A method of performing an injection cycle having a duration comprising: beginning the injection cycle with the valve pins associated with two or more nozzles in a gate closed position, selecting a first one of the two or more nozzles and controllably driving its associated valve pin from the gate closed position to a selected first axial upstream position, upon downstream flow of the injection fluid through a cavity the preselected distance, controllably driving the valve pin associated with the other of the two or more nozzles to a selected second axial position upstream, holding or controllably driving the valve pin associated with the first one of the two or more nozzles in or to one or more reduced flow axial upstream positions that are partially closed.

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.

Methods of using and repairing seal caps as well as constructions comprising seal caps, including in some embodiments seal caps which may be useful in sealing fasteners that protrude into fuel storage cells in aircraft. In some embodiments, methods include the use of optically translucent seal cap and application of a second quantity of sealant to fill voids observed within the interior of the seal cap after cure of a first quantity of sealant.

An injection molding apparatus (10) comprising a signal converter (1500) interconnected to a machine controller (MC) of an injection molding machine (IMM) that generates standardized signals (VPS), the signal converter (1500) receiving and converting the standardized signals (VS) to a command signal (MOPCS, PDCVS) that is compatible with a signal receptor or interface of an electrically powered actuator (940e, 941e, 942e) or a signal receptor, interface or driver of a proportional directional control valve (V, V1, V2) that drives a fluid driven actuator (940p, 941p, 942p) to respectively operate the electrically powered actuator (940e, 941e, 942e) or the proportional directional control valve (V, V1, V2) to move in a direction that operates to either begin an injection cycle and to end an injection cycle.

Methods and systems for co-extruding multiple polymeric material flow streams into a mold cavity to produce a molded plastic article having an injection-formed aperture in gate region of the article are disclosed herein. A method includes providing a valve pin having a distal portion with a first diameter and a mid-portion with a second diameter smaller than the first diameter and providing a mold defining a cavity corresponding to a shape of a resulting molded plastic article. The mold has a recess aligned with a gate region of the mold, extending into the mold and configured to receive the distal portion of the valve pin when the distal portion of the valve pin extends beyond the gate region. The method includes advancing the distal portion of the valve pin into the recess until the mid-portion of the valve pin at least partially extends into the gate region, thereby establishing a flow path for a combined polymeric stream into the cavity at the gate region for forming a molded plastic article having at least one layer of a first polymeric material and at least one layer of a second polymeric material. The method also includes withdrawing the mid-portion of the valve pin from the gate region, thereby forming an injection-molded aperture in the resulting molded plastic article at the gate region.

An injection molding system is equipped with a mold having a plurality of cavities, an injection device for injecting a molding material, and a controller for controlling the injection device to mold a plurality of molded parts. The controller includes a determining unit for determining quality of the plurality of molded parts molded at the plurality of cavities. Further, the controller includes a control unit for failure for preventing, when a molded part is judged to be defective, injection to a cavity used for the molded part judged to be good.

The invention relates to a system for controlling a shutter arranged to slide in a plastic material injection nozzle, comprising: a hydraulic or pneumatic actuating cylinder (1) coupled to said shutter to make it slide between a shutting off position of the nozzle and a maximum opening position of the nozzle, a device (2) for controlling the actuating cylinder (1), comprising at least two elements among: an element adapted to regulate the stroke of the actuating cylinder to a first constant speed, an element adapted to regulate the stroke of the actuating cylinder to a second constant speed, greater than the first speed, an element adapted to selectively block the stroke of the actuating cylinder, a sequential control unit comprising at least two control paths (30, 31, 32) configured to send selectively an electrical control signal to the device (2) via one and/or the other of said control paths (30, 31, 32) such that: under the effect of a first signal sent via the first control path (30), one of the elements is activated, under the effect of a second signal sent via the second control path (31), another element is activated.

Injection molding apparatuses and methods wherein a valve pin is controllably driven upstream and downstream along an axis between a first closed position where the tip end of the valve pin obstructs the gate to prevent the injection fluid from flowing into the cavity, a full open position and one or more intermediate positions, wherein the valve pin is drivable to be disposed or held in a selected intermediate position for a selected period of time during the course of an injection cycle where the tip end of the valve pin restricts flow of injection fluid through the gate to the mold cavity.

An injection molding system for implementing a molding process, comprising: a mold, a controller, a position sensor, wherein during an injection cycle, the system feeds the fluid material to one or more nozzles at one or more predetermined times, the controller being configured to receive and process the output signal from the position sensor to determine one or more actual flow rate indicative parameters, a user interface that displays one or more pin positions and one or more flow rate indicative parameters by which a user of the system can track the one or more pin positions and flow rate indicative parameters in real time during the injection cycle.

A method for manufacturing an injection molded container includes operating an injection molding apparatus to inject one or more polymeric materials into a mold cavity to form a container. The container includes an energy director ring protruding from an inside surface of the container and extending circumferentially along the inside surface. The method includes welding a filter onto the inside surface by applying a welding force to the inside surface. The energy director ring causes the welding force to be concentrated at a location of the energy director ring, thereby forming a circumferential weld that secures the filter to the inside surface the location of the energy director ring.