Abstract
Injection moulding technologies are constantly evolving to meet changing customer requirements, improved cost effectiveness and to meet new environmental legislation. One such technology is in-mould decoration (IMD). This technique is attractive due to increased customer desire for multi-functional and decorative products and includes any process in which a fully, or partially, decorated component is produced directly from the moulding process.
A new patented IMD process has been developed to produce a painted component direct from the injection moulding tool. It uses thermoset powder coatings which are sprayed under pressure through a valve into a closed mould using a novel feed system. The heat of the tool softens the coatings which are then cured by the injection of thermoplastic polymer into a standard injection moulding system. In this first paper initial design features and considerations as well as the process itself are discussed.
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