Bachelor’s Thesis or Master’s Thesis
Topic of the work:
The cavities of injection molds can be machined using a wide variety of manufacturing processes. In addition to conventional machining processes, which produce periodic surface structures in the tool steel, ablative processes can also be used. This includes die-sinking, which uses spark erosion to create aperiodic structures that are recognizable as crater-shaped surfaces. These different surface topographies have an influence on the flow behavior of the plastic melt in the mould. For example, a flow path extension can be observed for cavities produced by electrical discharge machining compared to milled cavities. This finding will now be further investigated in order to research new surface topographies, molding compounds and cavity depths.
© IKVThe work is related to this research project:
Your work is related to the DFG project “AOS” (Analysis of functional surfaces of injection molding cavities produced by electrical discharge machining), which is being carried out in cooperation with the MTI at RWTH Aachen University. In this project, the research focus is on the analysis of different cavity surfaces of injection molds produced by die-sinking EDM. The aim is to work out which surface structures prove to be particularly advantageous in terms of the achievable flow path length and demoldability and how these structures can be reproducibly manufactured.
Objective:
As part of your work, you will therefore work out how amorphous and semi-crystalline molding compounds behave in the injection molding process with regard to flow path length and degree of molding when mold cavities with varying surface structures are used.
Your task:
| For a Bachelor's thesis, you will work on the following tasks: | For a Master's thesis, you will work on the following tasks: |
| Literature research on the influence of surface roughness on the flow behavior of plastic melts | Literature research on the influence of surface roughness on the flow behavior of plastic melts |
| Injection molding of flow meanders with different molding compounds | Injection molding of flow meanders with different molding compounds |
| Evaluation of flow path lengths | investigation of varying cavity depths |
| Analysis of surface roughness in the microscopy laboratory | evaluation of flow path lengths |
| Characterization of the moulding behaviour depending on the material | Analysis of the surface roughness in the microscopy laboratory |
| Characterization of the moulding behaviour as a function of material and part geometry |
Your profile:
- Technical or scientific degree (e.g. mechanical engineering / industrial engineering, specializing in mechanical engineering, general mechanical engineering, materials science, industrial engineering, specializing in materials and process engineering, applied polymer science)
- Initial experience in plastics processing and ideally in injection molding
- Interest in practical work on injection molding machines and microscopy
- Independent, structured and autonomous work
If the task appeals to you and you would like to start your thesis at IKV, you are welcome to contact me by phone, e-mail or in person at the institute. We will then coordinate the schedule and the exact scope of your work according to your individual requirements.