1 1 1 3 0.471 0.0054 1.066 0.320 2.853 7 4.715 Mean square 0.471 0.0054 1.066 0.320 0.951 F Contribution (%) 0.495 0.0057 1.120 0.336 10.00 0.12 22.60 6.80 60.48 100.00 Table 8: Results of the Analysis of Variance for Shrinkage Symbol Process parameters A B C D Error Melting temperature Injection speed Cooling time Holding pressure Total Degrees of Sum of freedom squares 1 1 1 1 3 12.72 0.015 2.451 15.59 2.794 7 33.57 Mean square square F Contribution (%) 12.72 0.015 2.451 15.59 0.931 13.66 0.016 2.633 16.75 37.89 0.04 7.30 46.44 8.33 100.00 Confirmation Tests Once the optimal combination of process parameters and their levels was obtained, the final step was to verify the estimated result against experimental value. It may be noted that if the optimal combination of parameters and their levels coincidently match with one of the experiments in the orthogonal array, then no confirmation test is required. Estimated value of the output characteristics (bending deflection and shrinkage) at optimum condition is calculated by adding the average performance to the contribution of each parameter at the optimum level using the following equations [15]: (5) (6) where m is the average performance, T is the grand total of output characteristic for each experiment, n is the total number of experiments and mAopt is the average 90 Optimization of the Injection Molding Parameters Using the Taguchi Method value of the output characteristic for parameter A at its optimum level, mBopt is the average value of the output characteristic for parameter B at its optimum level, mCopt is the average value of the output characteristic for parameter C at its optimum level, and mDopt is the average value of the output characteristic for parameter D at its optimum level. Confirmation test is required in the present study only for shrinkage because the optimum combination of parameters and their levels i.e. A2 B1 C1 D2 does not correspond to any experiment of the orthogonal array. One plastic tray at the optimal combination of parameters and their levels A2 B1 C1 D2 was produced on the same injection molding machine and from the same material and the shrinkage test was performed in the same way as discussed in section 3.4. The value of shrinkage obtained from the experiment was then compared with the estimated value as shown in Table 9. It can be seen from this table that the difference between experimental result and the estimated result is very small. This indicates that the experimental value of shrinkage is very close to the estimated value. This verifies that the experimental result is strongly correlated with the estimated result. Table 9: Results of the Confirmation Experiment for Shrinkage Optimal process parameters Estimation Experiment Difference Level Total shrinkage (cm) S/N ratio (dB) A 2 B 1C 1 D 2 0.054 25.35 A 2B 1 C 1D 2 0.062 24.15 – 0.008 1.20 Conclusions This paper has presented an application of the Taguchi method for optimizing the process parameters of an injection molding process that is used to produce a polypropylene plastic tray. As shown in this study, the Taguchi method provides a systematic and efficient methodology for the optimization of the process parameters with far less effect than would be required for most optimization techniques. On the basis of the results obtained from the present study the following can be concluded: • The combination of parameters and their levels for optimum bending deflection and therefore, for optimum bending strength of PP plastic tray under the constant load is A1B2C2D1 (i.e. melting temperature-200°C, injection speed- 261 rpm, cooling time – 20 sec., and holding pressure – 110 psi). 91 Journal of Mechanical Engineering • • • The contribution of melting temperature, injection speed, cooling time, and holding pressure to the quality characteristic (bending strength) is 10.00%, 0.12%, 22.60%, and 6.80% respectively. The combination of parameters and their levels for optimum shrinkage of PP plastic tray is A2B1C1D2 (i.e. melting temperature-230°C, injection speed- 203 rpm, cooling time – 10 sec., and holding pressure – 120 psi). 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