Transfer Moulding

Transfer moulding process combines the principle of compression and transfer of the polymer charge.
Transfer moulding is similar to compression moulding except that instead of the moulding material
being pressurized in the cavity, it is pressurized in a separate chamber and then forced through an
opening and into a closed mould. The advantages of transfer moulding are that the preheating of the
material and injection through a narrow orifice improves the temperature distribution in the material
and accelerates the crosslinking reaction. As a result the cycle times are reduced and there is less
distortion of the moulding. The improved flow of the material also means that more intricate or
complicated shapes can be produced.
Moulding Sequence:
1. The required amount of polymer charge is weighted and inserted into the transfer pot before
the moulding process.
2. The transfer pot is heated by the heating element above the melting temperature of the
polymer charge.
3. The liquid charge is gravity filled through the sprue to the mold cavity.
4. A “piston/plunger/ram and cylinder” arrangement is built in the transfer pot so that the resin is
transferred into the mould cavity through a sprue.
5. The plunger is also preheated in the transfer pot.
6. The plunger is used to push the liquid polymer charge from the transfer pot into the mould
cavity under pressure.
7. The mould cavity remains closed as the polymer charge is inserted.
8. The mould cavity is held closed until the resin gets cured which means the material sets hard to
the cavity shape after a certain time (cure time) has elapsed.
9. The mould cavity is opened and the moulded part can be removed once it has hardened with
the help of ejector pin.
10. The sprue and gate attached to the moulded part have to be trimmed after the process has
been completed.

Types of transfer moulding process

There are two types of transfer moulding process.

1. Pot transfer moulding:

The charge is injected from a “pot” through a vertical sprue channel into the cavity.
2. Plunger transfer moulding:
A plunger injects the charge from a heated well through lateral channels in the mold cavity.

Advantages:
1. Fast setup time and lower setup costs.
2. Low maintenance cost.
3. More intricate or complicated shapes can be produced.
4. Plastic parts with metal inserts can be made.
5. Design flexibility.
6. Dimensionally stable.
7. Uniform thickness of parts.
8. Large production rate.

Disadvantage:
1. Warpage is more of a problem because the flow of transfer materials is softer and shrinks more
than compression grade materials.
2. The scrap rate for transfer molded parts will usually be higher than that for compression
moulded parts because of the added scrap from the cull and runner.
3. To prevent the mould from opening slightly resulting in heavy flashing of the parts, the clamping
tonnage for transfer mould parts is greater than for compression molded parts. Thus a higher
tonnage press is required.
4. Air can be trapped in the mould.

Applications
This process is widely used to encapsulate items such as integrated circuits, plugs, connectors, pins,
coils, and studs. It is suitable for molding with ceramic or metallic inserts which are placed in the mold
cavity. When the heated polymer fills the mold it forms bonding with the insert surface. Transfer
molding is also used for manufacturing radio and television cabinets and car body shells.