Using Gas Counter Pressure and Combined Technologies for Microcellular Injection Molding of Thermoplastic Polyurethane to Achieve High Foaming Qualities and Weight Reduction

Microcellular injection molding technology (MuCell(®)) using supercritical fluid (SCF) as a foaming agent offers many advantages, such as material and energy savings, low cycle time, cost-effectiveness, and the dimensional stability of products. MuCell(®) has attracted great attention for applications in the automotive, packaging, sporting goods, and electrical parts industries. In view of the environmental issues, the shoe industry, particularly for midsole parts, is also seriously considering using physical foaming to replace the chemical foaming process. MuCell(®) is thus becoming one potential processing candidate. Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is a common material for molding the outsole of shoes because of its outstanding properties such as hardness, abrasion resistance, and elasticity. Although many shoe manufacturers have tried applying Mucell(®) processes to TPU midsoles, the main problem remaining to be overcome is the non-uniformity of the foaming cell size in the molded midsole. In this study, the MuCell(®) process combined with gas counter pressure (GCP) technology and dynamic mold temperature control (DMTC) were carried out for TPU molding. The influence of various molding parameters including SCF dosage, injection speed, mold temperature, gas counter pressure, and gas holding time on the foaming cell size and the associated size distribution under a target weight reduction of 60% were investigated in detail. Compared with the conventional MuCell(®) process, the implementation of GCP technology or DMTC led to significant improvement in foaming cell size reduction and size uniformity. Further improvement could be achieved by the simultaneous combination of GCP with DMT, and the resulting cell density was about fifty times higher. The successful possibility for the microcellular injection molding of TPU shoe midsoles is greatly enhanced.