Stress Whitening of Products

White areas appear on the stressed parts of the product. When this defect occurs in products of Process No. 4, it is usually related to a specific process parameter range or equipment status. If it persists, it will directly affect the product qualification rate and production cycle, increasing material loss and rework costs. Timely diagnosis and elimination is a basic requirement for ensuring stable production.

1. Material factors: residual stress concentration, insufficient material toughness, microcrack formation, and debonding of the fiber-resin interface. 2. Runner and gate design factors: In transfer molding, the material must enter the cavity through runners and gates; the runner length, cross-sectional shape, and gate size directly affect pressure loss, fiber breakage, and filling balance; unreasonable design is the root of many quality problems. 3. Feeding factors: The volume of the loading chamber, the loading amount, and the preheating state of the material directly determine the transfer pressure and filling effect, and are key variables unique to transfer molding.

1. Process parameter optimization and adjustment: Reduce residual stress (uniform curing, slow cooling), improve material toughness, anneal, and improve fiber wettability. 2. Systematic troubleshooting method: Troubleshooting of transfer molding problems follows the order of "runner -> feeding -> parameters -> mold". First check whether the runners and gates are blocked or worn, then verify the loading amount and material preheating, then adjust the transfer pressure and speed, and finally check the mold venting and temperature uniformity. 3. Preventive management: Establish standardized process parameter cards and quality control limits for each mold/product, and regularly conduct process capability index (CPK) evaluations. For recurring problems, use fishbone diagrams or 5Why analysis to trace the root cause, and solidify countermeasures as PFMEA control points.

This problem is a typical manifestation of stress whitening of products in transfer molding. The core of the solution lies in the reasonable design of the runner and gate system, the effective transmission of transfer pressure, and the uniform control of mold temperature. It is recommended to start troubleshooting from the runner system and transfer parameters.