Wear of die materials in full scale plastic injection moulding of glass fibre reinforced polycarbonate

In this study an experimental methodology to study surface wear of injection moulds on a full scale polymer injection moulding machine is developed. A comparative study of four different tool materials for mould cavities is carried out in situ. The polymer injection conditions (geometry cavities, machine settings, polymer) are chosen in order to accelerate the degradation of the mould cavity surface. The reinforced polycarbonate resin Lexan 341R-739, containing 40% of weight of short glass fibres, well known for their abrasive character, was injected with jetting and normal injection conditions. Jetting conditions implies high pressure and velocity of the injected resin. The die wear is discussed in relation to the polymer flow conditions and the die materials.