Tribological assessment of the interface injection mold/plastic part

One of the current challenges of the plastic injection process is linked to the importance given to product design that enables a strong differentiation. The key in developing optimal surface molds that can overcome the present disadvantages lies in the comprehension of the interactions that occur at the mold/injected piece interface. This paper focus on identification and evaluation of the contact conditions at that interface, taking into account the effect of the polishing, of the mold geometry and of the injected material. A critical characterization of the surface topography was performed to study the corrosion-mechanical attack and the mechanical-physico-chemical one on two molds.