Seal-less vacuum venting for injection moulding : experimental evidence of faster, cleaner and more energy-efficient production

Abstract

This study presents a seal-less active vacuum venting approach for macro-scale injection moulding, experimentally benchmarked against no venting and passive venting conditions. Industrially relevant trials on a purpose-designed mould show process, quality and sustainable improvements via short-shot analysis and inmould sensing. The novel approach reduced total cycle time by 23%, increased productivity to 96.9 cycles per hour, lowered energy consumption by 15%, and decreased sink mark depth by over 60% relative to the baseline, while eliminating burn marks even at high injection speeds. This work establishes a new, data-driven methodology for integrating advanced venting with in-mould sensing to optimise performance.