Automatic Design of Cooling Channels for Block Laminated Molds: A Resolution Study
Jianguo Liang1, Hiroyuki Narahara2, Hiroshi Koresawa3, Hiroshi Suzuk4
1Jianguo Liang, Mechanical Information Science and Technology, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Fukuoka, Japan.
2Hiroyuki Narahara, Mechanical Information Science and Technology, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Fukuoka, Japan.
3Hiroshi Koresawa, Mechanical Information Science and Technology, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Fukuoka, Japan.
4Hiroshi Suzuki, Mechanical Information Science and Technology, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Fukuoka, Japan.
Manuscript received on July 20, 2013. | Revised Manuscript received on August 11, 2013. | Manuscript published on August 30, 2013. | PP: 52-60 | Volume-2, Issue-6, August 2013. | Retrieval Number: F1961082613/2013©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: This study discusses a method for the automatic design of injection-mold cooling channels using genetic algorithms (GA), the finite element method (FEM), and an evaluation function based on unsteady state heat transfer and linear static deformation. The uniformity of cooling and the deformation effect of the automatically designed cooling channel in the injection mold were examined through case studies based on numerical analysis. The genetic algorithm was applied in the following steps: generation of finite elements of individuals expressing different cooling channel shapes, the definition of the fitness function to evaluate individuals, the genetic operation for individuals, and modification to the automatically generated cooling channel shape. Finally, the automatically generated shape of the cooling channel is discussed and compared with manually designed cooling channels.
Keywords: Cooling channel, Automatic design, Block laminated mold, Rapid prototyping, Laser sintering.