Injection
Astar does not carry out moulding activities but gives complete assistance to its customers during all stages, including complete support on moulding of our materials. Whether you are an experienced moulder or are about to start moulding BMC materials for first time, let us help you. What do you need to start moulding our BMC materials?
BASIC EQUIPMENT
There is a wide range of injection machines especially designed for BMC moulding.
Steel moulds with high chrome content are recommended in order to increase durability. Shear-edges are recommended, especially for injection-compression moulding. De-gasing should be assisted by ejector pins and optional vacuum assistance. Slides, cold runner and gate cutter systems are as usual as stamping of cores. Heating capability from 130 to 200°C.
Robotic systems for part removal and all post-moulding operations such as deflashing, drilling or routing are usually used. Complete automation of the process is possible.
BMC INJECTION / INJECTION-COMPRESSION MOULDING PROCESS
1.- BMC feed: the BMC material is placed into injection moulding machine’s feed hooper.
2.- Injection moulding: the BMC heats up in the injection and so flows easily into the cavity. Due to the special heating method the curing speed is somewhat faster than with the compression moulding process.
3.- De-moulding and removal: after curing, the mould is opened and the parts are ejected, normally with the help of ejector pins. The parts are usually removed by automated robots, who prepare them for secondary operations.
4.- Secondary operations: upon removal of the part from the mould, trimming of the edge flash is necessary. Other secondary operations such as drilling, routing, etc. are easily performed on BMC parts and can also be fully automated.