Semi-empirical modeling of the energy consumed during the injection molding process

Abstract

This paper presents a semi-empirical model for determining the energy consumption of an injection molding machine based on the energy profile of the injection molding process. The model utilizes empirical data to the idle or baseline energy consumption of the machine tool, which is non-negligible. A theoretical analysis is used to determine the processing energy, which can be a significant contribution because of the design and the rheological non-Newtonian nature of polymers. A thermo-mechanical analysis of the material plasticizing and injection process is incorporated into the model to accurate assess the theoretical processing energy. The errors in the model are considered and the model performance is validated with findings in literature.