Research for Practical Application

Injection Molding Research for Practical Application

2026-01-22 From Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Hopmann, Director of the IKV and Chair of Plastics Processing; Moritz Mascher, M.Sc., Thermoset Injection Molding + Cross-Phase Process Control; Matthias Schöll, M.Sc., Cascade Injection Molding | Translated by AI 4 min Reading Time

Researchers at the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) in Industry and Trade at RWTH Aachen University provide exclusive coverage of current topics for PLASTVERARBEITER.

The control concept for thermoplastic injection molding is based on a learning, model-predictive control system(Bild: IKV) — The control concept for thermoplastic injection molding is based on a learning, model-predictive control system
(Bild: IKV)

Process Variable Control Concept for Thermoset Injection Molding

In injection molding, a process-variable-based control system—rather than a machine-based one—can increase both productivity and molded part quality. In the IGF project “Thermoset Control,” the IKV, in collaboration with the Institute for Control Engineering (IRT) at RWTH Aachen University, adapted this type of process-variable-based control—which had previously existed only for thermoplastics—for thermoset processing as well. Based on injection molding tests, the project identified the internal mold pressure profile as a suitable control variable for real-time process control. To this end, part quality was evaluated based on weight, mechanical properties, and surface quality and correlated with the process variables.

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