The present disclosure provides a molding system for preparing a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite article. The molding system includes: a molding machine; a mold disposed on the molding machine and having a mold cavity for being filled with a composite molding material including a polymeric resin and a plurality of fibers; a processing module configured to generate an anisotropic stress distribution of the composite molding material in the mold cavity based on a molding condition for the molding machine; and a controller coupled to the processing module and configured to control the molding machine with the molding condition to perform an actual molding process for preparing the fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite article. The anisotropic stress distribution of the composite molding resin is generated based in part on consideration of an integral effect of an elongational viscosity and a shear viscosity of the composite molding material.

The injection moulding of articles formed by plastic materials having different characteristics, for example of different colours, is carried out in a single injection cycle in which the first and the second plastic materials are injected into a first and into a second zone of a mould cavity by first and second injectors controlled according to specific modes so as to define a shape and/or a position of a weld line.

A method of classifying a temperature control branch of a molding tool includes producing molded parts in cycles by a portion of the molding tool by introducing heat into the molding tool, and/or cyclically activating a heating device, with introduction of heat into the molding tool, conveying temperature control medium through the temperature control branch of the molding tool to dissipate the introduced heat, measuring a temporal branch temperature profile of the temperature control medium in the temperature control branch over several production cycles, analyzing a curve behavior of the branch temperature profile and/or of a variable derived from the branch temperature profile, in particular of a branch heat flow, over several production cycles, and sorting the temperature control branch into one of at least two categories, according to greater and/or smaller influence on the heat budget of the portion of the molding tool, on the basis of the curve behavior.

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.

The invention relates to a hydraulic device for supplying a plurality of work units (3a, 3b), in particular on a plastics injection moulding machine, said device comprising at least one controller (7), at least one valve regulator and/or one valve controller and a central drive (1). A regulating valve (13a, 13b) with a regulating-valve geometry is provided on at least one of the work units (3a, 3b). Pressure sensors (8) detect at least one pressure both upstream and downstream of the regulating valve (13a, 13b), the load pressure (10a, 10b) of at least one of the work units (3a, 3b), and the system pressure (9). Since the valve regulator and/or the valve controller has knowledge about the regulating-valve geometry of the at least one regulating valve (13a, 13b) and is designed to derive, from a relationship between the regulating-valve geometry and at least one pressure difference resulting from the pressures detected upstream and downstream of the regulating valve (13a, 13b), at least one volume flow rate actual value per regulating valve (13a, 13b), and the controller (7) is designed to derive, from the volume flow rate setpoint values of the at least one work unit (3a, 3b) and/or the volume flow rate actual values of the at least one regulating valve (13a, 13b), at least one setpoint value feedforward control for the central drive (1) in such a way that the system pressure (9) corresponds at least to the relevant highest load pressure (10a, 10b) of the work units (3a, 3b), the hydraulic device is improved in terms of functionality, energy, efficiency and economy.

In order to reduce oscillations in process variables of an injection molding process, a variable-gain proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is utilized to control one or more of the process variables. The injection molding system may also include a tuning controller to automatically tune at least one of the proportional, integral, or derivative gains within a mold cycle. The tuning controller may obtain sensor data that monitors the operation of the injection molding machine to determine an adjustment to at least one of the proportional, integral, or derivative gains. The tuning controller may adjust the gains of the variable-gain PID controller in accordance with the determined adjustment to the at least one of the proportional, integral, or derivative gains.

In order to reduce oscillations in process variables of an injection molding process, an injection molding machine may be operatively connected to a model database that stores models of injection molding machines and molds. A tuning controller may set initial gain values of a variable-gain proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. To set the initial gains, the tuning controller may be configured to obtain, from the model database, a model for a first and second injection molding machines and a model for a mold. The tuning controller may analyze the models to determine a correlation between injection molding machine parameters and mold cycle performance for the mold. Accordingly, the tuning controller may apply the correlation to determine an initial gain value for a least one of the first, second, and third gains of the PID controller. The tuning controller may then set the initial gain values for the PID controller.

The present disclosure provides a molding system for preparing a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite article. The molding system includes: a molding machine; a mold disposed on the molding machine and having a mold cavity for being filled with a composite molding material including a polymeric resin and a plurality of fibers; a processing module configured to generate an anisotropic stress distribution of the composite molding material in the mold cavity based on a molding condition for the molding machine; and a controller coupled to the processing module and configured to control the molding machine with the molding condition to perform an actual molding process for preparing the fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite article. The anisotropic stress distribution of the composite molding resin is generated based in part on consideration of an anisotropic rotational diffusion effect of the fibers in the composite molding material.

A material feeding device includes a plasticizing unit configured to plasticize resin pellets to generate a plasticized material, a nozzle that has a nozzle opening and is configured to send out the plasticized material from the nozzle opening to the outside, a flow path that communicates with the nozzle opening and through which the plasticized material flows, a suction unit including a plunger configured to suction the plasticized material into a first cylinder coupled to the flow path, and a plunger motor configured to drive the plunger, and a detection unit configured to detect a position of the plunger in the first cylinder.

A method for monitoring a device for supplying temperature control media to a mold of a molding machine, wherein the device has a feed line and a return line between which a temperature control line is arranged, a measuring element arranged in each of the temperature control lines actually to be monitored, and a control element arranged in each temperature control line to be regulated or to be controlled. A pressure drop in the temperature control line is measured, a hydraulic resistance and/or a change in resistance of the temperature control line is calculated based on an a volumetric flow rate measured using the measuring element and based on the measured pressure drop. The degree of opening of the control element is taken into consideration in the calculation of the hydraulic resistance and/or the change in resistance.