To provide an injection molding machine which includes: a melting unit including a screw rotating about a rotation axis and having a groove forming surface on which a groove is formed and a barrel provided with a communication hole in a facing surface facing the groove forming surface, and configured to plasticize a material to generate a plasticized material and make the plasticized material flow out of the communication hole; a heating unit configured to heat the melting unit; an injection nozzle in communication with the communication hole and configured to inject the plasticized material into a mold; an injection control unit including a cylinder coupled to the communication hole and a plunger; a pressure detection unit configured to detect a pressure of the plasticized material flowing into the communication hole; and a control unit. The control unit controls the injection control unit to execute, based on a detected value, at least one of a metering operation of metering the plasticized material in the communication hole in the cylinder, and an injecting operation of injecting the plasticized material in the cylinder into the mold via the injection nozzle.

A method or system for industrial process optimization, including sensing data about an industrial process cycle that operates according to a set of process setpoints; determining a target performance for the process cycle based on the sensed data; selecting process set-points from a hypothesis space for a future industrial process cycle based on the target performance, and updating the hypothesis space.

A shaping machine or a handling apparatus for a shaping machine includes at least one measuring device for measuring the spacing of two selected points of the shaping machine or the handling apparatus. Furthermore, the at least one measuring device has at least one piezoresistive micromechanical sensor.

A method of influencing a backpressure length and/or a screw return speed in an axially extending plasticizing cylinder of a plasticizing unit for an injection moulding machine including a plasticizing screw arranged displaceably and rotatably in a cylinder bore of the plasticizing cylinder. Metering of plastic granulate fed to the plasticizing unit is carried out in dependence on the desired backpressure length in the plasticizing unit, and the plasticizing unit is operated in underfed mode.

A method of manufacturing an optical component having micro-structures is described. The method detects a crystallization temperature within a crystallization temperature interval for fully filling the molding material into a mold cavity to rapidly produce the optical element having a micro-structure with a large area.

Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure are directed to external sensor kits that may be included in new injection molds or retrofitted into existing injection molds in order to approximate conditions within a mold, such as pressure or the location of a melt flow front. Such kits are designed to amplify meaningful measurements obtained by the external sensor kit so that noise measurements do not prevent the approximation of conditions within a mold. In some embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure, an external sensor kit includes a strain gauge sensor, a coupon, a support bracket, and a hammer. The strain gauge sensor is placed on a surface of the coupon and measures the strain in the coupon.

The invention describes a method of determining a number of process parameter values within an injection mould (1F) during an injection moulding process, which method comprises the steps of determining geometric data of the injection mould (1F) and/or of a form part (1, 1′, 1″) to be manufactured, determining a virtual part-specific pressure curve (p.sub.S) of an injection moulding process, determining a part-specific event pattern (M.sub.S) on the basis of the virtual part-specific pressure curve (p.sub.S), carrying out an injection moulding process using the injection mould (1F) and determining a measured pressure curve (p.sub.m) during the injection moulding process and determining a measurement event pattern (M.sub.m) on the basis of the measured pressure curve (p.sub.m). Process parameter values are derived on the basis of the virtual event pattern and the measurement event pattern. The invention further describes a corresponding process parameter value determining apparatus and an injection mould arrangement.

The invention describes a method of determining and visualizing process parameter values of an injection moulding process, which method comprises the steps of determining geometric data of the injection mould (1F) and/or of a form part (1, 1′, 1″) to be manufactured in the injection mould (1F), carrying out an injection moulding process using the injection mould (1F) and recording measurement values as a function of the injection time and/or an actuator position (s), determining, as process parameter values on the basis of the measurement values and geometry data of the injection mould (1F), a flow front position inside the injection mould (1F) or the form part (1′, 1″) as a function of the injection time and/or an actuator position. The invention further describes a corresponding process parameter value determining apparatus (20) and an injection mould arrangement (10) with such a process parameter value determining arrangement (20).

A remote controller can be provided on any apparatus that employs feedback control from a native controller to add functionality to the apparatus where the native controller is not capable of providing such functionality independently.

A method of selecting thermoplastic materials for use with an injection molding apparatus that adjusts viscosity of a thermoplastic material based on an interpreted viscosity is provided. The method includes determining a target MFI for an identified plastic article based on performance properties. A thermoplastic material supply chain is analyzed and a first thermoplastic material having a first starting MFI and a first MFI range is identified and a second thermoplastic material having a second starting MFI and a second MFI range that is greater than the first MFI range is identified and is priced less than the first thermoplastic material. The second thermoplastic material is purchased. The second thermoplastic material is tested by providing the second thermoplastic material to the injection molding apparatus for multiple shot molding cycles with the second thermoplastic material in a molten state. The step of testing includes monitoring melt pressure of the molten second thermoplastic material using a sensor and providing a signal to a controller indicative of melt pressure. The controller controls introduction of an additive to the second thermoplastic material thereby changing a viscosity of the molten second thermoplastic material based on the signal. A molded article is formed by reducing a mold temperature of the second thermoplastic material within the at least one mold cavity.