At FIP 2022 we will put the spotlight on our new hot runner line for small precision parts. Available at the booth (N01) some of the most promising trends of FLEXflow technology - including family molds and back-injection of films – and other innovative solutions for pin control.
Fast cycle time, high production volume, fast color change. Everything combined with an excellent finish of the molded components. Here some of the main benefits of our patented hot runner systems for small applications. Also suitable for engineering plastics, it is the compact solution allowing reduced pitch among nozzles.
Our multi-cavity line perfectly meets the demand of the medical, beverage & home, beauty & personal care, technical & electronics components as well as thin wall packaging applications.
Designed for low-weight shots (ranging from 0,2 to 30 gr), the minimum gate to gate pitch is up to 22 mm for open gate and 25 mm for valve gate with the smallest nozzle pocket of Ø 16 mm.
Our dedicated channel design and a specific coating significantly increase the wear and tear of components, performing also optimized corrosion resistance.
Thanks to extensive laboratory research, the new series ensures optimum sealing with an optimal temperature profile along the entire nozzle. In addition, the optimisation of the channel geometry enables fast color changes.
To outline the potential of the servo-driven valve gate technology for family mold operations, we will show at our booth a PMMA lightguide produced with a 5 point-gating FLEXflow hot runner system in a complex family tool. The result is an ultra-clean optical grade part for longer and more complex LED structures. This significant application will show how FLEXflow can perfectly balance the filling process and how it can control warpage despite the different weight and dimension of the molded parts. At the same time, it demonstrates that the flow rate, which can be set independently and precisely for each cavity, reliably prevents overfeeding and flash formation.
Film back-injection with capacitive films is another forward-looking technology. It enables, for example, the integration of functional elements with a low thickness, such as lights, sensors or touch switches, and thus provides a previously unknown level of design flexibility, especially for automotive interior and exterior applications with grained or high-gloss Class A surfaces. A real example available at our booth is the futuristic surface produced in cooperation with LEONHARD KURZ. The world's leading company in thin-film technology developed an HMI (Human Machine Interface) concept panel with a forward-looking design that fully exploits the technical possibilities. FLEXflow allows a gentle, low-stress injection and enables the perfect appearance of the IMD design. A further challenge arose due to the requirement for a low internal mold pressure for the concurrent back injection of the IML sensor and IMD coating. The FLEXflow enabled this internal pressure to be precisely controlled.
Come and see our solutions to control hydraulically actuated cylinders: MSR and HyFlow.
The patent-pending Mechanical Stroke Regulator (MSR) makes it easy to individually preset the opening positions of the pins in hot runner systems. By adjusting a simple screw, the user can specify the individual oil volume to define the precise position where each needle must stop. In this way, the pressure drop for each nozzle can be set independently, and the pressure distribution during the packaging phase can be controlled. MSR is suitable for balancing the melt flow in cascade molding and numerous trials have also demonstrated its successful use in family molds.
We suppliy its new MSR ready-to-install on all of the company's existing hydraulic cylinder series equipped with electrovalves. Installation can be limited to individual nozzles of a system to save costs. It only takes around 10 minutes and can be done without dismantling the mold. Modifications to the existing hot runner cut-out are not required. Combined with our FLEXspeed system, the speed of the pin can also be adjusted.
To allow an even more accurate control of the pin in hydraulic activated valve gate systems , we have developed HyFlow. HyFlow systems are managed through an user-friendly controller to set the lock position of each individual pin for an optimal balancing of the pressure distribution in the cavity. The opening and closing speed for each nozzle can be adjusted by a manual mechanism to regulate the oil flow rate for actuator activation. This allows for a uniform mold filling process without sudden pressure drops and the associated surface defects.
