Injection molding optimization for minimizing the defects of weld lines

Weld lines are one of the critical defects in injection molding production. They affect the strength of the plastic parts and are visually unpleasant. To address this problem, this paper proposes some strategies and methods for the formulation and implementation of an optimization procedure to minimize the defects of weld lines by minimizing their total length and by positioning them as further away as possible from, or restricting them from occurring at, the specified critical regions on the part surface. Several concepts are defined, such as the weld line relevant part qualities, types of critical regions, and constraints on the occurrence of the weld lines. Based on these, the optimization problem is modeled and a genetic algorithm (GA) based optimization procedure is proposed. The methodology can provide useful guidelines for injection molding designers in achieving the optimal part quality relevant to the weld lines. A case study is also conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the methodology.