197

Design optimization of the blow moulding process

using a fuzzy optimization algorithm

Y-L Hsu1 *, T-C Liu1 , F Thibault2 and B Lanctot2

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yuan Ze University, Chung-Li, Taiwan
2
Industrial Materials Institute, Boucherville, Quebec, Canada

Abstract: Blow moulding is the forming of a hollow part by `blowing’ a mould cavity shaped parison
made by a thermoplastic molten tube. Blow-moulded parts often require strict control of the thickness
distribution in order to achieve the required mechanical performance and ®nal weight. A fuzzy
optimization algorithm for determining the optimal die gap openings and die geometry for the
required thickness distribution in the blow moulding process is presented. The idea of the fuzzy
optimization algorithm is that, instead of using purely numerical information to obtain the new
design point in the next iteration, engineering knowledge and the human supervision process can be
modelled in the optimization algorithm using fuzzy rules. The structure of an optimization
algorithm is still maintained to guide the engineering decision process and to ensure that an optimal
solution rather than a trial and error solution can be obtained. It is shown how a single fuzzy
engine can be used in various cases and types of optimization of the blow moulding process.

Keywords: blow moulding, fuzzy optimization algorithm, computer simulation

NOTATION y·i, max maximum value of average weighted thickness

for the ith programming point
Dim mandrel diameter at the neck point y·i, min minimum value of average weighted thickness
Dob diameter of bushing for the ith programming point
Dom mandrel diameter at the die exit Y target thickness
f optimization objective function
m total number of nodes in the ®nite element model ¬q step size in the qth iteration
n total number of discrete die gap opening
programming points
1 INTRODUCTION
xi die gap opening at the ith programming point
¢xi vector of change in die gap openings at the ith
programming point Blow moulding is the forming of a hollow part by `blow-
xi, max maximum allowable die gap opening for the ith ing’ a mould cavity shaped parison made by thermoplastic
programming point molten tube. It is the most popular and e cient process for
xi, min minimum allowable die gap opening for the ith manufacturing commodity hollow plastic parts such as
programming point bottles, containers and toys. More recently, this forming
xq vector of xi in the qth iteration process has been applied to the manufacture of complex
¢xq the change in xq automotive parts such as fuel tanks, seat backs, air
yj thickness at the jth node ducts, windshield washers and cooling reservoirs.
yq vector of yj in the qth iteration The blow moulding process consists of three phases:
¢yq change in yq parison extrusion, parison in¯ation and part solidi®ca-
y·i average weighted thickness of all nodes a€ ected tion. As shown in Fig. 1, the extrusion phase involves
by xi the extrusion of a polymer melt through an annular die
to form a hollow cylindrical parison with a non-uniform
The MS was received on 4 March 2003 and was accepted after revision material distribution and consequently non-uniform
for publication on 14 October 2003. parison thickness along its length. Once the parison is
*Corresponding author: Optimal Design Laboratory, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, Yuan Ze University, 135 Yuan-Tung Road, extruded to the desired length, it is in¯ated to take the
Chung-Li, Taiwan. shape of an enclosing mould. The part then solidi®es as
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a consequence of heat transfer to the cooling mould. The

parison thickness distribution is modi®ed signi®cantly by
the in¯ation and the solidi®cation stages to yield the ®nal
part thickness distribution.
Blow-moulded parts often require strict control of the
thickness distribution in order to achieve the required
mechanical performance and ®nal weight. Figure 2
shows the forming of an axisymmetric bottle. As
illustrated in Fig. 2a, by moving the mandrel up and
down, the die gap can be adjusted as a function of
time. The movement of the mandrel can be programmed
by the percentage of gap openings at discrete time. When
Fig. 1 Blow moulding process the gap opening is 0 per cent, the mandrel is at the upper

Fig. 2 Illustration of parison programming

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 DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF THE BLOW MOULDING PROCESS 199

limit, which results in the minimum die gap; when the

gap opening is 100 per cent, the mandrel is at the lower
limit, which results in the maximum die gap. Manipula-
tion of the programming of gap openings can lead to an
optimal part thickness distribution. For example, in
order to obtain uniform thickness distribution of the
hollow part, the thickness of a programmed parison
must vary along its length. As shown in Fig. 2b, the
parison thickness for the largest expansion area must
be thicker than that of the other areas.
BlowSim is a ®nite element software package designed
to simulate the extrusion blow moulding, injection stretch
blow moulding and thermoforming processes. It was
developed by the Industrial Materials Institute (IMI) of
the National Research Council (NRC), Canada. The
blow moulding process simulation consists of modelling
the successive process stages in order to predict the ®nal
part quality as a function of the operating conditions,
the mould geometry and the material properties. Predic-
tions of ®nal part thickness were made by integrated simu-
lation of the parison formation, clamping and in¯ation,
and part cooling and solidi®cation stages. Programming
points, die dimensions, extrusion temperature, parting
plane shape and mould temperature were among the oper-
Fig. 3 Finite element model of the bottle
ating conditions considered [1]. BlowSim can be used to
model the process phases: parison formation, clamping
and in¯ation, part cooling and shrinkage, and part where yj is the thickness at the jth node in the simulation
mechanical performance. The process modelling is based model, Y is the corresponding target thickness and m is
on a large displacement ®nite element formulation [2]. the total number of nodes in the BlowSim ®nite element
The parison deformation is modelled using a multilayer model. The die gap openings at discrete programming
membrane element type and a non-isothermal viscoelastic points xi , i ˆ 1, 2, . . . , n, are the variables to be deter-
material model. The mechanical performance is modelled mined in the optimization process. Obviously, the thick-
with the predicted thickness distribution and the appro- ness at a node is a function of the corresponding die gap
priate applied load. The simulation results of BlowSim openings.
have been validated with many industrial cases and DiRaddo and Garcia-Rejon [3] proposed an iterative
show good agreement. optimization loop that combined a blow moulding
In many industrial applications, combining simulation process predictor and an updating technique to search
tools with optimization methodologies allows the for the parison thickness pro®le resulting in the mini-
designers to treat complex design criteria via simulation mum overall di€ erence between the speci®ed ®nal part
to pursue maximum part quality and minimum manufac- thickness distribution and the individual iteration
turing costs. In the blow moulding process, it is desirable output from the predictor. Lee and Soh [4] determined
to manipulate the percentage of die gap openings to the optimal thickness pro®les of a preform for a blow-
obtain a ®nal part of constant thickness or a prede®ned moulded part of required wall thickness distribution. A
thickness pro®le. It is therefore an optimization problem ®nite element model is formulated to relate the preform
on how to control the die gap openings to minimize the wall thickness distribution to the wall thickness distribu-
deviation in the thickness of the ®nal part from the tion in the blow-moulded part. The feasible direction
target thickness. method is used for optimization, and the design variables
Figure 3 shows the ®nite element model of the bottle are the thickness of the ®nite elements.
case in Fig. 2 by BlowSim. Given a set of die gap Gradient-type numerical optimization algorithms can
openings at n programming points xi , i ˆ 1, 2, . . . , n, it certainly be used to solve for the optimal die gap open-
is possible to extract the thickness of all nodes from the ings. On the other hand, manufacturing engineers
simulation results by BlowSim, and apply them to the usually adjust the die gap openings empirically: reduce
following equation to obtain the objective function the die gap opening if the corresponding portion of the
value: ®nal part is too thick, and vice versa.
µPm ¶
2 0:5
When solving an engineering optimization problem
j ˆ 1 … yj ¢ Y † using numerical optimization algorithms, basically the
min f ˆ …1†
m¢ 1 problem is viewed as a pure mathematical optimization
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model. Design modi®cations in the optimization process A fuzzy system is characterized by a collection of
rely on numerical information rather than engineering linguistic statements based on expert knowledge. The
heuristics, experience and knowledge. This paper develops linguistic statements are usually in the form of if±then
a `fuzzy optimization algorithm’ for engineering optimiza- rules. As shown in Fig. 4, if the relations between the
tion problems, which enables the use of engineering heur- system process input xq (die gap openings) and system
istics to generate the new design point of the next process output yq (thickness distribution) and ¢yq are
iteration. The structure of an optimization algorithm is known empirically (reducing the die gap opening will
still maintained to guide the engineering decision process reduce the thickness of the corresponding portion of
and to ensure that an optimal solution rather than a the ®nal part, and vice versa), a fuzzy logic engine instead
trial and error solution can be obtained. Currently, this of a numerical optimization algorithm can be used to
fuzzy optimization algorithm is developed speci®cally generate the system process input change rate ¢xq
for engineering optimization problems whose objective according to a set of domain parameters given by the
functions are in the form of equation (1). users.
This paper ®rstly explains the concept of fuzzy optimi- Arakawa and Yamakawa [5] demonstrated an optimi-
zation algorithms. The blow moulding process optimiza- zation method using qualitative reasoning, which makes
tion results are presented to demonstrate the generality use of qualitative information giving an approximate
of this approach to various optimization cases in di€ er- direction of the optimum search. Hsu et al. [6] proposed
ent application domains. a fuzzy optimization algorithm and applied it for deter-
mining the `move limit’, which is an important optimiza-
tion process parameter in the sequential linear
2 CONCEPT OF `FUZZY OPTIMIZATION programming algorithm. Mulkay and Rao [7] also pro-
ALGORITHMS’ posed a modi®ed sequential linear programming algo-
rithm using fuzzy heuristics to control the optimization
As shown in Fig. 4, the optimization process can be parameters. Arabshahi et al. [8] pointed out that many
viewed as a closed-loop control system. In the case of optimization techniques involve parameters that are
blow moulding process optimization, BlowSim is analo- often adapted by the user through trial and error, experi-
gous to the system process to be controlled, whereas an ence and other insight. Instead, they applied neural and
optimization algorithm is analogous to the controller. In fuzzy ideas adaptively to select these parameters.
the qth iteration, BlowSim simulation results (thickness In these papers, fuzzy heuristics were used to control
distribution yq ) are input to the optimization algorithm, the parameters of the optimization algorithm to improve
which in turn generates the change in die gap openings, its performance. The following sections demonstrate
¢xq , according to its search rules. Die gap openings for how engineering heuristics can also be modelled into
the next iteration are updated …xq ‡ 1 ˆ xq ‡ ¢xq † and the fuzzy optimization algorithm for optimization of
simulated again using BlowSim to continue the iteration. the blow moulding process.
Finally, a control system attempts to achieve a stable,
prede®ned output. The optimization process pursues a
converging objective function value. 3 DIE GAP OPENING OPTIMIZATION FOR A
When traditional numerical optimization algorithms CONSTANT PART THICKNESS
are applied to an engineering problem, the engineering
problem is treated as a pure mathematical problem. The bottle case study in Fig. 3 was ®rstly used to illus-
Engineering heuristics are totally ignored. This motivates trate the fuzzy optimization algorithm. In this example,
the idea that, in addition to crisp numerical rules, the it is hoped to manipulate the die gap openings at seven
engineering heuristics such as `reduction in the die gap discrete programming points (xi , i ˆ 1, . . . , 7) to obtain
opening if the corresponding portion of the ®nal part is a uniform wall thickness part of 2 mm. Therefore, in
too thick, and vice versa’ should also be modelled in the objective function equation (1), Y ˆ 2. Note that
the optimization algorithm using fuzzy rules. As sug- the die gap opening at a discrete time point xi may
gested in Fig. 4, the `controllers’ in the optimization a€ ect the thickness of many nodes. BlowSim provides
process may as well be fuzzy controllers! the `average weighted thickness’ y·i of all nodes a€ ected

Fig. 4 General block diagram of a design optimization process

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 DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF THE BLOW MOULDING PROCESS 201

Table 1 Quantization table Table 2 shows the results for the ®rst two iterations of the
bottle example. Initially, the die gap openings are set at
Boundaries of fuzzy Boundaries of fuzzy Quantized
input, y·i output, ¢xi level
50 per cent for all seven programming points. From
BlowSim simulation, the average weighted thickness
Y ‡ … y·i, max ¢ Y † xi, max ¢ xi 2 varies from 1.341 to 5.119 mm, and the objective func-
Y ‡ … y·i, max ¢ Y †=2 …xi, max ¢ xi †=2 1
Yj 0 0
tion value is 0.82. Then, the fuzzy engine generates the
Y ¢ …Y ¢ y·i, min †=2 …xi, min ¢ xi †=2 1 change in die gap openings ¢xi , and the die gap openings
Y ¢ …Y ¢ y·i, min † xi, min ¢ xi 2 at the seven programming points are updated. From
BlowSim simulation, the average weighted thickness
now varies from 1.374 to 3.262 mm, and the objective
by xi . As discussed earlier, designers usually adjust the
function value is reduced to 0.78. The fuzzy engine
die gap openings empirically: reduce the die gap opening
then generates ¢xi for this iteration, and the die gap
if the corresponding portion of the ®nal part is too thick,
openings are updated again.
and vice versa. This engineering heuristic indicates that
Referring to Fig. 4, in the optimization iterations, the
the average weighted thickness of a certain portion, y·i ,
objective function is expected to ¯atten out when
is a monotonic increasing function with respect to the
approaching convergence. However, in reality, the objec-
corresponding die gap opening, xj , and can be expressed
tive function value might `overshoot’ when approaching
by ®ve rules:
convergence. In many numerical optimization algo-
1. If y·i is PB, then ¢xi is NB. rithms, a scalar multiplier ¬q (often called the `step
2. If y·i is PS, then ¢xi is NS. size’) determining the amount of change for this iteration
3. If y·i is ZE, then ¢xi is ZE. is introduced, and xq ‡ 1 ˆ xq ‡ ¬q ¢xq [9]. Usually, ¬ is
4. If y·i is NS, then ¢xi is PS. adjusted dynamically throughout the iteration process.
5. If y·i is NB, then ¢xi is PB. The heuristics for adjusting ¬ are simply to reduce it if
the change in objective function value is big, and vice
The quantization table (Table 1) gives quantitative
versa. Obviously, this can also be expressed by the
de®nitions for PB (positive big), PS (positive small), ZE
same ®ve rules previously discussed. In the examples in
(zero), NS (negative small) and NB (negative big).
this paper, initially ¬0 ˆ 1, and, in the iteration process,
There are ®ve `domain parameters’ in Table 1 to be
¬ is adjusted using the same fuzzy engine. If the change in
determined by the user according to the application
objective function is big (the objective function increases
problem. The de®nitions of the ®ve domain parameters
rather than decreases), ¬ in the next iteration will be
and their numerical values for the bottle case example
reduced to 0.5±1.0 times of that of the current iteration.
are as follows:
The current iteration will be given up if the increase in the
Y ˆ target thickness (2 mm) objective function is larger than 10 per cent.
y·i, min ˆ minimum value of average weighted thickness Finally, Fig. 5a shows the iteration history for the
(0 mm for all programming points) bottle case, including the history of the objective function
y·i, max ˆ maximum value of average weighted value and the step size to show the e€ ect of the step size
thickness (4 mm for all programming points) control. Figure 5b compares the initial (50 per cent die
xi, min ˆ minimum allowable die gap opening gap openings for all programming points) and ®nal die
(5 per cent for all programming points) gap openings, and Fig. 5c compares the average weighted
xi, max ˆ maximum allowable die gap opening thickness of the initial and ®nal design at the seven
(95 per cent for all programming points) programming points.

Table 2 Results for the ®rst two iterations of the bottle example

Programming points
Objective
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 function value

Initial values
xi (%) 50 50 50 50 50 50 50
y·i (mm) 5.119 2.671 1.362 1.341 1.858 3.957 4.828 0.82263
¢xi (%) ¢ 34.604 ¢ 15.623 14.336 14.791 2.787 ¢ 33.998 ¢ 34.604
First iteration
xi (%) 15.396 34.377 64.336 64.791 52.787 16.002 15.396
y·i (mm) 3.258 1.374 1.938 2.29 2.015 2.846 3.262 0.77913
¢xi (%) ¢ 5.151 18.928 0.835 ¢ 18.767 ¢ 0.3119 ¢ 4.475 ¢ 5.159
Second iteration
xi (%) 10.256 53.305 65.171 46.025 52.475 11.528 10.237
y·i (mm) 3.453 2.292 1.978 1.212 1.652 2.696 3.042 0.61265
¢xi (%) ¢ 2.842 ¢ 6.330 0.2905 18.902 6.788 ¢ 2.263 ¢ 2.398

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Fig. 5 Die gap opening optimization results for the bottle case study using seven programming points
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 DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF THE BLOW MOULDING PROCESS 203

Fig. 6 Die gap opening optimization results of the bottle case study using 31 programming points

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In this example, the optimization process terminated

after 17 iterations, when the change in objective function
value was less than 0.1 per cent. Only 18 BlowSim simula-
tions were needed (one simulation was given up between
iterations 3 and 4 because the overshoot was too large),
and no sensitivity calculation was required. Ideally, the
objective function should converge to zero upon obtain-
ing a part with uniform thickness. However, the objective
function at the end of the iteration is 0.47, and, as shown
in Fig. 5c, the average weighted thickness of the top and
bottom portions of the bottle is still higher than the target
value. As shown in Fig. 5b, the average weighted thick-
ness at these two portions cannot be further reduced
because the corresponding die gap openings are already
close to the lower bound 5 per cent. Figure 6 shows the
optimization result of the bottle example with the same
domain parameters using 31 programming points. The
fuzzy optimization algorithm terminated after 18
iterations, and 20 simulations were needed in this case.
Increasing the number of programming points further
reduces the objective function value. However, too
many programming points in a short parison extrusion
time is sometimes not practical since the pneumatic
mandrel movement into the die head is limited by its
response time. Note that the computation cost in each
iteration of the fuzzy optimization algorithm is indepen-
dent of the number of design variables.
The fuzzy optimization algorithm was then applied to Fig. 7 Geometry of the windshield washer ¯uid reservoir
the process optimization of a ¯uid reservoir, shown in
Fig. 7, which is a more complex automotive part. In this The optimization process terminated after 15 itera-
case the target thickness was 5 mm, and 23 programming tions, and Fig. 8 shows the optimization results. In Fig.
points were used. The values of the domain parameters in 8c, the average weighted thicknesses of all programming
this case were assigned as: Y ˆ 5 mm, y·i, min ˆ 0 mm, points after optimization are close to 5 mm, but the
y·i, max ˆ 10 mm, xi, min ˆ 5 per cent and xi, max ˆ 95 objective function value in Fig. 8a at the end of optimiza-
per cent. tion is still high (1.69). This is because the ¯uid reservoir

Fig. 8 (continued over)

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 DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF THE BLOW MOULDING PROCESS 205

Fig. 8 Die gap opening optimization results for the ¯uid reservoir case

is not axisymmetric. For unsymmetrical parts whose

cross-sections are not circular, it is not possible to
obtain a part with uniform thickness using a circular
die. When the parison is in¯ated to take the shape of
an enclosing mould, the thickness varies along the
cross-section of the part. The die geometry has to be
manipulated before the die gap opening optimization
in order to obtain the desired part thickness. This will
be discussed in the next section.

4 DIE GEOMETRY OPTIMIZATION

In BlowSim, the geometry of the die in the closed and

open positions is de®ned by the minimum and maximum
die gap (GapMin and GapMax) at a number of die Fig. 9 Illustration of the die geometry

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Fig. 10 Die geometry optimization results of the bottle case

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 DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF THE BLOW MOULDING PROCESS 207

Fig. 11 (continued over)

sections or `die points’ at di€ erent angular positions. geometry. For unsymmetrical parts, GapMin and
Figure 9 shows the geometry of a typical bushing and GapMax at each die point should be optimized ®rst to
mandrel die head components. GapMin is de®ned as obtain a die geometry that is suitable for the shape of
the e€ ective die gap for 0 per cent die gap opening the unsymmetrical part. Then the die gap opening opti-
Dob ¢ Dom mization is carried out to obtain a part with constant
GapMin ˆ …2† thickness using this die geometry. BlowSim also provides
2
the average weighted thickness of all nodes a€ ected by a
and GapMax is de®ned as the e€ ective die gap for 100 die point.
per cent die gap opening Here, the die geometry optimization manipulates only
Dob ¢ Dim GapMax while keeping GapMin ®xed. The objective is
GapMax ˆ …3† to obtain constant average weighted thickness for all
2
die points. The engineering heuristics for adjusting
For symmetrical parts with circular cross-sections, a GapMax are the same as those for adjusting die gap
uniform thickness can be obtained using circular die openings: reduce GapMax if the corresponding average
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Fig. 11 Optimization results of the ¯uid reservoir case

weighted thickness is too large, and vice versa. Obviously of the parameters have been changed, though the same
this can also be expressed by the same ®ve fuzzy rules fuzzy engine is used. In this case, the die gap openings
previously discussed. Note that the objective function were kept at 50 per cent during the die geometry optimi-
used here is to minimize the deviation of the average zation, and GapMin was ®xed at 3 mm. Figure 10a
weighted thickness of the die points from the target shows that after 11 iterations, the fuzzy optimization
thickness. Moreover, in die geometry optimization, xi algorithm converged to the expected circular die geome-
becomes the GapMax at die point i. try shown in Fig. 10b because the bottle is a symmetrical
The bottle case in Fig. 3 was used again to verify the part. A total of 11 BlowSim simulations were needed.
results of die geometry optimization using the fuzzy Figure 10c shows that the ®nal average weighted thick-
optimization algorithm. As shown in Fig. 10b, a non- ness of all die points are close to the target thickness of
circular initial die geometry was deliberately created for 2 mm.
validation purposes. The domain parameters are: The die geometry optimization process was then
Y ˆ 2 mm, y·i, min ˆ 0 mm, y·i, max ˆ 4 mm, xi, min ˆ 3 mm applied to the windshield washer ¯uid reservoir in
and xi, max ˆ 13 mm. Note that the de®nitions of some Fig. 7. In this case the die gap openings were kept at 50
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 DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF THE BLOW MOULDING PROCESS 209

per cent during the die geometry optimization, and

GapMin was ®xed at 0.17 mm. The domain parameters
in the die geometry optimization of the ¯uid reservoir
are assigned as follows: Y ˆ 5 mm, y·i, min ˆ 0 mm,
y·i, max ˆ 10 mm, xi, min ˆ 0:17 mm and xi, max ˆ 20 mm.
The die geometry optimization process terminated after
15 iterations. Figure 11a compares the initial and ®nal
GapMax. In this example (and the following examples),
the diameter of the die is relatively large compared with
the die gap, and therefore the die geometry is not shown
here. Figure 11b shows that the average weighted thick-
ness of all die points is close to the target thickness of
5 mm.
To obtain a better design, die gap opening optimization
was then applied to the ¯uid reservoir example using the
®nal die geometry in Fig. 11a. The domain parameters
are Y ˆ 5 mm, y·i, min ˆ 0 mm, y·i, max ˆ 10 mm, xi, max ˆ
95 per cent and xi, min ˆ 5 per cent. Figure 11c shows the
iteration history of both die geometry optimization and
die gap opening optimization. The objective function in
Fig. 11c is the deviation of the thickness of the ®nal part
from the target thickness [equation (1)]. Compared with
the ®nal die gap opening objective function value of 1.69
obtained from the gap opening optimization (Fig. 8a), Fig. 13 Geometry of the fuel gas tank
the die geometry optimization objective function drops
from 2.26 to 1.60, and further drops to 1.27 after die gap 5 APPLICATION EXAMPLES
opening optimization. A total of 23 BlowSim simulations
were needed, 15 for die geometry optimization and 8 for In this section, the process of die geometry optimization
die gap opening optimization. Figure 11d shows the initial followed by die gap opening optimization is applied to
and ®nal die gap openings. the other two unsymmetrical blow-moulded parts
shown in Figs 12 and 13, the jerry can and the gas tank
respectively. Again, the same fuzzy engine can be applied
to both examples for die geometry optimization and die
gap opening optimization after a simple domain param-
eter mapping shown in Tables 3 and 4.
In the jerry can example, 17 die points were used,
GapMin was ®xed at 2 mm and the die gap openings

Table 3 Domain parameter mapping for the jerry can example

Domain Die geometry Die gap opening

parameters optimization optimization

Y 2 mm 2 mm
y·i, max 4 mm 4 mm
y·i, min 0 mm 0 mm
xi, max 20 mm 95%
xi, min 2 mm 5%

Table 4 Domain parameter mapping for the gas tank example

Domain Die geometry Die gap opening

parameters optimization optimization

Y 5 mm 5 mm
y·i, max 10 mm 10 mm
y·i, min 0 mm 0 mm
xi, max 40 mm 95%
xi, min 2 mm 5%
Fig. 12 Geometry of the jerry can

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Fig. 14 Die geometry and die gap opening optimization results for the jerry can case

were kept at 50 per cent during the die geometry optimiza- were kept at 50 per cent during the die geometry optimi-
tion. The die geometry optimization process terminated zation. The die geometry optimization process termi-
after ®ve iterations. Die gap opening optimization was nated after 11 iterations. Figure 15a shows the initial
then applied to the jerry can example using the ®nal die and ®nal die geometry. Die gap opening optimization
geometry shown in Fig. 14a. Eleven programming was then applied to the gas tank example using the
points were used. The die gap opening optimization termi- ®nal die geometry shown in Fig. 15a. Twenty program-
nated after 20 iterations. Figure 14b shows the ®nal die ming points were used. The die gap opening optimization
gap openings. The objective function value drops from terminated after 13 iterations. Figure 15b shows the ®nal
0.84 of the initial design to 0.62 of the ®nal design, and die gap openings. The objective function value drops
a total of 5 ‡ 20 ˆ 25 BlowSim simulations were needed. from 1.89 of the initial design to 1.32 of the ®nal
In the gas tank example, eight die points were used, design, and a total of 11 ‡ 13 ˆ 24 BlowSim simulations
GapMin was ®xed at 2 mm and the die gap openings were needed.
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 DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF THE BLOW MOULDING PROCESS 211

Fig. 15 Optimization results for the gas tank case

6 CONCLUSIONS opening optimization and die geometry optimization

for various cases. This characteristic makes the fuzzy
This paper presents a fuzzy optimization algorithm for optimization algorithm easily expandable to integration
determining the optimal die gap openings and die with other simulation software in other application
geometry in the blow moulding process. This fuzzy domains.
optimization algorithm has been integrated with the Compared with the traditional numerical optimization
computer simulation software BlowSim, and has been process, the fuzzy optimization algorithm tries to utilize
tested on a number of blow moulding examples. The engineering heuristics and is closer to the engineering
fuzzy optimization algorithm does not require decision process. The structure of an optimization algo-
sensitivity information and is completely external to rithm is still maintained to guide the engineering decision
BlowSim. Using a set of user-de®ned parameters, it is process and to ensure that an optimal solution rather
shown that a single fuzzy engine can perform die gap than a trial and error solution can be obtained.
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on JuneMech.
10, 2015Engrs Vol. 218 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
212 Y-L HSU, T-C LIU, F THIBAULT AND B LANCTOT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS blow moulded part speci®cations. Computers and Chem.

Engng, 1993, 17(8), 751±764.
4 Lee, D. K. and Soh, S. K. Prediction of optimal perform
This research was supported by the National Science
thickness distribution in blow moulding. Polym. Engng
Council, Taiwan, under Grant NSC91 2212-E-155-007, Sci., 1996, 36(11), 1513±1520.
and by the National Research Council, Canada, under 5 Arakawa, M. and Yamakawa, H. Study on the optimum
Grant NRC 75-05K-01. design applying qualitative reasoning. Trans. Jap. Soc.
Mech. Engrs, Part C, March 1990, 56(522), 398±403.
6 Hsu, Y. L., Lin, Y. F. and Guo, Y. S. A fuzzy sequential linear
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Manufacture B03803 # IMechE 2004