A system includes a cavity, an injection nozzle configured to inject material into the cavity, and a plurality of sensors at sensor locations. Each of the plurality of sensors is configured to measure parameters at one of the sensor locations. The system lacks a strain gauge. The system further includes a controller configured to control a flow rate of the injection of material into the cavity. The controller is configured to receive the measured parameters and compare the received information to predetermined curves. The controller is configured to control the flow rate when the measured parameters deviate from the predetermined curves.

The invention relates to a method for filling a mold cavity of a molding tool in a volumetrically correct manner. A molded part/volume equivalence is ascertained during a learning phase, and production injection-molding cycles are influenced during a production phase such that the molded part/volume equivalence ascertained during the learning phase is also satisfied during the production injection-molding cycle.

Apparatus and method for detecting a position of an actuator piston driving a valve pin in an injection molding system. The apparatus includes an actuator housing having a body portion, surrounding an axial bore, of a substantially non-magnetic and/or magnetically permeable material, a piston, movable within the axial bore for driving a valve pin, the piston including a magnetic member generating a magnetic field such that axial movement of the piston in the bore modifies the magnetic field according to the position of the piston relative to a detection position, and a magnetic field detector attached to an exterior surface of the body portion at the detection position for detecting the magnetic field associated with the position of the piston and generating an output signal determined by the piston position.

An apparatus for controlling the rate of flow of a fluid mold material comprising: a manifold, an actuator interconnected to a valve pin, a position sensor that senses position of the valve pin, a controller that controls movement of the actuator according to instructions that instruct the actuator to drive the valve pin upstream at one or more selected intermediate velocities in response to receipt by the controller of a signal from the position sensor that the valve pin is disposed in the one or more intermediate upstream gate open positions.

A hot-runner injection molding apparatus that facilitates use of actuators in a compact design includes a hot-runner manifold defining resin channels for conveying resin to nozzles that serve as conduits for introducing liquid resin into a mold cavity, a valve pin configured for linear movement along a longitudinal axis of the nozzle to control flow of liquid resin through the nozzle, and an actuator having a housing, wherein the valve pin is coupled to a drive shaft within the housing.

A system and method for the injection moulding of plastic material through a plurality of injectors each having a pin valve displaceable in a controlled fashion between a closing position and an opening position by a respective actuator of an electronic control type, in which there is provided prompt activation of a preset function of changing a colour of the plastic material to be injected, actuated according to an optimized sequence which minimizes a number of moulding operations required to change the colour.

Disclosed herein, amongst other things, is a control structure for a molding system (900). The control structure includes a controller (106, 934) and a valve actuator (104) for positioning a valve member (102) of a valve (101) for regulating flow of molding material in the molding system (900), wherein the controller (106, 934) is configured to monitor an operating parameter of the valve actuator (104) for indirectly appreciating an indication of a molding parameter of the molding system (900).

A molding system comprises a mold, a molding machine, a computing apparatus, and a controller. The computing apparatus is programmed to perform a first simulation to generate a velocity distribution and a temperature distribution of the molding material in a first portion of a simulating domain and a second simulation to generate a melting distribution of the solid decorating film in a second portion of the simulating domain, wherein the simulating domain corresponds to the mold cavity. The first molding simulation is to performed using a molding condition of the molding machine to set a boundary condition of the first portion, and the second molding simulation is performed using the velocity distribution and the temperature distribution of the molding material to set a boundary condition of the second portion.

A system and method for the injection moulding of plastic material through a plurality of injectors each having a pin valve displaceable in a controlled fashion between a closing position and an opening position by a respective actuator of an electronic control type, in which there is provided prompt activation of a preset function of changing a color of the plastic material to be injected, actuated according to an optimized sequence which minimizes a number of moulding operations required to change the color.

An apparatus for controlling the rate of flow of a fluid mold material comprising: a manifold, an actuator interconnected to a valve pin, a position sensor that senses position of the valve pin, a controller that controls movement of the actuator according to instructions that instruct the actuator to drive the valve pin upstream at one or more selected intermediate velocities in response to receipt by the controller of a signal from the position sensor that the valve pin is disposed in the one or more intermediate upstream gate open positions.