Abstract
Rotational moulding is a polymer forming process used to create hollow, stress-free products using both heat and rotation. The basic principles behind the machines which execute the process of rotational moulding have not changed significantly over the last 60 years. A factor restricting the growth of the rotational moulding industry is the limited wall thickness uniformity that can be achieved using the current machines which have limited motion control. Improved flexibility of motion control over the mould is now available and will be investigated with the aim of providing a more efficient process and higher quality products. Using a mathematical ‘sphere filling’ curve approach, a rotational path can be designed which allows every area of a spherical mould to spend a more uniform time period in contact with the powder pool (Wall thickness uniformity is affected by the powder-wall contact time). This paper proposes a new approach to mould motion control optimisation and provides validation using Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations. This method has been found to increase the uniformity of powder-wall contact time by up to 19%.
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The authors thank the Department of Education and Learning (DEL) for funding provided for this research project.
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Adams, J., Jin, Y., Barnes, D., Butterfield, J. (2018). DEM Modelling of a New ‘Sphere Filling’ Approach for Optimising Motion Control of Rotational Moulding Processes. In: Wang, S., Price, M., Lim, M., Jin, Y., Luo, Y., Chen, R. (eds) Recent Advances in Intelligent Manufacturing . ICSEE IMIOT 2018 2018. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 923. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2396-6_22
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2396-6_22
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