The occurrence of surface roughness in gas assist injection molded nylon composites

Abstract Gas assist injection molding has increasingly become an important industrial process because of its tremendous flexibility in the design and manufacture of plastic parts. However, there are some unsolved problems that limit the overall success of this technique. The purpose of this report was to study the surface roughness phenomenon occurring in gas assist injection molded thermoplastic composities. The materials used were 15 % and 35% glass‐fiber filled nylon‐6 composites. Experiments were carried out on an 80‐ton injection molding machine equipped with a high‐pressure nitrogen‐gas injection unit. Two “float‐shape” axisymmetric cavities were used. After molding, the surface quality of molded parts was measured by a roughness meter. Various processing variables were studied in terms of their influence on formation of surface roughness: melt temperature, mold temperature, melt filling speed, short‐shot size, gas pressure, and gas injection delay time. Scanning electronic microscopy was also employed to characterize the composites. It was found that the surface roughness results mainly from the exposure of glass fiber in the matrix. The jetting and irregular flows of the polymer melt during the filling process might be factors causing the fiber exposure.