Injection molding (IM) is already an established technology for manufacturing polymer products. However, in the course of the increased use of recyclates for economic and ecological reasons, its application capability has been confronted with new requirements for reliability and reproducibility. In addition, the IM process is confronted with regulations regarding a verifiable recycling degree in polymers. With regard to the material identification and storage of manufacturer-, process- or product-related data in polymers, the implementation of a material-inherent marking technology forms a potential answer. The IM process combined with modified polymers (MP) as a marking technology turns out to be a feasible approach to manufacturing reproducibly and offers a high quality based on increased process awareness and fulfilling the required traceability. Therefore, this work focuses on the trial evaluation of MP within the IM process. The influence of MP on the material process behavior and mechanical and thermal component properties, as well as the influence of the IM process and recycling on MP traceability, are investigated. No discernible influences of MP on the investigated properties could be identified, and the traceability from the initial material to a recyclate could be confirmed. MP is suitable for monitoring the aging state of polymers in IM.
Keywords: circular economy; injection molding; marking agent; modified polymers; polymers; process optimization; process predictability; recycling; traceability; tracing.