TY - JOUR
T1 - A Review on Microcellular Injection Moulding
AU - Ding, Yifei
AU - Hassan, Mohammed H
AU - Bakker, Otto
AU - Hinduja, Srichand
AU - Bártolo, Paulo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/7/28
Y1 - 2021/7/28
N2 - Microcellular injection moulding (MuCell®) is a polymer processing technology that uses a supercritical fluid inert gas, CO
2 or N
2, to produce light-weight products. Due to environmental pressures and the requirement of light-weight parts with good mechanical properties, this technology recently gained significant attention. However, poor surface appearance and limited mechanical properties still prevent the wide applications of this technique. This paper reviews the microcellular injection moulding process, main characteristics of the process, bubble nucleation and growth, and major recent developments in the field. Strategies to improve both the surface quality and mechanical properties are discussed in detail as well as the relationships between processing parameters, morphology, and surface and mechanical properties. Modelling approaches to simulate microcellular injection moulding and the mathematical models behind Moldex 3D and Moldflow, the two most commonly used software tools by industry and academia, are reviewed, and the main limitations are highlighted. Finally, future research perspectives to further develop this technology are also discussed.
AB - Microcellular injection moulding (MuCell®) is a polymer processing technology that uses a supercritical fluid inert gas, CO
2 or N
2, to produce light-weight products. Due to environmental pressures and the requirement of light-weight parts with good mechanical properties, this technology recently gained significant attention. However, poor surface appearance and limited mechanical properties still prevent the wide applications of this technique. This paper reviews the microcellular injection moulding process, main characteristics of the process, bubble nucleation and growth, and major recent developments in the field. Strategies to improve both the surface quality and mechanical properties are discussed in detail as well as the relationships between processing parameters, morphology, and surface and mechanical properties. Modelling approaches to simulate microcellular injection moulding and the mathematical models behind Moldex 3D and Moldflow, the two most commonly used software tools by industry and academia, are reviewed, and the main limitations are highlighted. Finally, future research perspectives to further develop this technology are also discussed.
KW - Mechanical properties
KW - Microcellular injection moulding
KW - MuCell®
KW - Polymer processing
KW - Processing parameters
KW - Surface quality
U2 - 10.3390/ma14154209
DO - 10.3390/ma14154209
M3 - Review article
C2 - 34361403
SN - 1996-1944
VL - 14
JO - Materials
JF - Materials
IS - 15
M1 - 4209
ER -