ABSTRACT
Uniform mould temperature is very much desired in foam production tools. Mould
temperature variation can result in low part quality. It is suspected that uniform mould
temperature is not achieved during foam moulding process. A series of experiments
was conducted to assess production tools' mould surface temperature. The work was
performed to quantify any temperature variations in existing production tools. It was
also intended as a preliminary inspection of any effects on flexible PU foam part quality
resulting from tool temperature variations. Experiments were conducted on bench and
carousel-type moulds at an industrial plant using non-contact and contact technique to
measure and quantify the mould surface temperature. A grid of locations and features
on the mould surface are identified and temperature recordings were conducted a
number of times for each spot. Distance between mould surface and heating channels
for each spot are also noted. It was found that there exists a mould surface temperature
variation between 40C to 80C on some parts of the mould surface. The locality where
the mould surface was lower coincided with a negative effect on the final part such as
scaling and shrinks mark. It was established through experimental results that the
mould surface temperature was affected by the distance from the heating channel to
the mould surface. Consequently a uniform distance between heating channel and
mould surface was proposed to be incorporated in the design of future production tools
to attain a uniform mould surface temperature