Moulding Manual TRZ 30 – Part I

Engineering Polymers

Moulding Manual
for DuPont MINLON and ZYTEL Resins
® ®

Start
with DuPont
Engineering Polymers ® DuPont registered trademark
Table of contents
Part I Page Page
1. Foreword......................................................................... 1 5. Mould design .......................................................... 19
5.1 Mould material ....................................................... 19
1.1 Operating precautions............................................... 1
5.2 The runner systems................................................. 19
5.2.1 Sprues ..................................................................... 19
2. Melt properties ......................................................... 3 5.2.2 Runners................................................................... 19
2.1 Material structure ..................................................... 3 5.2.3 Gates....................................................................... 20
2.1.1 Crystallinity .............................................................. 3 5.3 Venting.................................................................... 21
2.1.2 Volume changes........................................................ 3 5.4 Undercuts and tapers .............................................. 22
2.2 Heating requirements................................................ 3 5.5 Thermal regulation circuit of the mould................. 22
2.3 Melt viscosity ........................................................... 4 5.6 Hot runners moulds ................................................ 22
2.3.1 Dependence of melt viscosity upon temperature...... 4
2.3.2 Dependence of melt viscosity upon shear rate ......... 4 6. Moulding Conditions.............................................. 25
2.3.3 Dependence of melt viscosity upon moisture ........... 5
6.1 Melt temperature .................................................... 25
2.3.4 Relative viscosity ..................................................... 5
6.2 Cylinder temperature profile .................................. 25
2.3.5 Melt temperature and melting point ......................... 5
6.3 Nozzle temperature................................................. 25
2.4 Melt flow .................................................................. 5
6.4 Injection-speed (rate) and injection pressure .......... 26
2.5 Melt stability............................................................. 6
6.4.1 Dynamic pressure drop........................................... 27
2.5.1 Hydrolysis ................................................................ 6
6.5 Hold pressure and hold pressure time..................... 27
2.5.2 Thermal degradation................................................. 6
6.5.1 The hold pressure ................................................... 27
2.6 Melt characterisation with instrumented moulds...... 6
6.5.2 The hold pressure time (HPT) ................................ 27
6.6 Screw rotation speed and back pressure ................. 28
3. Material handling ..................................................... 8 6.7 Decompression ....................................................... 29
3.1 Material shipping...................................................... 8 6.8 Mould temperature ................................................. 29
3.1.1 Physical form of resins ............................................. 8 6.9 Cooling time ........................................................... 30
3.1.2 Packaging ................................................................. 8 6.10 Mould release ......................................................... 30
3.2 Handling nylon resins............................................... 8
3.2.1 Storage...................................................................... 8 7. Moulding machine operation.................................. 31
3.2.2 Handling virgin resin ................................................ 8
7.1 Start up ................................................................... 31
3.2.3 Handling rework....................................................... 8
7.2 Cycle interruptions ................................................. 31
3.2.4 Disposal of material waste........................................ 9
7.3 Shut down............................................................... 31
3.3 Effect of moisture ................................................... 10
7.4 Purging ................................................................... 31
3.4 Drying..................................................................... 10
3.5 Colouring ................................................................ 11
3.6 Quality control........................................................ 12 8. Moulding and post-moulding dimensional
3.6.1 Resin specifications ................................................ 12 considerations ......................................................... 32
3.6.2 Specifications on moulded parts............................. 12 8.1 Mould shrinkage..................................................... 32
8.2 Effect of w.ater absorption on dimensions.............. 33
4. The injection moulding machine ............................ 14 8.3 Post-moulding shrinkage and annealing ................. 34
4.1 Machine requirements ............................................ 14 8.4 Warpage.................................................................. 34
4.2 Machine design....................................................... 14 8.5 Tolerance field of mouldings .................................. 34
4.2.1 Hopper throat.......................................................... 15
4.2.2 Barrel ...................................................................... 15
4.2.3 Screw design........................................................... 16
4.2.4 Back flow valve...................................................... 17
4.2.5 Nozzle..................................................................... 17
4.2.6 Nozzle shut-off valve.............................................. 17
4.2.7 Eliminating hold-up spots....................................... 18 Part II
4.3 Maintenance ........................................................... 18 Material processing data list and brief resin description.
1. Foreword
This brochure consists of two parts. The first part The DuPont nylon family
presents a comprehensive overview of the injection ZYTEL® and MINLON® nylon resins are classified by
moulding process for nylons. The objective is to better chemical composition into the following groups:
understand what occurs during this moulding process. – Nylon 66
The polymer phenomena and processing guidelines are – Nylon 6
designed to provide a comparison of the various – Nylon 66/6 copolymers
attributes of different nylon families rather than indepth – Nylon 66 + 6 blends
characteristics of specific grades. – Nylon 612
A subdivision of the nylon family is explained in the – Transparent amorphous nylon.
section “Injection moulding of nylons”.
The key features of ZYTEL® nylons are:
The second part provides tables illustrating the most – High mechanical strength
important setting parameters that are recommended – Excellent balance of stiffness/toughness
during the injection moulding process. The complete – Good high temperature performance
range of nylon resins from DuPont is listed. – Good electrical and flammability properties
– Good abrasion and chemical resistance.

Injection moulding of nylons Properties such as melting point, moisture absorption

and modulus of elasticity are primarily determined by
Despite the fact that MINLON® and ZYTEL® nylon resins
the type of nylon. The molecular weight of the nylon
have been injection moulded for over 50 years, it is
determines the melt viscosity and impact resistance.
still as important as ever to optimise conditions in
order to be able to benefit from the material properties In addition, nylons can be readily modified and
available when using these resins. In basic terms, the reinforced, to create a wide range of products with
process involves heating the solid moulding granules tailored properties for specific processes and end-uses.
to melt them, then transferring this molten material Major “families” of ZYTEL® nylons described in this
to a mould and holding it under pressure until it brochure include:
crystallises. – Unreinforced
Each type of nylon has its own specific processing – Tough/Supertough
characteristics which must be considered and – Glass reinforced
understood before it can be successfully moulded to – Mineral reinforced
produce parts that achieve the expected quality level. – Mineral/glass reinforced
The moulding conditions considerably affect the part – Flame retardant
quality of characteristics such as weld line strength, – High viscosity/Extrusion
surface appearance, and dimensional stability. – Speciality.
The optimum processing conditions for any given
grade are determined by combination of the nature of 1.1 Operating precautions
the polymers used as well as modifiers and additives As with most thermoplastic resins, the moulding of
which have their own melt properties. glass-reinforced ZYTEL® and MINLON® resins is ordi-
The basic understanding of these melt properties helps narily a safe operation. Good practice dictates that
one to understand the influence of changes in a consideration should be given to the following potential
moulding parameter on the quality of the moulded hazards:
parts. Section 2 covers this aspect. • Thermal effects
• Off-gases and particulates
Many of the recommendations in this brochure are • Slipping hazards
applicable for the majority of DuPont nylons.
In an attempt to simplify the moulding guidelines 1.1.1 Thermal effects
and make them easy to read, the grades have been Skin contact with molten glass-reinforced ZYTEL® and
classified under generic types. MINLON® resins can inflict severe burns. This could
happen when gases generate pressure in the machine
cylinder and violently eject molten polymer through
the nozzle or hopper.
1
To minimise the chance of an accident, the instructions 1.1.2 Off-gases and particulates
given in this guide should be followed carefully. During drying, purging, moulding, and grinding opera-
Potential hazards must be anticipated and either elimi- tions, small amounts of gases and particulate matter
nated or guarded against by following established are released. As a general principle, local exhaust
procedures, including the use of proper protective ventilation is recommended during the processing
equipment and clothing. of glass-reinforced ZYTEL® and MINLON® resins as it is
Do not allow the resin to remain in the moulding machine for all plastic resins. A ventilation rate of about 5 m 3
for more than 15 minutes at melt temperature. air/min per kg/h of resin processed will keep the con-
If this situation occurs, e.g., during a prolonged cycle centration of particulates (and gases) well below the
interruption, be particularly alert during purging. limit of 5 mg/m3 (Europe) for nuisance dusts while
Pay particular attention to Section 4: Machine being processed at the maximum recommended times
Operating Conditions. and temperatures (moulding, purging, and drying).
For more details, refer to the DuPont publication,
When purging, be sure that the high volume (booster) “Proper Use of Local Exhaust Ventilation During Hot
pump is off and that a purge shield is in place. Processing of Plastics.” A copy of this brochure is
Reduce the injection pressure and “jog” the injection available from your DuPont representative.
forward button a few times to minimise the possibility of
trapped gas in the cylinder which will cause “splattering” 1.1.3 Safety information
of the polymer melt. Put the purge into a container
DuPont supplies Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
with water in order to suppress gassing and smell.
information to its customers with the initial order of
If resin decomposition1 is suspected at any time, a glass-reinforced ZYTEL® and MINLON® resin and on the
purge shield should be positioned, the carriage (nozzle) next order after an MSDS is revised. MSDSs include
retracted from the mould, and the screw rotated to such information as hazardous components, health
empty the barrel. After the screw starts to rotate, the hazards, emergency and first aid procedures, disposal
feed throat should be closed and then a suitable purge procedures, and storage information.
compound (high-density polyethylene) introduced.
The temperature can then be gradually lowered and 1.1.4 Slipping hazards
the machine shut down. See “Purging” under Section 4: Granules of glass-reinforced ZYTEL® and MINLON®
Machine Operating Conditions for further details. resins are a slipping hazard if spilled on the floor.
If jogging the injection or screw rotation buttons does Any spills should be swept up immediately.
not produce melt flow, the nozzle may be plugged.
In that case, shut off cylinder heats and follow your 1.1.5 Regrinding operation
established safe practices. Always assume that gas at When performing any regrinding operation, besides
high pressure could be trapped behind the nozzle and using equipment with state of the art safety perfor-
that it could be released unexpectedly. A face shield mance, the installation should provide appropriate pro-
and protective long-sleeve gloves should be worn at tection against noise and dust. Screens, filters and ven-
such times. Before restarting, both the machine and tilation in good operating condition should be used.
material should be evaluated to determine the cause Operating personnel should wear adequate personal
of the decomposition. protective equipment including gloves and a face
In the event that molten polymer does contact the skin, shield.
cool the affected area immediately with cold water or an
ice pack and get medical attention for thermal burn.
Do not attempt to peel the polymer from the skin.
Consult the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for
advice. For further questions contact the phone number
which is listed on the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).
Because glass-reinforced ZYTEL® and MINLON® resins
are dried at high temperatures, contact with hot hop-
pers, ovens, or air hose lines could result in severe
burns-insulation of these components will reduce this 1
Excessive gas escaping from the nozzle, severely discoloured molten polymer, screw
possibility. backing up beyond the rear limit switch, etc.
2
2. Melt properties Some experimental curves of the specific volume of
un-reinforced ZYTEL® are shown in Fig. 1. In the liquid
The melt physical properties of a polymer dictate the
or melt phase, the specific volume is much greater than
way in which it must be moulded. Among these are:
in the solid phase. During moulding the melt is held
• The overall molecular structure which is basically
under pressure, typically 70 MPa, which means there
semi-crystalline and the various changes which
is a smaller change in volume as the melt crystallises
occur with changes in temperature and pressure.
than at zero pressure. Shrinkage is the direct result of
• The energy content (specific heat and latent heat). the melt crystallising. Since it is best to keep shrinkage
• The flow behaviour of the melt, and particularly as low as possible, the melt should always be kept
the viscosity as the most important rheological under pressure until it fully crystallises.
parameter.
• The crystallisation rate of the resin. Fig. 1 Pressure-Volume-Temperature diagram
(specific volume as a function of temperature and
• The thermal stability of the resin particularly at pressure)
high temperatures and in the presence of water. 1,10
P=
ZYTEL 103 HSL NC-10 0
2.1 Material structure
30
2.1.1 Crystallinity 1,05
60
Most polyamides have a partially crystalline structure. 80
This means that a proportion of the polymer solidifies 100
Specific volume cm3/g
120
in a certain ordered and regular crystalline structure. 1,00
150
The rest solidifies in an amorphous state having no MPa
regularity.
0,95
During the crystallisation process, the molecules fold
into lamellae that normally lock together and form
spherulites up to 0,2 mm in diameter. If the orientation
0,90
of the lamellae is in one direction, as is often the case
on the part surface, the zone of material is transparent.
Fundamental differences in structure between pro- 0,85
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
perties of semi-crystalline and amorphous polymers Temperature (°C)
results in differences as much in properties
(“cohesive energy” reinforces the properties) as
in moulding conditions. In the solid phase, nylon resins have a crystallinity
between 40% and 60%. The corresponding curve in
Among the most important properties of crystalline Fig. 1 should be seen as a band to reflect this variation
materials, in contrast to amorphous materials, are the and the other factors which influence the crystalline
following: structure.
• Big volume changes with temperature when chang-
ing from liquid to solid and vice-versa Nylon 66 resins have the highest degree of crystallinity
• Large amount of heating is required to melt the within the nylon family. This has a significant influ-
polymer. ence on many end-use characteristics including
the mechanical properties, moisture absorption and
These two phenomena, along with the others imply, chemical resistance.
in contrast to amorphous materials, that there is no
danger of overpacking even with very high injection 2.2. Heating requirements
fill and hold pressures. The energy needed to increase the temperature of a
polymer is determined, in general, by its specific heat,
2.1.2 Volume changes defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the
Volume changes are normally described in terms of the temperature of unit mass of material by 1 K. In case of
specific volume which is the inverse of the density. materials with a crystalline structure, additional heat is
For semi-crystalline materials, the specific volume is necessary to bring the material from the solid state
a function of temperature, pressure and, in the solid to the liquid state. This energy is represented by a peak
phase, the degree of crystallinity. on the specific heat curve (Fig. 2).
3
Fig. 2 Temperature dependence of specific heat 2.3 Melt viscosity
Melt viscosity determines to a large extent the filling
8,3
pressure of a mould – high viscosity implies less flow
and higher pressure drops. The melt viscosity is also
2,75 Nylon 66
2,6 primarily a function of the molecular weight (for
2,4 example, ZYTEL® 42 has a higher molecular weight
2,2
DELRIN and, therefore, a higher melt viscosity than the
ZYTEL® 101 L).
Specific heat (kJ kg–1 K–1)

2,0

1,8
The melt viscosity of nylons is influenced by a large
number of factors, in particular by the temperature of
1,6
the melt, shear rate and moisture content of the resin.
1,4

1,2 2.3.1 Dependence of Melt Viscosity upon Temperature

1,0
The general rule that liquids become less viscous with
0,8 increasing temperature is certainly true for plastic melts.
0,6 For this reason, it is necessary to specify a temperature
Polystyrene
0,4 when giving a value for melt viscosity. Fig. 3 shows that
0,2
viscosity of un-reinforced ZYTEL® is less sensitive to
changes in temperature than toughened and reinforced
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 grades are.
Temperature (°C)

2.3.2 Dependence of Melt Viscosity upon Shear rate

Thus, the total amount of heat needed to bring each
Shear rate is a parameter characterising deformation
polymer to the processing temperature is the area
velocity of the material flow. It is dependent on velocity
under each curve. It turns out that crystalline resins
of the flow and geometry of the flow channels.
need higher heat energy than amorphous resins and the
Viscosity decreases considerably with increasing shear
un-reinforced nylon resins need twice as much total
rate, see Fig. 4.
heat compared to polystyrene, for example, as seen
from Table 1. Therefore, by increasing the injection speed the viscosity
can be reduced, thereby improving the filling of difficult
This difference in behaviour influences the screw and parts. Viscosities among particular grades of nylon resins
barrel design which is much more critical for semi- differ significantly, as shown in Fig. 3 and 4.
crystalline materials than for amorphous polymers.
Fig. 3 Dependence of melt viscosity upon temperature
1000
Table 1 Heat energy required for processing
Resin Heat of fusion Total heat
(kJ/kg) required (kJ/kg)
Polystyrene 160 372
DELRIN® 163 419 ZYTEL ST801
Viscosity in Pa·s (at 1000 s-1)

High density
polyethylene 242 721 ZYTEL 70G30
ZYTEL® 101 L 130 791
MINLON 13 MM
100

ZYTEL 101 L

10
265 275 285 295 305 315
Melt temperature in °C

4
Fig. 4 Dependence of melt viscosity upon shear rate at 290°C 2.3.5. Melt temperature and melting point
1000 Most ZYTEL® and MINLON® nylon resins are crystalline
ST801
70G43 materials and therefore have true melting points
490
70G30 instead of softening temperatures as found with
450 amorphous resins. Optimal melt temperature may
408
101L change slightly not only grade by grade, but from
Apparent viscosity (Pa·s)

application to application as well. This is another

reason why the temperatures listed in Part II are only
100
recommended melt temperatures indicating a range
of melt temperatures for each grade.
Generally, in order to achieve easy flow of the melt,
temperature is set as high as possible, but below the
point where material may start degrading for the given
processing conditions (see Section 2.5).
Low melt temperature can lead to undesirable effects
10 such as melt heterogeneity or self-nucleation.
100 1000 10000
Shear rate apparent (1/s)
2.4 Melt flow
Melt flow is a crucial parameter for moulding perfor-
2.3.3 Dependence of Melt Viscosity upon Moisture mance. In order to compare the melt flow of various
Since the viscosity of the melt coming out of the materials, one standard method of measurement called
injection unit is a concern, the chemical reactions that snake-flow or spiral-flow is generally accepted.
may occur in the barrel as a result of water moisture It measures flow-length versus pressure for a given
cannot be ignored. The moisture level of the resin material, section of the flow channel (round or
granules affects melt viscosity, as a result of hydrolysis rectangular) and mould temperature. Moisture of the
occurring during the injection moulding process (see resin must be taken into consideration (see Section 2.2)
Section 2.5). in order to arrive at the correct conclusion.
As a general rule, for all nylons the higher moisture For the DuPont nylon resins, the more modified the
content, the lower the melt viscosity (Fig. 5). resin, the shorter the flow length. Fig. 6 shows
the relative flow characteristics of ZYTEL® 66 resins.
The resins were moulded using standard conditions
Fig. 5 Influence of granule moisture content on viscosity of following the recommended setting for each resin.
ZYTEL® 101 at 295°C
1000

Fig. 6 Relative flow characteristics of ZYTEL® resins

Apparent viscosity (Pa.s)

1
Moisture content between 0,15 and 0,2 %
0,9
H2O = 0,07% Thickness: 2,5 mm
100 0,8
0,7
Relative flow

H2O = 0,20% 0,6

0,5
0,4
10
100 1000 10000 0,3
Apparent shear rate (s–1)
0,2
0,1
0
ZYTEL ST801

2.3.4 Relative viscosity (RV)

ZYTEL 101

ZYTEL 80G14

ZYTEL 79G13

ZYTEL 70G20

ZYTEL 70G30

ZYTEL 70G43

ZYTEL 70G60
ZYTEL 408

ZYTEL 450

ZYTEL 490

The relative viscosity is a (dimensionless) measurement

of the average molecular weight of the resin. The higher
the relative viscosity the higher the molecular weight of PA 66 unmodified Glass reinforced and impact modified

the polymer. Impact modified Glass reinforced

5
2.5 Melt stability Once the moisture content exceeds 0,25%, there will
Every moulder is concerned about the stability of the be a loss of properties in the moulded parts, particu-
resin with respect to degradation during moulding. larly with a decrease in toughness and elongation, poor
Degradation decreases the molecular weight and surface aspect and easy flashing.
therefore end-use properties. Degradation may occur
through one of the following: 2.5.2 Thermal degradation
• Hydrolysis resulting from resin with high moisture As with all plastics, DuPont nylon resins can be
content. thermally degraded. The thermal degradation will not
• Thermal degradation because of too long a be significant unless the hold-up time of the material
hold-up time (or the presence of hold-up spots) in the barrel is too long, or the melt temperature too
or excessively high cylinder temperatures. high. Under normal conditions, the rate of thermal
degradation is so low that it does not need to be
2.5.1 Hydrolysis considered.
Nylons are polycondensation products and therefore
If however, a very high melt temperature of 310° C
either condensation or hydrolysis may occur
were to be used, then the molecular weight of ZYTEL®
depending on pressure, moisture level, temperature
101 would be reduced by 6% after a 10 minute and
and time of exposure.
17% after a 30 minute hold-up time.
During the moulding process the molecular weight and The hold-up time (or barrel residence time) is the
consequently relative viscosity (RV) change, depen- average time taken for a granule to pass from the
ding on the above mentioned parameters. Fig. 7 shows hopper throat to the moment when it is injected into
that during the moulding process the very dry resin the mould. Nylons, like any plastic, can be degraded
undergoes polycondensation and increases in RV, during the moulding process. The degradation of the
whereas high moisture leads to hydrolysis and a polymer will affect the molecular weight and reduce
decrease in RV. The equilibrium moisture content is the properties, as explained above.
around 0,12% with a melt temperature of 295° C for
that particular resin. Degradation depends both on the melt temperature and
hold-up time (i.e. residential time of resin in the
Provided the water content of the granules is not above injection machine). The higher the melt temperature
about 0,20% by weight, the reaction speed of the the shorter the hold-up time that will lead to damaged
hydrolysis process and polycondensation are so low at material (see Fig. 8).
normal processing conditions, that the properties of the
moulded parts remain practically unaffected. Special attention should be provided to flame retardan-
ted, heat stabilised and other especially tailored grades
Fig. 7 Melt viscosity versus time and moisture with regards to optimum HUT.
for ZYTEL® 101
At shear rate 1000 s–1
150 Fig. 8 Effect of hold-up time on impact properties of toughened
nylons
ZYTEL 101L
Izod impact strength

1000
130 280°C
notched (J/m)

H2O = 0,1% 800

600
400 HUT limit
110 for 310°C for 280°C 310°C
Melt viscosity (Pa·s)

200 melt temp

5 10 15 20
90 Hold-up time (min)

70 2.6 Melt characterisation with instrumented moulds

H2O = 0,2%
A new diagnostic system using measurement of
pressures in the mould cavity during moulding allows
50
rapid evaluation of very small differences in resin
H2O = 0,3%
characteristics (flow and crystallisation behaviour) and
30
0 5 10 15 20 25
gives a better understanding of how various moulding
Hold-up time (min) parameters influence the quality of moulding.
6
For this method of analysing signals during the mould- A single pressure sensor close to the gate is usually
ing cycle, the electronic controller takes the readings sufficient to determine the crystallisation time (CT)
from one or two pressure transducers in the cavity and of the part (Fig. 9). If information about consistency
a computer measures the in-cavity pressure during of resin viscosity is needed, a second sensor is placed
each cycle, displays it graphically and analyses it. at the furthest point of melt flow, to allow calculation
of the pressure drop between the two during the filling
and the packing phase (Fig. 10).

Fig. 9 Cavity pressure measured during the filling and packing Fig. 10 Cavity pressure measured during the filling and packing
(1 sensor) (2 sensors)

In-cavity hold
Mould A Mould B
pressure Sensor 1

In-cavity pressure in MPa

In-cavity pressure in MPa

Single Pressure transducer 100 Two Pressure transducer

75 ZYTEL 70G30
ZYTEL 135 F
wall thickness: 2,0 mm wall thickness: 2,0 mm
80 dynamic
60 pressure Sensor 2

CT 6,0 s
dynamic drop
60

CT 5,27 s
CT 6,30 s

45 filling
time dynamic
filling
30 40 time hold pressure time
hold pressure time
15 20
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time, s Time, s

7
3. Material handling
3.1 Material Shipping
3.1.1 Physical Form of Resins
3.2.1 Storage
ZYTEL® nylon resins are solid granular materials,
• Nylon resin should be stored in dry area at a temp-
typically cylinder cut with nominal dimensions of
erature close to that of the operating area.
3 3 2,5 mm. Most compositions are available in
When the material is stored in a cold location, the
colours, either cube blended or fully compounded.
container must be allowed to come to the moulding
Some of the bulk properties, needed for proper sizing area temperature before opening it.
of equipment such as hoppers, rotary valves and the
feed zones of barrels are shown in Table 2. • Storage should allow a “first in/first out” inventory
The families based on Nylon 6, 6/66, 612 have a slight- policy. Even though the bags are protected against
ly lower bulk density (up to 5%). moisture by a special lamination, some pickup
could occur over time.

Table 2 Bulk properties

3.2.2 Procedure for handling virgin resin
Material Bulk density Angle of
Following the guidelines below will greatly eliminate
(kg/m3) Repose (deg.)
moulding difficulties that could result from excessive
Unmodified Nylon 66 720-800 < 45
moisture or contamination:
Impact modified Nylon 66 640-720 < 60
Glass reinforced Nylon 66 800-870 < 60 • To avoid condensation of ambient moisture on the
Super toughened Nylon 66 640-720 < 60 resin, make sure that the container of resin is kept
for a certain time at, or above the moulding area
temperature, before the container is opened.
Therefore, it is suggested that at least one day’s
The bulk density is the density of the material particles supply of containers is stocked in the moulding
including the voids between them. area.
The angle of repose characterises the ability of the pel- • No more than 1 hour’s supply of resin should be
lets to flow in feeders and in hoppers. Angles of repose placed in the hopper. Keep the hopper covered with
between about 0° and 45° indicate free flowing mate- a tight fitting lid.
rials. When angles get over about 50° the materials are
• To avoid absorption of moisture by the granules, do
non-free flowing or cohesive.
not expose unused moulding resin to the
atmosphere. Opened bags may be resealed with an
3.1.2 Packaging ordinary household iron or heated sealing pliers.
ZYTEL® nylon resins are available in 4 standard packag- All DuPont nylon resins are supplied dry and are ready
ing types: to be moulded directly from the shipping containers.
– 40 3 25 kg bags
– 1000 kg octabin 3.2.3 Handling rework
– 1000 kg octabin (with bottom unloading) As long as the procedures summarised below are
– Bulk shipments. followed closely, it is possible to grind up and re-use
Full details of these packaging types are given in the previously moulded resin of the same grade.
brochures: “Introduction to Engineering Polymers Depending on the proportion of regrind in the feed the
Packaging Materials” (H-51358) and “Silo Shipments” drop in mechanical properties could become signifi-
(H-38473). cant with reinforced ZYTEL® (see Fig. 11 and 12).
Recommended practice is to use only rework as it is
generated and to restrict the levels to a maximum of
3.2 Handling Nylon Resins 50% or preferably to 25% blended with virgin
When using nylon resins, the important requirement is material. The final properties of parts moulded using
to ensure that the resin is fed “dry” and “clean” into reground resin are more likely affected by the quality
the injection unit. of the regrind rather than by the percentage of regrind.
8
Fig. 11 Retention of mechanical properties vs number of passes • Keep the particle size of the reground material
(100% regrind) uniform. Fine particles rapidly absorb moisture
100
(because of the large surface-to-volume ratio) and
90 stick to the cylinder walls. Fine particles also
80 develop an electrostatic charge that attracts conta-
70 mination that can plug the filters on vacuum loaders.
Keep grinder blades sharpened and properly set
60
to minimise fines. Fines can be separated from the
%

50
reground material by vibrating screening units
40 equipped with 12 or 16 mesh screens.
30 • Clean grinders and regrind containers frequently.
20 3. Some material properties can vary depending on
10 the number of passes through the injection machine.
0 In order to maintain a constant level of properties
1st moulding 2nd moulding 3rd moulding 4th moulding 5th moulding
for the moulded parts, it is necessary therefore
Fibre length (vs virgin) Tensile strength (DAM)
• To maintain a constant proportion of virgin resin
Izod impact (DAM) Flexural modulus (DAM)
to reground material in the feed. Virgin resin and
reground material should be mixed prior to feeding.
Fig. 12 Retention of mechanical properties vs regrind portion
of feed • To avoid accumulation of rework, use it as it is
100 generated. The closed circuit separating, grinding
90 and converging system is ideal.
80 • Rework from glass reinforced nylons should ideally
70 be ground hot in order to minimise glass fibre
60 breakage.
%

50
Glass-fibre reinforced nylon resins show the highest
40
sensitivity to recycling. This is mostly due to the
30
breakage of fibres during the regrinding process.
20
To document the impact of multiple material re-use
10
on moulded part mechanical properties, 33% glass-
0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% reinforced ZYTEL® is shown in Fig. 11. This figure
Izod impact (DAM) Flexural modulus (DAM) shows the relationship between the number of passes
Tensile strength (DAM) of ZYTEL® through the injection machine and the drop
in mechanical properties. Loss of mechanical properties
To use regrind successfully, the following principles with 100% regrind is expressed as a percentage of
should be kept in mind: virgin material properties.

1. Regrind absorbs more moisture, and faster, than If the rework is handled in a closed circuit and mixed
virgin resin. Therefore: with virgin material according to the guidelines men-
• Protect the reground material from moisture. tioned above, the effect of regrind upon mechanical
Keep it in sealed moisture proof containers. properties of moulded parts is small.
• Sprues and runners should be reground, mixed and This is illustrated in Fig. 12 as property retention
used as soon as they are removed from the machine, of parts moulded from 30% glass-reinforced ZYTEL®
thus avoiding an extra drying operation. for several regrind ratios.
2. Regrind may contain significantly more contami-
nants than virgin material, and therefore 3.2.4 Disposal of material waste
• Do not use moulded parts and runners that are In following the guidelines of this manual, the amount
discoloured or splayed. These may be indications of processing waste and reject parts generated will
that the resin has been degraded. be minimised. However, during the production of
• Make sure reground material is free of contamination. moulded parts, a certain amount of non reusable waste
• Minimise the handling of sprues and runners. will still be generated. This waste should be disposed
Use lint-free gloves. of properly.
9
DuPont recommends as the preferred option incinera- DuPont nylon resins are supplied dry and are ready
tion with energy recovery. The incinerator has to be to be moulded directly from the shipping containers.
equipped with a state of the art scrubber in order to Under normal conditions the virgin resin can be used
clean the flue gases before release. directly from the original sealed containers.
ZYTEL® and MINLON® are not soluble in water and have
practically no additives which can be extracted by
water. Therefore ZYTEL® and MINLON® represent no
Fig. 13 Effect of RV and moisture content on the surface
known risk to human health or the environment when appearance of parts
land filled.
65
For any disposal local regulations have to be observed
Unfilled parts
which significantly can vary from locality to locality.

RVs of the resins

60
Polyamide is mentioned on the “green list” of the
Good Splays
European Regulation EEC 259/93, Annex II.
55
Thus, ZYTEL® and MINLON® are not restricted for inter-
European transport of waste destined for recovery.
Flash
50
0 0,05 0,1 0,15 0,2 0,25 0,3 0,35
3.3 Effect of moisture Moisture content of mineral reinforced nylons (%)

The moisture content of nylon moulding resins is

a particularly important parameter, and has a direct
effect on moulding, on mechanical properties, on the 3.4 Drying
viscosity of the melt and on the appearance of the
moulded parts. The required final water content is determined by the
moulding requirements and should be less than 0,2 %
All nylons are hygroscopic and absorb moisture from
and in certain cases less than 0,1%.
the atmosphere as illustrated earlier (Section 3.2.2).
• Water reacts chemically with polyamides at tempe- All nylons are hygroscopic and will absorb moisture
ratures above the melting point. This reaction from the atmosphere. So, if virgin nylon is kept in an
(hydrolysis) results in lower molecular weight open container for any appreciable length of time, or
and thus decreased the performance properties regrind material is used, additional drying is required.
of the mouldings (Section 2.5). The rate at which nylon can be dried depends on:
The rheological behaviour of the melt is then modified • The relative humidity of the drying atmosphere.
and may cause processing troubles in the form of easy The drying rate increases as the water content of the
flashing. Control of part dimensions can become drying air decreases.
difficult. • The drying temperature. Increasing the drying
• At the same time, absorbed water can form steam temperature increases the drying rate.
that results in splay marks and internal bubbles in Air temperatures in excess of 93° C for periods of
the moulded parts. time greater than three hours will result in unaccept-
• The moisture effect on molten nylons is aggravated able discolouration of the nylon. Compromises are
by prolonged exposure (long HUT) and/or high required between drying rate and temperature.
melt temperatures exceeding 315° C. This is due The recommended maximum temperature for dry-
to a decrease of molecular weight which is reflected ing DuPont nylon is 80° C.
in the relative viscosity. In such cases it is advisable • The surface-to-volume-ratio of the nylon.
to reduce the water content accordingly. The particle size is pre-set by the manufacturing
As an example, Fig. 13 shows the effect of moisture specifications and by the size of the regrinder
content and relative viscosity on the surface screens.
appearance of parts moulded from mineral
reinforced nylons. The water content of the nylon exposed to the atmos-
phere can be estimated from Fig. 14. The moisture
In general, the moisture content of the resin fed into content of ZYTEL® 66 nylon resins at various
the injection machine should be no greater than 0,2% relative humidities as a function of exposure time
(by weight), as specified for each grade. is represented.
10
Fig. 14 Moisture absorption of virgin ZYTEL® nylon (granules) 3.5 Colouring
1,2 A range of cube-blended standard colours is available
for certain nylons. The freedom of design is even
greater in that almost any colouring system can be
absorbed by virgin ZYTEL 66 nylons

1,0
100% R.H used: dry pigment, paste, liquid colour or dyes.
Weight per cent moisture

75% R.H But such systems can also lead to variations in

0,8
properties and/or performance.
When ordering liquid masterbatch or dry pigments,
0,6
special attention should be given to these aspects ;
50% R.H
• The dry pigments or liquid masterbatch used have
0,4
to be chemically compatible with nylon resins
and must have good thermal stability above the
0,2 processing temperature of the resin.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Exposure time (h) to humid air at 23°C • Pigments usually affect the crystallisation rate and
consequently the shrinkage. Additionally the carrier
DuPont recommends that a dryer for nylon resins must of liquid colours has an effect on moulding.
work with dehumidified air (dehumidifying hopper/ • The carrier can be considered as a surface lubricant,
oven) or an oxygen-free environment (vacuum oven). which may, theoretically, cause screw slippage
The latter is difficult to use in an automatic continuous leading to filling problems.
process. Resin can only be dried in batches which fit • The key issue when moulding with colouring
the capacity of the oven. techniques is to ensure a homogeneous dispersion
The rough estimate of the time necessary to dry the and mixing of the pigment in the polymer matrix.
resin is indicated in Fig. 15. The values for glass
reinforced, mineral filled or impact modified nylon When using a colouring technique, the following
may be longer. points should be carefully observed:
Fig. 15 Drying data for virgin MINLON® and ZYTEL® nylon (granules) • Use of reasonable ratio between polymer and
(dehumidified oven at 80°C) masterbatch
10
9 • Use of mixing head or high-compression screws.
8
7 • Use of screw retraction stroke less than 30% of the
6 maximum screw retraction of the machine.
5

2
Per cent moisture

Dew point –19°C

1,0
0,9
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5

0,4

0,3
Important note
0,2 DuPont cannot give any guarantee for the performance
and properties of moulded parts when DuPont manu-
factured nylon resins are mixed with other products
0,1 like liquid pigments or colourants.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Time (h)

11
3.6 Quality Control Toughness
The quality of a moulded part of nylon is a reflection Since ZYTEL® nylons are often specified because of
of the quality of the resin used and the moulding pro- their toughness, Izod impact strength is closely
cedures employed. If acceptable moulding conditions, controlled on the “as shipped” resin. Excessive
mould design and quality resin are used, part quality moisture during moulding degrades the molecular
will be satisfactory. If either resin or moulding proce- weight and reduces toughness.
dures are deficient, part quality could be unacceptable.
Usually, part quality problems can be classified into 3.6.2 Specifications on Moulded Parts
three general areas: toughness, appearance and dimen- In injection moulding certain visual observations and
sions. See section 8 for a discussion of dimensions. laboratory results can be used to determine the quality
of a part. These are discussed below.
3.6.1 Resin Specifications
All ZYTEL® resins are monitored and carefully con- Appearance
trolled for uniform quality. This quality will be The moulding operator can detect flash, burn marks,
preserved if the shipping containers remain intact dur- etc., by visually inspecting the moulded parts.
ing transit or storage. If the container or seal is broken, Usually these problems can be corrected by changing
the resin will absorb moisture which will affect its moulding conditions or revising the mould. For many
quality. resins, contamination, voids and sinks can best be
All additives such as colour stabilizers and UV stabi- detected by illumination from a standard lamp such as
lizers, lubricants and colourants are controlled to give “Illuminant” C or by transmitted light. In some cases,
consistency of performance both in moulding and in microscopic examination (10 to 100X magnification)
end-use. can be used to inspect small but important details of
the moulding (voids, crystallinity and contamination).
Moisture Content Some of the more common problems that affect the
appearance and toughness of moulded nylon parts are :
ZYTEL® nylon resins are supplied in moisture proof
packaging, so that drying should not normally be • Colour – Rating may be done with respect to both
necessary. However, nylon resins are hygroscopic and the actual shade and the uniformity of colour
absorb moisture on exposure to the atmosphere. throughout the part. Discoloured parts should be
If excessive moisture absorption has occurred, then the discarded and not reground.
resin must be dried at 80° C to less than 0,2% moisture • Splay – Although major amounts of splay are usually
content before processing. observed at the machine, small amounts may
Excessive moisture not only affects the flow of the go undetected until subjected to closer visual
resin but also reduces toughness as well as producing examination.
other common flaws (See Section 3.3). The observation of small amounts of splay may also
give clues to moulding machine trends that will lead
Solution Viscosity to large amounts of splay. Usually splay is caused by
The solution viscosity (relative viscosity [RV], viscosity excessive moisture or heat.
number [VN] or inherent viscosity [IV]) of a resin is a • Flash – Visual examination is the simplest way to
measure of the molecular weight, which in turn controls check for flash
toughness and mouldability. ZYTEL® nylons are manu-
• Burn Marks – These marks may be detected at the
factured with a good molecular weight balance between
machine. They result from poor venting.
flow in the machine and part toughness.
• Short Shots – Gross short shots are easily detected
Since excessive moisture and heat can cause a loss of
at the machine. However, small depressions can be
molecular weight and hence a loss of toughness, care
caused by incomplete fill.
must be exercised to protect this property. For resins
that are soluble in common nylon solvents, the solution • Weld Lines – The presence of visual weld lines
viscosity can be measured. For resins that have been constitutes a cosmetic defect and may also result
modified with insoluble additives (glass, minerals, in reduced part strength.
tougheners, etc.) other means such as melt viscosity • Contamination – Surface contamination can often
must be employed to evaluate molecular weight. be detected at the machine.
12
 Internal contamination within thin section parts can Pass-or-Fail Impact Tests
often be found by viewing with a strong light. The results from these tests are difficult to quantify.
For small amounts of contamination, microscopic In most cases, a large number of individual tests must
examination can be used. be conducted before a trend can be discerned.
• Finish – The accuracy of reproduction of the mould Frequently a criterion is chosen where 50% of all
surface as well as the existence of unwanted samples pass a given height (or weight) and the other
scratches can be detected by visual examination. 50% fail. The corresponding height or weight is a
• Unmelted Particles – These can often be seen by measure of the toughness.
careful visual inspection of the part. They appear as Izod impact, dart impact or instrumented impact tests
discrete particles of different shade. all fall into this category. In some cases the actual test
• Voids – In thin sections, voids can be detected by parameters are specified (see ISO 180/1U and 1A for
viewing the moulded part through a powerful light Izod impact) and in others the conditions are chosen
beam. Microscopic examination of sliced sections of arbitrarily.
the parts also can be used to detect small voids. In establishing a test programme, several factors must
be specified and controlled.
Toughness • Sample Orientation and Geometry – The impact dart
The toughness of parts moulded in ZYTEL® nylon can must apply the same load to the same location every
be estimated by relative viscosity, pass-or-fail tests, time.
destructive testing techniques and end-use tests. • Sample Temperature – Must be constant and con-
In any of these tests water content must be specified trolled. This is particularly important at test tempera-
since the toughness of moulded nylon parts is influ- tures other than room temperature. Any unusual tem-
enced by moisture. perature variation will influence the result.
Cold temperature impact tests are especially difficult
Relative Viscosity (RV) and Viscosity Number (VN) to control.
The potential level of toughness of nylon is roughly • Sample Moisture Content –- The moisture content in
proportional to its molecular weight. The relative vis- each part influences its behaviour in an impact test.
cosity, which is a measure of the molecular weight, Moisture content must be kept constant for each
can be determined as described in ASTM Procedure sample and preferably should be measured.
D789. The viscosity number, which is also a measure
of molecular weight, can be determined according to End-Use tests
ISO 307. Since these tests depend upon the samples These tests should be representative of the end-use
dissolving in formic- or sulphuric acid their usefulness application of the part. Care must be taken to make
is limited to unmodified nylons such as ZYTEL® E101 L sure that meaningful conditions are employed.
and E103 HSL. An acceptable RV or VN is necessary These conditions should simulate and not exceed
but not sufficient to ensure toughness of a given part. the design stress level; otherwise, good parts may
Uneven molecular degradation throughout the part, be rejected.
contamination and stress risers reduce toughness but
will not necessarily be detected by measurement of
relative viscosity.

13
4. The injection moulding machine
DuPont nylon resins have been successfully moulded Quite often this value can be misleading since the
in many types of moulding machines. Since most plastifying rate is usually based on the moulding
nylon is moulded on screw machines, this section is machine operating almost as an extruder.
devoted only to that type.
In a moulding machine, as opposed to an extruder, the
polymer is melted in an intermittent manner and thus
4.1 Machine requirements its effective plastifying or melting rate is considerably
Today, single reciprocating screw machines are lower than that which is usually defined.
recognised as being the most efficient equipment for The effective melting rate is determined by the
injection moulding. following factors:
Almost all current models of reciprocating screw 1. Overall cycle
machines can be used to process DuPont nylon if the
recommendations below are followed. 2. Shot weight
Moulding machines are usually characterised by the 3. Cylinder capacity
three basic factors; clamping force, shot capacity and
4. Screw design
plastifying or melting rate.
5. No hold-up spots
• Clamping Force. In accordance with the sugges-
tions for injection pressure in this report, we recom- 6. Screw speed
mend that machines for processing DuPont nylon 7. Heater band power
have roughly 0,7 tons of clamping force per cm 2 of
projected shot area. 8. Type of resin – structure (amorphous, crystalline),
density, melting point, softening point, etc.
• Shot Capacity. Shot size is equal to the volume
(weight) of molten resin injected by the screw 9. Form of granules
during the cycle. The melt densities of ZYTEL® 10. Percentage of regrind.
un-reinforced nylons are approximately equal to
the melt density of polystyrene (the standard used
for specifying moulding machines) at normal Since nylon undergoes a physical change of state and
processing temperatures and pressures. volume (PVT diagram, Fig. 1) during the process
Therefore, the maximum shot weight for ZYTEL® of plastification, additional consideration must be
un-reinforced nylons will be approximately equal to given to the selection of equipment and conditions for
the nameplate or specified polystyrene shot weight. processing.
For short cycle time and good melt homogeneity, the The benefit of all these precautions and careful
actual retraction stroke should be between 1 and 2 D machine selection could be lost if the problem of hold-
when using a L/D screw ratio of 20 D. Although it is up spots is not carefully considered.
possible to mould parts outside of the specified range,
The injection system should be capable of injecting the
moulding outside those limits should be done
nylon at melt pressures up to 140 MPa (20 000 psi).
cautiously because it may cause a too long hold-up
Accurate and reproducible control of the injection
time or inadequate melt capacity.
pressure is essential to maintaining tolerance of
When purchasing a machine, the supplier usually gives moulded dimensions and other quality characteristics.
the purchaser the choice of equipping the machine with
one of three different cylinder capacities. This selection
will, of course, determine the screw diameter and 4.2 Machine design
the maximum effective injection pressure on the resin.
In this section several basic guidelines leading to the
• Plastifying or Melting Rate. The plastifying or correct choice of the injection machine are summarised.
melting rate is the maximum rate at which an It is advisable to follow the instructions pointed out
injection machine will steadily melt polymer under under “Wear” when considering long-term moulding
a given set of conditions: screw speed, overall of nylon that contains glass fibres or mineral
cycle and barrel temperature (profile). reinforcement.

14
4.2.1 The Hopper throat Fig. 17 Hopper throat cooling
Too often the hopper throat temperature and cooling
system of the hopper are neglected or considered
unimportant or only as a means of avoiding “bridging”
on the screw. Actually, this is the first area where the
resin comes into contact with the moulding machine
and it is here the awareness of quality becomes
important.
The hopper throat should be well designed so as to
avoid any possible hold-up spots (see Fig. 16) where
the resin, fines, pigments, lubricants or other additives
may be retained. Even if the hopper temperatures are A) Bad design
low, the quality of the material can be effected by
stagnating in those areas. For example, material or
aggregates may fall in batches, thus causing
inconsistency in the shot size or screw retraction time.
This will affect the MELT QUALITY.

Fig. 16 Bad hopper throat design

Hold-up spot
B) Recommended design

4.2.2 Barrel
Several zone heating controls of the barrel (correspon-
ding to the screw’s functional zones) are necessary for
close temperature control. In all cases, the temperature
of the nozzle tip should be independently and precisely
controlled by a thermocouple. Barrel length of 20
diameters is required for uniform melt temperature at
high outputs.
Hopper throat cooling is very often badly located in an Wear. Bi-metallic barrel liners have shown outstanding
area where cooling efficiency is poor (see Fig. 17). resistance to wear from glass fibres. Nitrided barrel
The result is that hopper throat temperatures can reach surfaces on the other hand, do not withstand abrasion by
high values (above 100° C). For this reason granules in glass fibre reinforced nylons and often exhibit
the lower hopper throat area may begin to soften and spalling (surface flaking) and excessive diametral wear
become sticky when reaching the screw. They will after short term use.
aggregate, or stick to the screw, and so give shot-to-
shot consistency problems, screw retraction-time
variations, and will directly affect MELT QUALITY.
Also, a too low hopper throat temperature may cause
the humidity contained in the atmosphere to condense,
resulting in moulding problems, such as hydrolysis,
melt foaming or splay.

15
4.2.3 Screw Design
Melt quality is achieved only through good homogene- Crystalline polymers have a sharp drop of viscosity at
ous plastification of the resin. The rate at which a screw the melting point. To generate the required shearing heat,
can deliver a quality melt depends on its design, on the it will be necessary to have more friction and therefore
thermal and rheological behaviour of the polymer and on shallower and longer metering sections (Fig. 19 below).
processing parameters.
For these reasons, and to achieve the best melt quality at
In an injection unit, the energy necessary to reach the the highest output, screw design should be appropriate.
processing temperature of a resin is provided by Nevertheless, the general-purpose screws that are
conduction of heat from the cylinder and by the heat supplied with most injection moulding machines are
generated by the screw shearing the polymer. usually suitable for moulding DuPont nylon resins at low
(recovery) output rates*. At high output rates, however,
The conduction heat is limited by the thermal conduc-
a screw specifically designed for moulding ZYTEL®
tivity of the polymer which is poor. The shearing heat
nylons will provide greater uniformity of melt tempera-
is mainly dependant on the viscosity of the resin and
ture and freedom from unmelted particles.
on the shearing rate (back pressure and screw speed).
Amorphous resins which have a gradual change in The recommended screw design for high output rates
viscosity with temperature and usually have a higher is given in Fig. 18.
viscosity at processing temperature requiring less * N.B. “Low Output Rates” means no more than 2-3 D for the screw
shearing and deeper screws (Fig. 19 – top). retraction stroke.

Fig. 18 Suggested screw design for unreinforced ZYTEL®

Injection unit guidelines for 20L/D screw

Screw diameter mm 30 50 70
Compression ratio 2,8 – 3 3 – 3,2 3 – 3,2
Metering depth mm 1,95 2,10

Screw rotation speed rpm 250 150 110

Screw tangential speed m/s 0,4
Back pressure MPa *
Optimum stroke vs
1 to 2 screw diameters
screw diameter
Hold Up Time maximum capacity cycle time (s)
min * 2 *
(rough estimation) stroke 60
Screw retraction rate g/s 20 – 25
Cycle time s HPT + SRT + opening + ejection + clamping

HPT: Hold Pressure Time SRT: Screw Retraction Time * Minimum for consistent feeding. Typically 5 to 10 MPa in front of the backflow valve

Fig. 19 Comparison of screw design

General purpose srew

15% 30% 55% (Mostly for amorphous polymers)

T t<T Screw for crystalline

25% 30% 45% polymers

16
Wear. Abrasive wear of injection screws occurs 4.2.5 Nozzle
primarily on the lands and edges of the screw flights. Heated, open nozzles (see Fig. 21) are recommended
In time, the root diameter will wear somewhat in the for use in moulding all DuPont nylon resins. Because
transition and metering zones. (Wear in the feed zone of the higher melt viscosity of glass-reinforced nylons,
is usually the result of too low rear zone temperature the nozzle bore diameter should be about 25% larger
for the output involved.) than used for un-reinforced nylons.
Flight lands may be hard surfaced with an alloy such as The temperature control and heating location are very
“Stellite” to give better wear resistance than flame important in order to avoid either undue material
hardened or ordinary nitrided screws. Thus, “Stellite” degradation or cold slugs.
surfaced flights are recommended for screws used in
continuous moulding of glass-reinforced resins.
Hard chrome plating of the screw is also recommended. Fig. 21 Recommended open nozzles
(It is even possible to apply abrasion resistant coatings
to the entire surface of the screw for ultimate wear Heater Band Thermocouple well
protection.)

4.2.4 Back-Flow Valve

Valves with a check-ring (non-return valve) are neces-
sary for moulding DuPont nylon resins, to ensure
When no suck back can be used
constant cavity pressure and weight uniformity from
Heater Band
shot to shot. The back-flow valve (Fig. 20) must be
carefully designed to close tolerances in order to
prevent flow restrictions and should be perfectly
streamlined to avoid any possible hold-up spots.
The appropriate wear resistant steels must be specified.

Usually recommended Thermocouple well

Fig. 20 Back flow valve

1 2 3
4.2.6 Nozzle Shut-off Valve
Use of a shut-off nozzle invariably leads to a build-up
of contamination. As the plunger abrades against the
wall of the nozzle, it leaves areas for hold-up spots.
If decomposition occurs at these hold-up spots, pressure
can only be released through the rear of the screw,
leading to blow-backs.

Fig. 22 Open nozzle adapter

Wear. The back flow valve is the assembly most
affected by wear in the injection unit. Sliding type
back-flow valves undergo rapid and appreciable wear
when used with glass-reinforced resins especially
when not properly hardened. Even when hard surfaced,
these valves wear and need close checking. Prior to
that, worn seats and ring sleeves need replacing since
it is important to maintain a pad (cushion) during
injection of melt. Good results have been obtained
with high chrome loaded tough steels.
17
4.2.7 Eliminating Hold-Up Spots 4.3 Maintenance and safety precautions
The basis of the design of the injection machine, which Once the correct equipment is used in the right way,
includes the heating cylinder and the sections through nylon materials do not require the operator to make
which the melt flows (back-flow valve, head of the any extra checks of the injection machine.
screw, adapter and nozzle), should be to obtain a Attention should, however, be given to checking the
stream-lined flow. Of special importance is the ring assembly wear when moulding nylons containing
elimination of all possible or potential hold-up spots glass-fibre.
such as:
The injection cylinder should have a guard to prevent
a) The mating surfaces between the adapter and the burns to personnel.
cylinder and between the adapter and the nozzle.
b) The check-valve, or shut-off valve on the screw
head, where the mating surfaces do not meet at a
point where cylindrical machining can ensure the
absence of crevices and/or hold-up spots.
Experience has shown that whenever such defects
are present there are contamination and black spots
problems.
c) Shut-off nozzle which leads to a build-up of
contamination especially with glass reinforced
nylons and to a high risk of injuries.
An optimum design is illustrated in Fig. 22
(recommended open nozzle, adapter, back-flow valve
assembly). Here, the mating surfaces are located at
cylindrical joints and an open nozzle is used.

18
5. Mould design
5.1 Mould Material 5.2.2 Runners
In general, wear in the cavity, sprue and runners is not Balanced vs. Unbalanced Runner Systems.
as critical as for gates. As the melt flows through the In balanced runner systems, flow distances from the
runners and the cavities, a thin frozen skin of resin is sprue to the various cavities are equal. Balanced
formed that reduces wear. In areas where high flow runner systems give the greatest uniformity of flow
and shear rates occur, local wear will be created since from the sprue to each cavity, which promotes tight
the protective frozen skin may fracture (particularly part tolerances if runners and gates are properly sized.
with reinforced resins). Runners and connections between them should be
generously radiused for smooth and uniform melt flow,
Premature flashing of the cavity will lead to high wear.
and should have no restrictions (Fig. 23).
It is important for reinforced resins to have a well sup-
ported mould (to avoid any possible bending) and suffi-
cient clamping force on the machine to avoid flashing.
Cavities must be well vented to avoid corrosion
from entrapped gases at weld points (Diesel effect). Fig. 23 Pin point gate design

The gate area is subject to wear especially when thin

gates are used, i.e. pin-point or submarine, and should
be checked periodically for erosion which can lead to
undesirable projections and faulty sub-sprue ejection.

5.2 The runner systems

Key guidelines to follow when designing a runner
system include the following:
D1 2°
• Plan a layout to transmit pressure uniformly to all D = T + 1mm
d = 0,5-0,6 T
cavities. D1>D
0,8 mm max.

• Make large enough for adequate flow, minimum D

pressure drop, minimum shear (especially gates for
reinforced nylons) and sufficient to allow holding
pressure during the whole crystallisation process
T
(Fig. 23).
• Keep size and length to the minimum consistent d
with minimum cycle time.

5.2.1 Sprues
When possible, round runners are recommended.
Sprues should be as short as possible and well pol-
A round runner has the minimum surface area per unit
ished, with their outlets blended into the runners via
volume, thereby giving the lowest pressure and heat
smoothly radiused surfaces. The entry into the sprue
loss. The minimum diameter of a round runner is
bush should be 1 to 3 mm larger in diameter than the
usually about 3 mm, or roughly 1,5 times the thickness
exit from the machine nozzle. The sprue bush should
of the component. Thicker ones should be used for
be tapered with an included angle of 1° to 5°.
thick parts and thinner ones might be used for thin
Sprues should be large enough to prevent premature parts. The most accurate way to determine runner size
melt freezing or poor flow. It is important to design the is to calculate the anticipated pressure drop and size
sprue puller carefully to avoid sprue sticking. the runner accordingly.
For this reason the sprue bush must be carefully cleaned When trapezoidal runners are used, the slope of the
out with no sharp undercuts. The puller has to be long sides should be 5° per side, while the depth should be
but thin enough to be frozen when the cycle is finished. determined by the diameter of an inscribed circle.
19
 Fig. 24a Tunnel or submarine gate for reinforced nylon Fig. 25 Different types of gate

a ≈ 0.5 ... 0,7 • t 25 ±

5°
a min = 0,8 mm ≈1 ≈1
0
a max = 2,5 mm

°
t Diaphragm

Fan

ø t + 0,5
øa

4°

Pin
Diaphragm

Fig. 24b Tunnel or submarine gate for unreinforced nylon

25°
a ≈ 0.5 ... 0,7 • t 5°
10
a min = 0,5 mm °

a max = 2,5 mm t

Sprue / Direct Ring

t + 0,5
a

5.2.3 Gates
All types of gates have been used successfully with Rectangular edge
DuPont nylon resins. The location, size and number
of gates are important considerations. In Fig. 24a and
Fig. 24b tunnel- or submarine gate designs are given.
Other types of gate are illustrated in Fig. 25.

Estimating Gate Dimensions.

Generally, gate thickness should be 45% to 75% of the
part thickness. For rectangular gates, the gate thickness
Film
should be 65% of the part thickness, the gate width
should be one to two times the gate thickness and the
gate land should be no more than 1 mm.
For tunnel or submarine gates the minimum recom-
mended diameter is 0,7 mm, however it should never
exceed 2,5 mm. The design of a long tunnel gate is
critical and the typical “amorphous design” must be
Gates that are too small will usually increase shrinkage
avoided.
and warpage, and increase the risk of fibre breakage
(see Fig. 11: Retention of mechanical properties vs.
For glass reinforced nylons, tunnel and pin gates fibre length). Pin gate diameters larger than 2,0 mm
can be used provided the gate diameter is greater than should be avoided because of their too high resistance
0,7 mm. to breakage during the ejection phase.

20
Gate position. When there are large differences in the 5.3 Venting
thickness of the part, it is best to make the entry point Inadequate mould venting can cause the following
at the thicker section in order to simplify filling and to problems:
minimise sinks and voids.
• Poor weld line strength.
To minimise surface defects and jetting, the flow from
the gate should impinge against the wall of the cavity • Discolouration (burning) of the nylon.
or a core pin. However, gates should not be positioned • Erosion or corrosion of the mould.
so that the incoming melt stream is directed against the
• Dimensional variation on the moulded part.
core that is not registered in both mould halves.
• Short shots.
Location of the gate will determine the position of the
weld lines and consequently of the vents (see Sec- Both cavities and runners should be vented at the
tion 5.3 Venting). parting line as recommended on Fig. 27.
For glass-reinforced nylons, gate location is extremely
critical to minimise part distortion after moulding and Fig. 27 Vent geometries for nylon resins
control end-use properties, as the fibres tend to orient Vent land End of flow
Vent channel

in the direction of melt flow (see Fig. 26).

Fig. 26 Effect of gate location and flow orientation on mechanical

properties

140
120
Tensile strength (MPa)

100
80
60
40
20
0
Unreinforced 13% glass reinf. 30% glass reinf.
66 nylon 66 nylon 66 nylon
Weld line Transverse Flow
L ≤ 0,8 mm

Relationship between polymer orientation, weld line

and tensile strength Cavity side W > 2 mm

Gate

0,012 mm < Depth (d) < 0,018 mm

T bar Mould edge

Insert

The area of the vent must be large enough (W 3 d)

W bar to prevent a rise of gas pressure in the mould cavity.
The vent length should not exceed 1 mm. The area
F bar
of the escape passage leading from the vent should
increase in proportion to its distance from the cavity
Weld line
edge. It helps to reduce the “Venturi effect”, and
Test bars cut from plaque therefore mould deposit.

21
5.4 Undercuts and Tapers When dimensioning the channel, the mould designer
The following are general suggestions for ejecting needs to meet two opposing goals:
undercuts with nylon resins: • The channel must be large enough to ensure the
coolant throughput rate is sufficient for the heat
• The undercut should be rounded and well filleted
removal required.
to enable easy slippage of the plastic part over the
metal. • The channel must be small enough to ensure
turbulent flow, as the heat transfer coefficient is far
• If deformation of the undercut is evident, the mould- better in turbulent flow conditions.
ing parameters should be adjusted to minimise the
effect. Frequently, higher mould temperatures or 5.6 Hot Runner Moulds
shorter cycles can be useful in stripping internal
There are a lot of commercially available hot runner
undercuts while longer cycles and higher shrinkage
systems on the market. Suppliers offer a wide range
could aid the stripping of external undercuts.
of designs. This allows the choice of the right system
for the application and the raw material.
Because of the low elongation of glass-reinforced
nylons, undercuts greater than 3% should be avoided. The processing window and behaviour in terms of
A taper (draft) of 1⁄4 to 1° on ribs, bosses, sides and solidification are very different between amorphous
sprues should be sufficient. and semi-crystalline materials. Special attention has
to be given to this point. A careful selection of the hot
runner system is always required, in particular for flame
retardant grades.

5.5 Thermal regulation circuit of the mould The main guidelines for hot runner selection and design
requirements for ZYTEL®/ MINLON® are given in this
As a result of the high influence of mould temperature
chapter.
on crystallisation quality – and mechanical properties
– with crystalline resins, the regulation circuit should
Thermal insulation
be designed carefully to provide the best homogeneous
wall temperature. Due to the narrow processing window in terms of melt
temperature for nylon, a very well designed thermal
Moulds operated without any cooling ultimately reach insulation between hot runner and mould is needed.
an equilibrium temperature, as the heat added to the This is to avoid big temperature differences within the
mould by the molten polymer equals the heat lost by system. See examples in Fig. 28 and 29 shown for nylon
radiation, conduction and convection. The mould 6.6 types.
temperature at the optimum moulding cycle will be
a compromise between a hot mould for ease of filling Manifold
and surface quality and a cold mould for rapid solidifi-
For a careful treatment of the melt, uniform temperature
cation and ejection of the part. Ideally, the mould-
distribution is essential. The following principles must
cooling channels should be located in those areas that
be considered for the manifold:
require the most heat transfer. These channels should
not be closer to the cavity wall than 1 channel diameter. • Low pressure drop
Only manifolds with full diameter for the flow are
For uniform mould temperature, the temperature recommended (Fig. 30).
difference between the entering and exiting coolant
Internally heated systems with a ring flow are not
(water, oil, etc.) should be as small as possible
recommended.
(5° C maximum). The flow rate of coolant through
the channels should be high enough that small • A flow path without dead ends is recommended
fluctuations in flow rate will not alter the mould (Fig. 31).
temperature. For high tolerance moulding, the cavities • Naturally balanced nozzle arrangements are
should be cooled in a parallel arrangement which recommended (Fig. 32). This ensures a uniform
makes each cavity temperature more uniform than in pressure drop and the same dwell time to each
a series configuration. injection point.

22
Fig. 28 Temperature in the hot runner area for PA 6.6 Fig. 31 Flow path design

Poor

Melt temp. in manifold

290°–310°C

Better Best

Nozzle temperature
max 310°C

Mould surface Temperature at the

temperature 80°C nozzle gate
min 265°C

Fig. 32 Nozzle arrangement for multiple cavity mould

Poor Good
Fig. 29 Effects of thermal insolation on the temperature profile
in the nozzle
Poor Good
large contact area good thermal insulation
= wide temp. differ. = flat temperature profile
nozzle length

nozzle length

Nozzles
∆T

The main points for good results are low pressure drop
∆T

and very well designed temperature distribution with

a thermocouple control in the gate area.
Best solution:
380
340
300
260

340
300
260

Temp (°C) Temp (°C)

Externally heated open nozzles with a full free flow
channel must be used whenever possible (Fig. 33).

Fig. 30 Cross section for flow and heating of manifold Fig. 33 System for recommended nozzles

Good Poor Heater well distributed

( Ringflow only ) ( preferably embedded )
Heater Changeable

Temperature control

These can be used for applications with cold sub-

runners (Fig. 34).

23
Fig. 34 Cold sub-runner with externally heated nozzle • Apart from the very high cost, they cause a big
pressure drop due to the ring flow. The flow path
cannot be well designed. With reinforced products
functional problems can occur in the sealing
systems.
• A nozzle / needle combination with large cross
sectional area for flow should be used. Hydraulic-
ally operated units are recommended, a system with
a spring is not recommended.
Temperature control
A separate temperature control circuit for the manifold
and each nozzle with fully closed loop control is
recommended (Fig. 36). The best results are obtained
with automatic temperature controllers with PID
response. They permit a minimum variation round the
setpoint temperature.
In particular, materials with fibre or mineral
reinforcement should preferably be processed in this Fig. 36 Temperature control for each nozzle and the manifold
way. A hole opposite the gate will catch any cold plug
from the nozzle.
For direct injection, these nozzles can be used with a
modification in the gate area (small torpedo) to avoid
the formation of “threads”.
Less preferable:
• Nozzles which divide the flow in two or more small
flows. 1 2 3 4 5
• Nozzles with hold-up spots in the front zone.
Controller
• Internally heated systems with only a ring flow.
If these types have to be used for direct injection to get
a very small injection point, a bushing as thermal Cooling channels in hot runner moulds
insulation is very important (Fig. 35).
The use of separate heating/cooling channels in the hot
runner nozzle area is advantageous (Fig. 37).
Fig. 35 Internally heated hot runner nozzle The temperature conditions in the hot runner area are
then more easily achieved without affecting the overall
Restricted Poor mould temperature.
use only

Fig. 37 Separate heating/cooling channels in hot runner area

No! direct
mounting of
Use bush
torpedo
for thermal
isolation

Big gap needed Separate

cooling
channels

Usage of needle type nozzles is always a compromise.

When they are used to get a very good suface quality
in the gate area the following has to be kept in mind:
24
6. Moulding conditions Fig. 39 Effect of rear zone temperature on average fibre length
and properties (for reinforced 66 nylon)
6.1 Melt Temperature
100
The melt temperature is taken directly from the molten
98
polymer (using a needle pyrometer) and should be
96
checked periodically during a moulding run to ensure

Retention of properties (%)

that it does not exceed the recommended limits. 94

Typical melt temperatures for DuPont nylons are 92

shown in PART II. 90

88
6.2 Cylinder Temperature Profile
86
The temperature of the melt and its homogeneity in an
84
injection screw machine is determined by the cylinder
82
temperature settings, the screw design and the hold-up
time. Independent temperature control of the three zones 80
290 275 260
of the cylinder should be provided. The temperature Rear zone temperature °C
of the nozzle must be independently controlled too. Fibre length Tensile strength (DAM)
Izod impact (DAM) Flexural modulus (DAM)
In figure 38 the cylinder temperature profile to reach
the recommended melt termperature as function of
the stroke is given. The design of screw, machine and A rear temperature setting of 290° C is suggested as a
cylinders varies and therefore it is not possible to minimum for glass-reinforced 66 nylons. Excessive rear
specify a temperature profile that will be applicable zone temperature may result in premature melting of the
in all cases. polymer and bridging problems, thus leading to erratic
Fig. 38 Cylinder temperature profile for a constant melt feed.
temperature
When moulding glass-reinforced nylons, high rear
Use of cylinder cylinder temperatures should be used to:
°C
20
80% stroke • Improve screw recovery rates
(decreasing)
15 • Reduce damage to glass fibres
10
• Reduce potential wear problems resulting from
Recommended 5
melt 0
50% stroke
(flat)
abrasion between un-melted particles, the screw
temperature
–5 and/or barrel.
–10
• Reduce torque loads on the screw, thus reducing
–15 20% stroke
–20 (increasing) screw stalling or damage at fast cycles.
Hopper

6.3 Nozzle temperature

FRONT ZONE CENTRE ZONE REAR ZONE
The nozzle should act merely as a melt conveying pipe
and must not affect the temperature of the melt.
The hopper zone temperature is important and must be The nozzle temperature should be adjusted to prevent
kept, with a well located cooling system, between freeze-off or drool. For optimum performance, the
70 and 90° C in order to avoid bridging or overheated nozzle should be controlled independently at a point
resin. (see Fig. 16 and 17). near the orifice.
With glass-reinforced nylons, the cylinder temperature To prevent drooling, the use of a few millimetres of
profile can reduce fibre length in the moulded part, espe- decompression only is recommended when using a
cially when the control setting of the rear zone is too low. standard open nozzle as in Fig. 21. A second heater for
In addition, the screw retraction time increases while a longer nozzle, also independently controlled and kept
high torque loads are observed. As illustrated in Fig. 39, at the lowest temperature possible, may be necessary.
decreasing the critical rear zone temperature lowers the When using a long nozzle it is advisable to use one
average glass fibre length, and thus tensile strength Izod heater at the front to control the freezing/drooling, and
and flexural modulus also decrease, although the most a second heating system independently controlled that
significant drop is seen in impact properties. must be kept at the lowest temperature possible.
25
6.4 Injection speed (rate) and injection pressure Fig. 41 Flow characteristics vs pressure for ZYTEL® 101 at 65°C
mould temperature
All modern injection moulding machines give the
120
injection pressure required to achieve the fill rate
or injection speed setting. 2,5 mm
100
The optimum fill rate for a part depends on the geome-
try of the part, the size of the gate and the melt tempe- 80
rature. When moulding thin section parts, high injec-

Flow (cm)
tion rates are usually required to fill the part before the 60
resin freezes. When moulding thick section parts or
parts with relatively small gates, it is sometimes desir- 40
1,0 mm
able to use a slow injection rate to delay freezing of
the gate and thereby allow packing of the part for the 20

longest possible time.

0
Surface gloss will be more uniform if the injection rate 30 50 70 90 110 130 150
Pressure (MPa)
is fast enough to allow the cavity to be filled before the
nylon begins to solidify.
Because glass-reinforced or otherwise nucleated nylon
resins freeze more rapidly than un-reinforced nylons, Fig. 42 Flow characteristics vs pressure for several ZYTEL® grades
fast fill rates (injection speed) are necessary. 120

Nevertheless, too high a shear rate at the gate may ZYTEL 101 (Mould 100°C)
110
affect properties. Fig. 40 gives guidelines for un-
ZYTEL 101 (Mould 65°C)
reinforced nylon grades. Note that a poor surface 100
Flow lenght (cm) for 2,5 mm thickness

finish (frosting) usually results from premature

90
solidification due to a too slow fill rate, and can
frequently be mistaken for either poor glass fibre 80
dispersion or wet resin (splay).
70

Fig. 40 Maximum fill rate vs round gate diameter for unreinforced 60 ZYTEL ST801 (mould 65°C)
nylon 66
1000
50 ZYTEL 70G30 (mould 100°C)
Maximum cavity rate in g/s

40

100 ZYTEL 42 (mould 65°C)

30

20
20 40 60 80 100 120 140
10 MPa

Excessive pressure just before the part is full can

result in a highly stressed area near the gate and lead
1
0,6 0,8 1 1,2 1,4 1,6 1,8 2 2,2 2,4 2,6 2,8 3 3,2 to reduced performance of the part in use.
Round gate diameter in mm
It is often desirable to use a two-stage filling cycle :
• Initially injecting at high speed to fill the part at
Melt viscosity increases with the glass content.
the desired rate, and then
For this reason the injection pressure necessary for
glass-reinforced nylon resins will be higher than • Filling with a reduced speed to avoid burning at
those for un-reinforced nylons. Pressures in the the end of the flow
range of 75 to 100 MPa are usually required. • Set the change-over point from the dynamic injec-
The effect of injection pressure on the flow of several tion phase to the static holding pressure phase
nylon grades in the 1,0 and 2,5 mm snake flow (V/P or switch point) as late as possible, but not
configurations is shown in Figs. 41 and 42. after the mould is completely full.
26
6.4.1 Dynamic Pressure Drop (DPD) Due to the crystalline character of nylons, the highest
When the mould is equipped with pressure transducers, possible holding pressure is applied in order to
a change in melt viscosity resulting in a change of the diminish the mould shrinkage, usually around 90 MPa.
pressure needed to fill the cavity can be detected. A variation of 10 MPa will result in about 0,1%
variation in shrinkage.
Two pressure transducers are needed for this purpose,
as calculation is based on the dynamic pressure drop – It is essential that only one pressure setting is used on
the pressure at the first sensor when the melt reaches the machine for the whole of the HPT. If not, then the
the second as Fig. 10 shows. moulded part could show non-uniform crystallinity,
resulting in lower mechanical properties.
For example, a change in relative viscosity of the resin
or in the moisture content can indirectly be measured Fig. 44 illustrates the influence of the Hold Pressure
through the DPD measurement. on the shrinkage of ZYTEL® 101 L.

Relative viscosity is a reliable measure of average Fig. 44 Shrinkage as a function of hold pressure for a part 3 mm
molecular weight, and is determined routinely in the thick and a mould temperature of 70°C
laboratory. It is a useful guide to impact strength and 2

correlates with melt viscosity. ZYTEL 101 L

Shrinkage %
1,8
Hydrolysis and polycondensation reactions occur
during processing and bring about changes in the
molecular weight and melt viscosity, and thus in DPD. 1,6

The cross effects are difficult to control, since mois-

ture, melt temperature and hold-up time all affect 1,4
the reactions. Fig. 43 shows the relationship between
DPD, RV and moisture content for nylon 66. 1,2

Fig. 43 Dynamic Pressure Drop vs moisture content and RV

of granules 1
40 50 60 70 80 90
40 Hold pressure in MPa
ZYTEL 101L
38 wall thickness 2,0 mm
flow length 280 mm.
36
Dynamic Pressure Drop (MPa)

6.5.2 The Hold Pressure Time (HPT)

34

32
The mould shrinkage of nylons depends on the holding
pressure (HP) but also on the time the pressure is
30
maintained on the molten resin in the cavity. This is
28
called the Hold Pressure Time (HPT). To obtain parts
26 with a good appearance, good mechanical properties,
24 dimensional stability and no distortion, it is essential
22 to have a sufficient Hold Pressure (HP) and a sufficient
20
HPT to allow a high rate of crystallisation at constant
51 50 49 48 47 46
pressure. It must be emphasised, however, that the HPT
RV
Moisture 0,08 0,15 0,22 (% weight) is only effective with parts that have adequate gate
dimensions. The gate should freeze off at the same
time the part has completely crystallised and not
6.5 Hold Pressure and Hold Pressure Time (HPT)
before. The HPT depends on the part thickness and
6.5.1 The Hold Pressure to a lesser extent on the mould temperature.
As with all thermoplastic materials, the mould shrink-
age of nylons depends mostly on the holding pressure An excellent method for establishing the correct HPT
and on the time the pressure is maintained on the molten with standard moulding conditions for any part is to
resin in the cavity. The holding pressure is applied to weigh the part at different values of HPT. A typical graph
the resin during the crystallisation process in order to of such measurements is shown in Fig. 45.
compensate the volume change and then limit the shrink-
age of the part (see Section 2.1 Material structure).
27
Fig. 45 Shrinkage and part weight as a function of HPT for Fig. 46 Crystallisation time for several nylon grades
ZYTEL® 101 L (for a part of 3 mm thickness) 9
2,4 100
t
igh 8
We 99
2,2
Sh

98 7
rin
ka
ge

2 97
6

Part weight % vs max.

Crystallisation time (s)

96
Shrinkage %

1,8 5
95

1,6 4
94

93 3
1,4

92 2
1,2
91
1
1 90
0 5 10 15 20 25
Hold Pressure Time in s 0
Standard Nucleated Reinforced
ZYTEL 101 L ZYTEL 135 F ZYTEL 70G30
During the trial the total cycle time should be kept con- Part 2 mm thickness, moulded at typical mould temperature with
stant to maintain a constant melt temperature. The cor- a hold pressure of 85 MPa. The melt temperature is 290°C
rect HPT is achieved when the part weight first reaches
the maximum. Also shown in Fig. 45, is the fact that the
shrinkage reaches a minimum at the correct HPT. For glass-reinforced nylons the Screw Rotation Speed
(RPM) should be low. A maximum of 0,15 m/sec
Typical HPT are listed for resins moulded at standard peripheral screw speed is suggested in order to mini-
conditions in Part II. mise glass fibre breakage, and to avoid excessive wear
With a single sensor, the crystallisation time is deter- of the screw or the barrel.
mined by analysing in-cavity pressure in the area close The effect of excessive peripheral speed for glass
to the gate. This is done within a single moulding cycle, reinforced resins is illustrated in Fig. 47.
by analysing the pressure curve changes during the
holding pressure phase.
The system determines the rate of crystallisation of the
Fig. 47 Effect of screw speed on impact properties
resin under fixed moulding conditions – the crystalli-
100
sation can vary with the melt temperature or with the
mould temperature. The presence in the melt of crystal-
95
lisation nuclei such as pigments or regrind influences
the rate of crystallisation, which can be measured.
90
Crystallisation time of several nylon resins measured
Retention of impact resistance

using this method are shown in Fig. 46. 85

80
6.6 Screw rotation speed and back pressure
Energy input from the screw should constitute about 75
80% of the energy to raise the temperature to a
uniform value (heater bands contribute a minor 70

amount). Therefore the design and operational charac-

teristics of the screw should also be considered. 65

For un-reinforced nylons, the suggested maximum 60

peripheral speed is 0,4 m/s. 0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4
Peripheral screw speed in m/s

28
The graph of Fig. 48 can be used to find the maximum 6.8 Mould temperature
screw rotation speed (RPM) as a function of the screw It has been seen that since nylon is a semi-crystalline
diameter and of the peripheral speed. material, it has a relatively high mould shrinkage when
compared with amorphous materials. In general, the
Fig. 48 Screw speed vs. screw diameter
cooling rate influences the degree of crystallisation,
400
375 0,4
and therefore the shrinkage.
350
325
The cooling rate in injection moulding is mainly deter-
300 mined by the part thickness and the mould temperature.
275
Revolution per min.

250 At low temperature, the cooling rate is high, resulting

225
m/s
in a lower degree of crystallinity than for high mould
200 0,2
175
temperatures. Therefore, mould shrinkage increases
0,15 with mould temperature, as shown in Fig. 49.
150
125
0,1
100
Fig. 49 Shrinkage as a function of mould temperature for a part
75
0,05 3 mm thick and a pressure of 90 MPa
50
25 2
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 ZYTEL 101 L
Screw diameter mm
Shrinkage % 1,8

Increasing the screw speed when using a low compres-

1,6
sion general-purpose screw often results in a decrease
in melt temperature. Screws with deep and short
metering sections may pump un-melted particles at 1,4

high screw speeds.

1,2
Little back pressure should be used. The effect of back
pressure is to produce additional screw working which
1
can cause fibre breakage with reduction in physical 40 50 60 70 80 90
Mould temperature in °C
properties of the moulded part. Increasing back pressure
increases the work done by the screw on the molten
polymer. This could incrementally increase melt tempe- Fig. 50 Shrinkage as function of part thickness, for a mould
rature and uniformity. Where melt quality is marginal, temperature of 70°C and a hold pressure of 90 MPa
higher back pressure may reduce un-melted particles, 2,4

but it will not substantially increase melt quality. ZYTEL 101 L

Increasing back pressure also increases recovery time. 2,2

The lowest possible back pressure consistent

with good melt quality is recommended during the 2

moulding of DuPont nylon resins.

Shrinkage %

1,8
6.7 Decompression
Normally only melt decompression, is required in 1,6
order to avoid leakage of material from the nozzle.
The use of decompression helps to prevent nozzle 1,4
drool from hot-runner tools and to stop vent discharge
in vented cylinders.
1,2
Use of excessive decompression can cause air to be
sucked in through the nozzle. This can result in oxida- 1
2 4 6 8
tion of material which will be seen as areas of dis- Part thickness in mm
colouration in the moulding. Another consequence
could also be the injection of a cold slug in the next
shot leading to surface defect, to part weakness and
inconsistant weight.
29
For thick parts, the cooling rate is much slower than Glass-reinforced nylon resins can be moulded over a
for thin ones because of the low thermal conductivity wide range of mould temperatures. However, for best
of thermoplastics. Thus, thin parts have a lower degree part surface appearance, the mould should be hot
of crystallinity. Therefore, mould shrinkage increases (usually 100° C to 120° C). High mould temperatures
with part thickness, as shown in Fig. 50. require oil heaters or pressurised water temperature
controllers, but will significantly improve surface
At the optimum mould temperature, as listed for every
finish, mould filling, and reduce surface blemishes
grade in Part II the optimum degree of crystallisation
(frosting).
can be reached.
Also, parts moulded at high temperatures have a low
post-moulding shrinkage and good dimensional 6.9 Cooling Time
stability. Parts moulded at low temperatures, however, Because of the crystalline characteristics of nylon
have a high post-moulding shrinkage which sometimes resins, there is no need to cool the part once the
gives rise to severe internal stresses. These can often crystallisation process is over (after HPT). The part
cause premature failure of moulded parts. is stiff enough to be ejected.
Sometimes a cold mould is used to improve toughness.
However, the benefits gained from this are marginal 6.10 Mould Release
since moisture absorption in itself improves the
The lubricant present in ZYTEL® and MINLON® nylon
toughness of moulded parts. If the cold mould causes
resins is normally adequate for part ejectability even
internal stresses, then nothing has been gained. Also a
in difficult cavities such as for helical gears.
cold mould leads to considerable post-moulding crystal-
lisation and shrinkage, so it is best to avoid its use.

30
7. Moulding machine operation
7.1 Start-Up 7.2 Cycle interruption
Machines, containing thermally sensitive resins like In case of a short moulding interruption the following
acetal, PVC or resins with higher processing procedure is recommended in order to avoid degrada-
temperatures than nylons, should be purged with high tion of the polymer.
density polyethylene (HDPE) or polystyrene (PS). 1. Retract the injection unit.
Large machines previously moulding ABS or 2. Reduce the cylinder temperature settings and adjust
polycarbonate may require a special purging the melt temperature to 30° C below the recommen-
procedure, for example: ded melt temperature.
• Purge with HDPE (preferably extrusion grades) 3. During the interruption take frequent air shots from
• Purge with glass reinforced ZYTEL® the barrel to purge the degrading resin.
• Purge with acrylic If the interruption is likely to be extended, purging
• Purge with HDPE with HDPE or polystyrene is recommended.
During the final HDPE purge, the cylinder temperature
should be set as for the particular type of nylon. 7.3 Shut Down
The machine should be shut down with polystyrene,
This is common start-up procedure: or polyethylene, which cuts the time required for sub-
a) Check that the hopper feed slide is closed. sequent start-up and reduces problems of contamina-
b) Set the cylinder temperature to 10° C below the tion. The following shut down procedure is suggested.
minimum moulding temperature and set the nozzle a) Shut the hopper feed slide while continuing to
to operating temperature. Allow heat to “soak in” mould on cycle. Don’t shut down the cylinder and
for at least 20 min. Raise cylinder temperatures to nozzle heaters.
their operating temperatures. b) Empty the hopper; add a quantity of polystyrene or
c) Check to see if the nozzle is at the correct polyethylene; extrude until the screw pumps itself dry.
temperature.
c) Leave the screw in its forward position.
d) Jog the screw, if it will not rotate, allow a longer
d) Shut down the power supply to the cylinder heater
soak time for the cylinder temperature.
bands.
e) When the screw begins to rotate, open the feed slide
briefly and then close it. Check the load on the
screw drive. If it is excessive, increase the rear zone 7.4 Purging
temperature. The nozzle must be “open” at this time. Common purging materials that effectively remove
f) Open the feed slide and keep the screw in the for- nylons are polystyrene, cast acrylic (the nozzle must be
ward position. Extrude melt and increase the front removed during purging), and high density polyethylene
zone temperature if un-melted particles are seen. (or glass-reinforced PE, followed by HDPE).
Glass-reinforced nylons can be purged effectively at
g) Adjust the stroke to approximate shot weight; take
temperature using the following procedure:
several air shots at the approximate overall cycle.
Purge on cycle for 10 minutes and then check the a) Retract screw injection unit from sprue bushing and
melt temperature with a needle pyrometer. keep the screw in the forward position.
Make any adjustments in the cylinder temperatures b) Run the screw at high RPM and pump out as much
necessary to obtain the recommended melt tempe- of the material as possible. Add and extrude purge
rature. (This procedure should be repeated when a compound until it comes out clean.
significant cycle change occurs.) Cylinder temperatures may have to be adjusted
h) Bring the injection cylinder forward. Start at low depending on purge material used.
injection fill pressure and speed (except where short c) It is good practice to “shoot” several air shots at
shots will interfere with part ejection) and adjust a fast injection rate to scrub walls of cylinder before
the moulding variables for best part appearance switching to another resin. Care should be employed
(maximum shot weight). A fast fill will usually be to avoid possible splatter of molten resin when this
required. is done.
31
8. Moulding and post-moulding
dimensional considerations
Changes in the dimensions of moulded parts occur 3. Mould design:
during the moulding and can occur after moulding and • Part thickness (Fig. 50, 51 and 52)
during their service life. Sometimes these changes are
• Gate design and its location.
induced or accelerated. In any case, the dimensional
stability of the parts is affected by the following: For glass-reinforced nylons, the fibre orientation
produces less shrinkage in the flow direction than in
• Shrinkage
the transverse direction as shown in Fig. 51 and 52.
• Water absorption
• Post mould shrinkage Fig. 51 Restrained shrinkage* vs. thickness of ZYTEL® 70G35
• Annealing 2,2
2,0
In order to better control the process of water absorp- X Flow
1,8
tion and post-mould shrinkage, the technological 1,6
step of water conditioning and annealing is often 1,4
ZYTEL 101 L

recommended. 1,2
1,0
0,8
0,6
8.1 Mould shrinkage 0,4
// Flow
0,2
Once the part drops out of the injection machine and
0
has cooled to room temperature, its dimensions are 2 3 3,2 4 5 6
Thickness in mm
generally smaller than cavity dimensions and the
* Hold pressure 75 MPa, optimum HPT, mould temperature 90°C and melt temperature
difference stated in per cent is commonly understood 295°C
as mould shrinkage.
The shrinkage however differs considerably with
variety of the moulded part shapes. Therefore, in order
Fig. 52 Free shrinkage* vs. thickness of ZYTEL® 70G35
to be able to compare the resins, the mould shrinkage
2,2
has been defined. It is the shrinkage of a frontally 2,0
X Flow

gated rectangular rod (127 3 12,7 3 3,2 mm), dry as 1,8

moulded at 23° C. Mould shrinkage is mentioned for 1,6
particular grades in PART II. 1,4
1,2
Mould shrinkage depends on the type of nylon being 1,0
processed, moulding conditions and mould design. 0,8
The most critical parameters in each category are: 0,6
0,4
// Flow
0,2
1. Type of resin: 0
2 3 4 5 6
• Percentage of glass fibre in the composition Thickness in mm
* Hold pressure 75 MPa, optimum HPT, mould temperature 90°C and melt temperature
• Presence of a nucleant 295°C

• Pigments

2. Moulding conditions: For this reason, it is more practical to use a plate mould
• Mould temperature (Fig. 49) to differentiate the shrinkage in the flow direction from
• Melt temperature the shrinkage across the flow. Because parts are compo-
sed of both free and blocked shrinkage configurations,
• Injection and holding pressure (Fig. 44) a comparison of restrained shrinkage and free shrinkage
• Hold Pressure Time (Fig. 45) is shown in the figure 53.
32
Fig. 53 Free vs. restrained shrinkage The equilibrium of water absorption of DuPont nylon
depends on the type used, as seen from Table 3.
27 mm The toughened grades have an equilibrium level
slightly lower due to the insensitivity of the toughener
125 mm Gate
to water.
Free shrinkage

60 mm
Table 3 Water absorption of nylons in air and water
Polyamides Absorption
in water at 20° C in air at 50%RH/23° C
23 mm

6 8,5% 2,8%
66 7,5% 2,5%
6/66 7,5% 2,5%
Restrained shrinkage 6/12 3,0% 1,3%
6/10 3,0% 1,2%
Amorph. 5,8% 2,8%

Shrinkage values given in Fig. 51 and 52 are intended

as approximate guides for estimating mould shrinkage
in the specified directions. Because of the isotropy The time needed to reach the equilibrium state
of the shrinkage and the influence of the above men- depends on the wall thickness, moisture content and
tioned factors, it is recommended to use prototype temperature.
moulds to obtain more accurate dimensional data for Fig. 55 Shows the water absorption of un-reinforced
complicated precision parts. ZYTEL® based on nylon 66 versus time under different
environmental conditions for different part thicknesses.
8.2 Effect of Water absorption on dimensions The moisture absorption time of a 1 mm disk
Freshly moulded parts in nylon resins usually have for un-reinforced ZYTEL® 101 and 135F are shown
a relatively low water content. A soon as they are in Fig. 56. The dimensional changes due to the
ejected, they begin to slowly absorb moisture from the water absorption can be accelerated by moisture
environment until an equilibrium condition is reached. conditioning.
This condition depends both on the relative humidity
and the nylon type. The absorption of water results in
an increase of part dimensions as shown in Fig. 54. Fig. 55 Moisture contents as a function of time for moulded parts
10

1,5 mm 3,2 mm

Fig. 54 Dimensional change as a function of moisture 8

content for ZYTEL® 101
6,35 mm
Moisture content (%)

3
6

2,5
4
1,5 mm
Dimensionnal change (%)

2 3,2 mm

2
6,35 mm
1,5
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Time (days)
1
immersed in water at 23°C 50% relative humidity, 23°C
at 50% RH

0,5

0 2,5 5 7,5 10
Moisture content (%)

33
Fig. 56 Moisture absorption of 1 mm disk vs time 8.4 Warpage
1,4 Warpage of parts using glass-reinforced nylon resins
is caused by non-uniform shrinkage (anisotropic
101F
1,2 shrinkage) that may be due to :
Flow/fibre orientation: Due to fibre orientation, the
1,0
135F difference of shrinkage between the flow direction in
which fibre restricts normal resin shrinkage and the
Humidity (%)

0,8
transverse direction (where shrinkage values are
similar to un-reinforced nylon), will result in an ani-
0,6 sotropic shrinkage which can induce warpage of the
part on cooling. Mould shrinkages as shown in Fig. 51
0,4 and 52 are always lower in the flow direction and
nearly the same as for un-reinforced nylons in the
0,2 transverse direction. Therefore, any condition that can
create a random distribution of the glass fibres will
0 20 40 60 80 100
reduce the warpage, i.e. abrupt change in flow
Exposure time (hours) at 50% RH directions, impinge melt on cores, multiple gating, etc.
Part Wall Thickness: Whenever possible, parts should
be designed with a uniform wall thickness. Thick parts
should always be cored out in order to minimise
shrinkage. Complicated shapes must be able to shrink
For the moisture conditioning of parts which are to be
without restraint; ribs on projections as well as
used in normal atmospheric conditions (50% R.H.,
coring of thick sections should always be considered
23° C), it is advisable to condition them to approxi-
to minimise local deformation.
mately 3% water content (by weight). The excess
surface moisture will evaporate rapidly. The remaining Mould Design: Centre gating of round parts and full
moisture will eventually become evenly distributed edge gating of thin rectangular or square shapes (less
and approximately 2,5% of the water content will be than 1,5 mm thick) is recommended. For long flow
retained. parts, the gate should be located to impinge melt flow
on to a core of a wall. Use larger gates (approximately
Moisture-conditioning procedures are discussed
50% larger, but not thicker) than for un-reinforced
in detail in the “Design handbook for nylon resins”.
nylons. In many situations, cube blending to lower glass
loading (if possible from an end-use/design standpoint)
will reduce warpage tendencies.
8.3 Post-Moulding Shrinkage and Annealing In extremely difficult warpage cases, consult your local
Like other semi-crystalline polymers, parts moulded DuPont representative.
in DuPont nylon undergo post-moulding shrinkage. Non-uniformity of mould temperature, local over-
This is basically because of an increase in the degree heating of cores, or absence of water channel in an
of crystallinity which occurs over a long period of area of the cavity can lead to differences in crystalli-
time. Thin sections show more post-moulding shrin- sation rates and consequently to non uniform
kage than thick sections. Parallel to shrinkage, water shrinkage.
absorption causes expansion. Thus the final part
dimension are determined by a combination of both
factors. 8.5 Tolerance Field of Mouldings
The tolerances achievable are determined by the
In a well-moulded part of moderate wall thickness,
material, part design and the constant processing
expansion by water absorption dominates the shrin-
parameters.
kage from increasing crystallinity. On the other hand,
in a part moulded at too a low mould temperature, Experience has proven that given favourable part
or with thin sections, the shrinkage from post- design, correct gate location and a stable and optimum
crystallisation will be higher than the swell due to processing conditions, the following tolerances can be
water absorption. achieved with un-reinforced nylons (Fig. 57).
34
Fig. 57 A guide to tolerances of nylon resins as moulded Tolerance for parts moulded in glass-reinforced nylons
0,35 vary according to the complexity and wall thickness of
0,30 the design. Although mould shrinkage of glass-
0,25 GRZ reinforced nylons is significantly lower than for un-
0,20
reinforced nylons, predicting dimensional uniformity
± mm

Z 101 (commercial) Z 101 (Fine) (see Section 8.1) can be more difficult. This will
0,15
depend to a large degree on the glass fibre orientation
0,10
in the part and to the moulding conditions.
0,05 For dimension 150 to 300 for each additional mm add :
Fine ±0,05 and Comm. ±0,08 Moulded tolerances in glass-reinforced nylon tend to
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 be a compromise between commercial tolerances and
Nominal dimension in mm
fine tolerances specified by the Society of the Plastics
These tolerances do not include allowance for ageing characteristics of the material. Industry for un-reinforced nylon.
Tolerances based on 3,0 mm wall thickness.

35
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Start
with
DuPont
®

10/96 ® DuPont registered trademark

H-53792 Printed in Switzerland Engineering Polymers
 Moulding Manual TRZ 30 – Part II

Nylon Resins

Processing data
for MINLON and ZYTEL resins
® ®

Start
with DuPont
Engineering Polymers ® DuPont registered trademark
2

Processing data for ZYTEL®

Screw tang.
Shrinkage

Hold pressure

Max. process
Max. hold-up
Solid density

Melt density

time <3 mm
measured

Flow front
at 0 MPa

moisture
pressure
speed

Campus
Processing Cavity on test bars

Dec. 94
speed

Back

paral.

trans.
temperature Surface temp. Hold pressure Drying

time
Rec. Rec. Max. Min. Rec. Max. at Time
Grade Material Remarks g/cm3 g/cm3 °C °C m/s mm/s MPa MPa MPa LMH s/mm min. % % % °C h Y/N

E101 L PA66 L 1,14 0.95 295 70 0,4 300 50 85 100 L 4,0 15 1,2 1,2 0,2 80 2-4 Y
101 F PA66 L 1,14 0,95 295 70 0,4 300 50 85 100 L 4,0 15 1,4 1,4 0,2 80 2-4 Y
EFE1150 PA66 L 1,14 290 70 0,4 50 85 100 L 4,0 15 1,4 1,4 0,2 80 2-4 N
E103 HSL PA66 HL 1,14 0,95 290 70 0,4 300 50 85 100 L 4,0 15 1,2 1,3 0,2 80 2-4 Y
105 F BK-10 PA66 L 1,15 290 70 0,4 300 50 85 100 L 4,0 15 1,5 0,2 80 2-4 Y
122 L PA66 L 1,14 290 70 0,4 300 50 85 100 L 4,0 15 1,4 0,2 80 2-4 Y
135 F PA66 L 1,15 1,02 290 70 0,4 300 50 85 100 L 3,5 15 0,7 1,5 0,2 80 2-4 Y
7300 PA6 L 1,13 270 70 0,4 150 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 0,8 0,2 80 2-4 Y
EFE1152 PA66 L 1,14 290 70 0,4 300 50 85 100 L 4,0 15 0,8 1,5 0,2 80 2-4 N
EFE1151 PA66 L 1,14 290 70 0,4 300 50 85 100 L 3,5 15 1,1 1,4 0,2 80 2-4 Y
7335 F PA6 L 1,13 270 70 0,4 150 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 0,6 0,2 80 2-4 Y
151 L PA6/12 L 1,06 250 70 0,3 300 50 85 100 L 15 1,3 0,2 80 2-4 Y
153 HSL PA6/12 HL 1,06 250 70 0,3 300 50 85 100 L 15 1,3 0,2 80 2-4 Y
114 L BK-97 PA66 T 1,12 0,94 290 70 0,3 50 85 100 L 4,5 15 1,5 0,2 80 2-4 Y
408 PA66 T 1,09 0,95 290 70 0,3 150 50 85 100 L 4,5 10 1,5 1,6 0,2 80 2-4 Y
450 PA66 T 1,08 0,92 285 70 0,3 300 50 85 100 L 4,5 10 1,7 0,2 80 2-4 Y
490 PA66 T 1,09 0,92 285 70 0,3 300 50 85 100 L 4,5 10 1,5 1,5 0,2 80 2-4 Y
7300 T PA6 T 1,10 275 70 0,3 150 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 1,0 1,0 0,2 80 2-4 N
ST801 PA66 ST 1,08 0,92 285 70 0,3 150 50 85 100 L 3,0 10 1,5 1,5 0,2 80 2-4 Y
ST7301 PA6 ST 1,07 250 70 0,3 150 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 2,1 2,2 0,2 80 2-4 N
70G20 HSL PA66 G20 H L 1,29 1,12 295 110 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,5 1,2 0,2 80 2-4 Y
70G25 HSL PA6 G25 H L 1,33 295 110 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,35 1,07 0,2 80 2-4 Y
70G30 HSL PA66 G30 H L 1,37 1,20 295 110 0,15 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,3 1,1 0,2 80 2-4 Y
70G33 GRA PA66 G33 1,45 295 110 0,15 150 85 L 2,5 15 0,2 80 2-4 N
70G30 PSR PA66 G30 295 110 0,15 150 85 L 2,5 15 0,2 80 2-4 N
70G35 HSL PA66 G35 H L 1,47 1,27 295 110 0,15 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,4 1,10 0,2 80 2-4 Y
70G35 HSL
PA66 G35 H L 1,41 295 110 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,4 1 0,2 80 2-4 N
A4 BK-267
 Processing data for ZYTEL® (continued)

Screw tang.
Shrinkage

Hold pressure

Max. process
Max. hold-up
Solid density

Melt density

time <3 mm
measured

Flow front
at 0 MPa

moisture
pressure
speed

Campus
Processing Cavity on test bars

Dec. 94
speed

Back

paral.

trans.
temperature Surface temp. Hold pressure Drying

time
Rec. Rec. Max. Min. Rec. Max. at Time
Grade Material Remarks g/cm3 g/cm3 °C °C m/s mm/s MPa MPa MPa LMH s/mm min. % % % °C h Y/N

70G43 L PA66 G43 L 1,49 1,28 295 110 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,3 0,8 0,2 80 2-4 Y
70G50 HSL PA66 G50 H L 1,57 295 110 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,3 0,7 0,2 80 2-4 Y
70G60 PA66 G60 1,7 300 110 0,15 Fast 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,4 0,6 0,2 80 2-4 N
73G15 PA6 G15 1,23 270 85 0,3 300 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 0,3 1,1 0,2 80 2-4 Y
73G20 PA6 G20 1,27 270 85 0,3 300 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 0,25 1,1 0,2 80 2-4 Y
73G25 PA6 G25 1,31 270 85 0,3 300 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 0,20 1,0 0,2 80 2-4 Y
73G30 PA6 G30 1,36 270 85 0,3 300 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 0,20 1,0 0,2 80 2-4 Y
73G30 W PA6 G30 270 85 0,3 300 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 0,20 1,0 0,2 80 2-4 N
73G35 PA6 G35 1,42 270 85 0,3 300 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 0,18 1,0 0,2 80 2-4 Y
73G40 PA6 G40 1,46 270 85 0,3 300 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 0,17 0,2 80 2-4 N
73G45 PA6 G45 1,51 270 85 0,3 300 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 0,15 0,9 0,2 80 2-4 Y
73G50 PA6 G50 1,56 270 85 0,3 300 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 0,10 0,9 0,2 80 2-4 Y
70G30 HSLR PA66 G30 H L 1,37 295 110 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,40 1,1 0,2 80 2-4 N
70G35 HSLX PA66 G35 H L 1,41 295 110 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,40 1,0 0,2 80 2-4 N
70GB40 HSL PA66 GB40 H L 1,46 295 110 0,15 Fast 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 1,2 1,2 0,2 80 2-4 Y
72G15 L PA66/61 G15 L 1,23 280 90 0,15 300 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,30 0,2 80 2-4 N
72G30 L PA66/61 G30 L 1,37 280 90 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,20 0,2 80 2-4 N
74G20 HSL PA66/62 G20 L 1,30 290 90 0,30 300 50 85 100 L 2,5 10 0,30 0,2 80 2-4 N
74G30 L PA66/62 G30 L 1,40 290 90 0,30 300 50 85 100 L 2,5 10 0,18 0,2 80 2-4 N
74G30 W PA66/62 G30 290 90 0,30 300 50 85 100 L 2,5 10 0,2 80 2-4 N
77G33 L PA6/12 GS33 L 1,32 250 80 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,2 0,9 0,2 80 2-4 Y
77G43 L PA6/12 G43 L 1,46 250 80 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,1 0,8 0,2 80 2-4 N
79G13 PA66 G13 T L 1,21 295 60 0,30 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,5 1,2 0,2 80 2-4 Y
80G14 PA66 G14 T 1,25 295 70 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 10 0,6 1,2 0,2 80 2-4 Y
80G25 PA66 G25 T 1,26 295 70 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 10 0,35 0,2 80 2-4 N
80G33 HS1L PA66 G33 T H L 1,34 295 70 0,15 150 50 85 100 M 2,5 12 0,3 1,1 0,2 80 2-4 Y
80G43 HS1L PA66 G43 ST H 295 70 0,15 150 50 85 100 M 2,5 10 0,2 80 2-4 N
73G15 T PA6 G15 T 1,19 270 85 0,30 300 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 0,3 0,9 0,2 80 2-4 N
73G30 T PA6 G30 T 1,34 270 85 0,30 300 50 85 100 L 3,0 15 0,2 1,0 0,2 80 2-4 Y
FR7200 V0F PA66/61 FR 1,18 280 70 150 50 85 100 L 3,0 10 0,2 80 2-4 N
FR70G25 V0 PA66 G25 1,49 280 110 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 10 0,4 0,8 0,2 80 2-4 N
1 2
Copolymer Blend
3
4

Processing data for ZYTEL® (continued)

Screw tang.
Shrinkage

Hold pressure

Max. process
Max. hold-up
Solid density

Melt density

time <3 mm
measured

Flow front
at 0 MPa

moisture
pressure
speed

Campus
Processing Cavity on test bars

Dec. 94
speed

Back

paral.

trans.
temperature Surface temp. Hold pressure Drying

time
Rec. Rec. Max. Min. Rec. Max. at Time
Grade Material Remarks g/cm3 g/cm3 °C °C m/s mm/s MPa MPa MPa LMH s/mm min. % % % °C h Y/N

FR70M30 V0 PA66 M30 V0 1,62 270 90 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 10 0,9 0,2 80 2-4 Y
FR72G25 V0 PA66/6 FR G25 1,18 270 90 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 10 0,6 1 0,2 80 2-4 Y
FR72G25 V1 PA66/6 FR G25 1,44 270 110 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 10 0,2 80 2-4 Y
E40 PA66 HV 1,14 290 70 0,30 150 50 85 100 L 4,0 15 1,8 2,2 0,15 80 2-4 N
E41 HS PA66 HV 1,14 290 70 0,30 150 50 85 100 L 4,0 15 0,15 80 2-4 N
E42A PA66 HV 1,14 290 70 0,30 150 50 85 100 L 4,0 15 0,15 80 2-4 N
E50 PA66 HV 1,14 290 70 0,30 150 50 85 100 L 4,0 15 1,9 2,2 0,15 80 2-4 Y
E51 HS PA66 HV 1,14 290 70 0,30 150 50 85 100 L 4,0 15 1,9 2,2 0,15 80 2-4 N
E53 PA66 UHV Extr. 1,14 290 70 0,30 150 50 85 100 L 4,0 15 1,9 2,2 0,15 80 2-4 N
158 PA6/12 HV 1,06 250 70 0,30 300 50 85 100 L 15 1,1 0,2 80 2-4 Y
330 PA6I/6T Amorph. 1,18 300 85 0,20 150 L 10 0,5 0,5 0,1 80 6-10 N
FN 714 PA66 fl. alloy 1,02 285 60 0,30 50 85 100 L 4,0 10 0,15 80 4 N
FN 718 PA66 fl. alloy 1,03 285 60 0,30 50 85 100 L 4,0 10 0,15 80 4 N
FN 727 PA6 fl. alloy 1,01 270 65 0,30 50 85 100 L 4,0 10 0,15 80 4 N
ZYTEL-KEVLAR® SFC
70K20 HSL PA66 K20 H L 1,19 290 110 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,8 1,4 0,2 80 2-4 N
70K20 HSL PA66 K20 H L 1,19 290 110 0,15 150 50 85 100 L 2,5 15 0,8 1,3 0,2 80 2-4 N

FR = Flame retardant L = Lubricated

G = Glassreinforced M = Mineral reinforced
GB = Glass bead reinforced ST = Super tough
H = Heat stabilised T = Toughened
HV = High viscosity UHV = Ultra high viscosity
K = KEVLAR® reinforced UV = UV stabilised
 Processing data for MINLON®

Screw tang.
Shrinkage

Hold pressure

Max. process
Max. hold-up
Solid density

Melt density

time <3 mm
measured

Flow front
at 0 MPa

moisture
pressure
speed

Campus
Processing Cavity on test bars

Dec. 94
speed

Back

paral.

trans.
temperature Surface temp. Hold pressure Drying

time
Rec. Rec. Max. Min. Rec. Max. at Time
Grade Material Remarks g/cm3 g/cm3 °C °C m/s mm/s MPa MPa MPa LMH s/mm min. % % % °C h Y/N

10B140 PA66 M40 1,50 1,28 295 100 0,15 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 12 1 1 0,2 80 2-4 Y
11C140 PA66 M40 T 1,46 1,27 295 100 0,15 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 12 1,4 1,4 0,2 80 2-4 Y
13T2 PA66 M30 T 1,36 1,18 295 100 0,15 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 12 1,4 1,6 0,2 80 2-4 Y
13MM PA66 M16 T 1,24 295 100 0,15 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 8 1,5 0,2 80 2-4 N
14D1 PA66 M26 T 1,35 295 100 0,15 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 12 1,4 0,2 80 2-4 Y
73M20 PA6 M20 1,27 270 85 0,20 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 12 0,9 0,9 0,2 80 2-4 Y
73M30 PA6 M30 1,35 270 85 0,20 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 12 0,9 0,9 0,2 80 2-4 Y
73M40 PA6 M40 1,46 270 85 0,20 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 12 0,8 0,8 0,2 80 2-4 N
21B1 PA66 M34G5 1,47 295 100 0,15 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 12 0,6 1,4 0,2 80 2-4 Y
23B1 PA66 MM28G9 1,46 295 100 0,15 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 12 0,6 1,4 0,2 80 2-4 Y
EFE6053 PA66 M16G24 1,47 1,25 295 100 0,15 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 12 0,4 0,2 80 2-4 Y
73GM30 T PA6 M20G10 1,35 260 85 0,15 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 12 0,7 1,1 0,2 80 2-4 Y
73GM30 HSL PA6 G10M20 H L 1,38 270 85 0,15 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 12 0,5 0,8 0,2 80 2-4 Y
73GM40 PA6 M25G15 1,46 270 85 0,15 100 40 70 100 L 3,0 12 0,6 1,0 0,2 80 2-4 N
1 2
Copolymer Blend
5