Injection moulding simulation for hydraulic valve-actuator system controller design

In the development of advanced injection controllers and more effective control valves, full scale testing is often too expensive. This paper is concerned with virtual testing using simulation and experimental testing using a 'hardware-in-the-loop' technique in which a servovalve-actuator system emulates the moulding process. Simulation results for the purely simulated load and a 'hardware-in-the-loop' emulated load are compared with experimental data. Good agreement is achieved. Although the particular case of an hydraulic injection moulding machine has been considered, the model of the moulding process would be equally valid for studies of an all-electric machine