Review of Factors that Affect Shrinkage of Molded Part in Injection Molding

Purpose: This paper reviews the factors affecting shrinkage of molded parts in injection molding. Methods: A selective screening of the papers published in the last 10 years was adopted. The review was organized according to molding scale (macro or micro) and by considering four branches of influence: material behaviors, processing parameters, mold, and specimen design. Results: Within the interval of confidence, at the macroscale, critical processing parameters were the temperatures, the packing parameters, cooling time, and injection speed; temperatures and packing parameters resulted critical factors at the microscale as well. Concerning the design aspects, the runner size and the ribs affect shrinkage at the macro and microscale, respectively. The analysis of the literature review has shown an absence of statistical approach for determining the material influences, a lack of information on shrinkage occur in powder-molded parts and the absence of data in specimen with dimensions below 10 µ. Conclusions: The review collected the factors that affect shrinkage in injection molding, and identified three possible areas for further works.