Radhwan Hussin
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Preferred name
Radhwan Hussin
Official Name
Radhwan, Hussin
Alternative Name
Hussin, R.
Radhwan, H.
Radhwan, Hussin
Hussin, Radhwan
Hussin, Radhwan Bin
Main Affiliation
Scopus Author ID
57210390315
Researcher ID
AAW-9696-2020

Research Output
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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Publication

Hybrid mold: comparative study of rapid and hard tooling for injection molding application using Metal Epoxy Composite (MEC)

2021 , Radhwan Hussin , Safian Sharif , Marcin Nabiałek , Shayfull Zamree Abd. Rahim , Mohd Tanwyn Mohd Khushairi , Mohd Azlan Suhaimi , Mohd. Mustafa Al Bakri Abdullah , Mohd. Hazwan Mohd. Hanid , Jerzy J. Wysłocki , Katarzyna Błoch

The mold-making industry is currently facing several challenges, including new competitors in the market as well as the increasing demand for a low volume of precision moldings. The purpose of this research is to appraise a new formulation of Metal Epoxy Composite (MEC) materials as a mold insert. The fabrication of mold inserts using MEC provided commercial opportunities and an alternative rapid tooling method for injection molding application. It is hypothesized that the addition of filler particles such as brass and copper powders would be able to further increase mold performance such as compression strength and thermal properties, which are essential in the production of plastic parts for the new product development. This study involved four phases, which are epoxy matrix design, material properties characterization, mold design, and finally the fabrication of the mold insert. Epoxy resins filled with brass (EB) and copper (EC) powders were mixed separately into 10 wt% until 30 wt% of the mass composition ratio. Control factors such as degassing time, curing temperature, and mixing time to increase physical and mechanical properties were optimized using the Response Surface Method (RSM). The study provided optimum parameters for mixing epoxy resin with fillers, where the degassing time was found to be the critical factor with 35.91%, followed by curing temperature with 3.53% and mixing time with 2.08%. The mold inserts were fabricated for EB and EC at 30 wt% based on the optimization outcome from RSM and statistical ANOVA results. It was also revealed that the EC mold insert offers better cycle time compared to EB mold insert material.

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Publication

Irregular shape effect of brass and copper filler on the properties of Metal Epoxy Composite (MEC) for rapid tooling application

2022 , Radhwan Hussin , Safian Sharif , Shayfull Zamree Abd. Rahim , Allan Rennie , Mohd Azlan Suhaimi , Abdellah El-hadj Abdellah , Norshah Afizi Shuaib , Mohd Tanwyn Mohd Khushairi , Aurel Mihail Titu

Due to their low shrinkage and easy moldability, metal epoxy composites (MEC) are recognized as an alternative material that can be applied as hybrid mold inserts manufactured with rapid tooling (RT) technologies. Although many studies have been conducted on MEC or reinforced composite, research on the material properties, especially on thermal conductivity and compressive strength, that contribute to the overall mold insert performance and molded part quality are still lacking. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of the cooling efficiency using MEC materials. Thus, this research aims to appraise a new formulation of MEC materials as mold inserts by further improving the mold insert performance. The effects of the thermal, physical, and mechanical properties of MEC mold inserts were examined using particles of brass (EB), copper (EC), and a combination of brass + copper (EBC) in irregular shapes. These particles were weighed at percentages ranging from 10% to 60% when mixed with epoxy resin to produce specimens according to related ASTM standards. A microstructure analysis was made using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to investigate brass and copper particle distribution. When filler composition was increased from 10% to 60%, the values of density (g/cm3), hardness (Hv), and thermal conductivity (W/mK) showed a linear upward trend, with the highest value occurring at the highest filler composition percentage. The addition of filler composition increased the compressive strength, with the highest average compressive strength value occurring between 20% and 30% filler composition. Compressive strength indicated a nonlinear uptrend and decreased with increasing composition by more than 30%. The maximum value of compressive strength for EB, EC, and EBC was within the range of 90–104 MPa, with EB having the highest value (104 MPa). The ANSYS simulation software was used to conduct a transient thermal analysis in order to evaluate the cooling performance of the mold inserts. EC outperformed the EB and EBC in terms of cooling efficiency based on the results of thermal transient analysis at high compressive strength and high thermal conductivity conditions.

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