<![CDATA[Injection molding requires careful optimization of production parameters to achieve high quality plastic products. This research investigates optimizing injection mold settings, namely: mold temperature, injection speed, injection pressure, and cooling time as input parameters and their impact on the final plastic cup quality of thermal performance as the output parameter. Thermal performance refers to the cup's ability to maintain the temperature of hot or cold liquids inside. Thermal performance can be a significant indicator of a plastic cup's quality, particularly influencing its ability to insulate and retain desired temperatures. The aim of this study is to develop an optimal mold setting combinations to improve key cup quality metrics, namely: tensile strength, thermal performance and weight. This study utilizes response surface methodology design of experiments (DOE) with multiple iterative test molding trials varying the selected parameters to achieve the optimized product quality. The molded cup samples are quantitatively evaluated for the target quality attributes. Analysis of variance statistical analysis determined the optimized parameter settings that maximize quality metrics. The results provide guidance for plastic cup manufacturers to optimize their molding operations. This research demonstrates that a systematic DOE approach allows molders to economically determine the ideal production settings for their specific molds and materials to improve quality control. The methods could be applied to other injection molded plastic products to reduce defects.]]>
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