Injection molding control paradigms: the past & next 50 years
The evolution of molding machines during the past 50 years is reviewed along with the current control architectures supporting Industry 4.0. The capabilities of smart production 50 years in the future are forecast based on machine learning with big data. Fundamental performance constraints pertaining to observability and controllability are analyzed, indicating the need for further research pertaining to sensor design, mold design, machine design, material design, and plant design. The intent is to provide the methods for robust sensing and optimal control of volume, pressure, temperature, and time to fully achieve process automation, quality assurance, and fault diagnosis.
