Warpage optimization on thin shell part by using glowworm swarm optimization (GSO) approach

Industrial injection molding processes is a well-known process in producing and replicating a complex form of plastic parts. However, the process have some weaknesses where shrinkage and warpage are found to be major defects which are hard to control. There are a lot of optimization approaches that can be employed to overcome this kind of defects. In this study, Glowworm Swarm Optimization (GSO) approach has been applied to minimize warpage condition. A thin shell part was tested with the selected processing parameters of packing pressure, cooling time, melting temperature and mold temperature. Based on the Autodesk Moldflow Insight (AMI) simulation results warpage values in x and y directions are 0.2133mm and 0.2194mm respectively. GSO approach demonstrated a warpage reduction in both x and y directions and the results were 0.2053mm and 0.1824mm respectively. Thus, by utilizing GSO in minimizing warpage on the molded part can be applied in injection molding industries.