Process Monitoring and Control for Plastics Manufacturing

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editor

Davide Masato

University of Massachusetts Lowell, Department of Plastics Engineering

Davide Masato received BS Mechanical Engineering (2011), MS Mechanical Engineering (2014), and PhD (2018) from the University of Padova in Italy. In 2016, he was a visiting researcher at the University of Bradford (UK), where he worked at the Centre for Polymer Micro and Nano Technology (Polymer MNT). Before joining the faculty at UMass Lowell, he was a post-doc researcher at the University of Padova, where he worked at the Te.Si. Laboratory for Precision Engineering and Manufacturing. From 2018, Dr. Masato is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plastics Engineering at UMass Lowell, working on research projects focused on plastic product design, injection molding and other polymer processing technologies, sustainable manufacturing, computer-aided engineering, and process control. His research is funded by NASA, US ARMY, REMADE (Department of Energy), and private companies. Dr. Masato teaches undergraduate and graduate classes on engineering design, injection mold design, and computer-aided engineering. Within the UMass Lowell plastics seminar program, he offers industry courses on micro injection molding and simulation of advanced injection molding technologies. Dr. Masato research work resulted in 30+ journal publication, 40+ conference presentations, 1 book chapter, 3 patents, and a start-up company.

Collection Overview

Plastics manufacturing processes exploit polymer's thermal and rheological properties to shape them into complex product geometries with excellent mechanical, aesthetic, and functional characteristics. The achievement of the desired product quality relies on the polymer's ability to flow, stretch, and cool inside tooling at different temperature conditions. The dynamicity of plastics manufacturing processes often relies on sensors and other process monitoring strategies to achieve optimum product quality.

This Methods Collection Proposal is dedicated to advances in-process monitoring and control for plastics manufacturing processes (injection molding, extrusion, 3D printing, thermoforming, blow molding, compounding, etc.). Invited and submitted contributions should investigate the development of new sensor technologies, process control strategies, closed-loop systems, and other approaches, including artificial intelligence and machine learning. This Special Issue is not limited with respect to the type of manufacturing method or plastics. The goal is to provide state-of-the-art examples of process control and monitoring to promote the diffusion and development of these technologies.