This study describes the influence of polymer flow length on mechanical properties of tested polymer, specifically polycarbonate. The flow length was examined in a spiral shaped mould. The mould cavity's surface was machined by several methods, which led to differing roughness of the surface. The cavity was finished by milling, grinding and polishing. In order to thoroughly understand the influence of the mould surface quality on the flow length, varying processing parameters, specifically the pressure, were used. The polymer part was divided into several segments, in which the micro-mechanical properties, such as hardness and indentation modulus were measured. The results of this study provide interesting data concerning the flow length, which was up to 3% longer for rougher surfaces, but shorter in cavities with polished surface. These results are in disagreement with the commonly practiced theory, which states that better surface quality leads to greater flow length. Furthermore, evaluation of the micro-mechanical properties measured along the flow path demonstrated significant variance in researched properties, which increased by 35% (indentation hardness) and 86% by indentation modulus) in latter segments of the spiral in comparison with the gate.
Keywords: flow length; hardness; micro-mechanical properties; polycarbonate; surface quality.