A molding system capable of detecting an abnormality for each cavity when a plurality of molded articles is molded at a time by a mold having a plurality of cavities mounted on an injection molding machine is a molding system for detecting an abnormality of a cavity by inspecting a molded article molded by a mold having a plurality of cavities mounted on an injection molding machine. The molding system includes a molded article information acquiring unit for acquiring molded article information indicating a state of the molded article for each cavity over a plurality of molding cycles, and a cavity abnormality detecting unit for detecting an abnormal cavity by mutually comparing tendencies of the molded article information between cavities.

An abnormality detection device includes a servo CPU; a physical quantity detection unit which detects a physical quantity such as a load applied on a servo motor which operates a movable part included in an injection molding machine. The abnormality detection device further includes a first storage unit directly readable/writable by the servo CPU; and a second storage unit not directly readable/writable by the servo CPU. A reference physical quantity is stored in the first and second storage units. The servo CPU outputs an instruction for stopping or decelerating the movable part in response to a first physical quantity deviation, which is a deviation between a reference physical quantity read from the first storage unit and a current physical quantity, or a second physical quantity deviation, which is a deviation between a reference physical quantity read from the second storage unit and a current physical quantity, exceeds a threshold value.

Provided is an injection molding system that uses an identification code, collectively manages the specifications and combinations of an injection molding machine and peripheral devices, and secures a suitable production state for a combination of a wide variety of specifications. An injection molding system include: an injection molding machine; a plurality of peripheral devices; an identification code attached to the injection molding machine and each of the plurality of peripheral devices, and having identification information of the injection molding machine and each of the plurality of peripheral devices; a code reader that reads the identification code; and a management unit including a storage unit that stores a correct combination of the identification code of the injection molding machine and the plurality of peripheral devices, and a confirmation determination unit for confirming whether the correct combination stored in the storage unit matches the identification code read by the code reader.

A method and apparatus for injection molding of plastic material into a cavity of a mold by means of at least one injector whose opening and closing occurs through an electronic control unit and wherein an undesired opening of the mold caused by any overpressure of the plastic material injected into the cavity of the mold is detected by means of transducers and corrected by means of the electronic control unit. The transducers are arranged outside the cavity of the mold.

Provided is a magnetic clamp device that is capable of more finely measuring an induced voltage generated in a coil and selecting countermeasures against reductions in magnetization force. Multiple magnet blocks 11, 21 each comprising an invertible magnet 18, the polarity of which can be inverted, and non-invertible magnet 15, are positioned on a surface of a plate PL composed of magnetic body magnetically clamping a mold M1, M2 when in a magnetized state. The magnetic flux traversing the invertible magnet 18; and a control device 33 that determines whether or not there has been a polarity inversion in the induced voltage detected from the coil 31, and if there has been a polarity inversion, warns that the adhesion of the molds M1, M2 has decreased.

A monitoring apparatus for molds includes a control unit connectable to a first and second sensor associable with the mold and configured for emitting respective signals representative of a deformation parameter and temperature parameter of the mold. The control unit, in order to define an alert condition, is configured for: defining a value of a threshold parameter as a function of the temperature of the mold and comparing such value of the deformation parameter with a value of a threshold parameter defined as a function of the temperature of the mold; or normalizing, at a reference temperature, the value of the deformation parameter determined at the temperature of the mold and comparing a value of a threshold parameter, defined at the reference temperature, with the value of the normalized deformation parameter at the same reference temperature. Also forming the object of the present invention is a monitoring method and a data medium.

A hot runner process controller configured to monitor the status and operation of a hot runner system to autonomously generate information to improve the quality of injection molding process of a hot runner system having an inlet nozzle, one or more manifolds and one or more nozzles with actuator or without actuator, and one or more heating elements, the hot runner process controller is self-operating, and independent from the injection molding machine, includes: one or more sensors located on, in or at the hot runner system to detect the status and/or the operation of the hot runner system, and a processing unit and a memory. The processing unit is connected to the one or more sensors, wherein the memory stores data and program codes. The processing unit is configured to load and execute the program code to compare sensor information with the stored data and to determine if the hot runner system is in an operable status, and in case the hot runner system is in an operable status, configured to generate status information to activate the one or more heating elements and/or the one or more actuators enabling a production operation of the injection molding machine. In case the hot runner system is not in an operable status, configured to generate status information to deactivate the one or more heating elements and/or close or deactivate the one or more actuators disabling a production operation of the injection molding machine.

An injection molding machine includes: a timing belt wound around a driving-side rotation member and a driven-side rotation member and configured to transmit power from the driving-side rotation member to the driven-side rotation member; a driving-side rotation detecting unit configured to detect a rotational speed of the driving-side rotation member; a driven-side rotation detecting unit configured to detect a rotational speed of the driven-side rotation member; and an abnormality detecting unit configured to detect an abnormality in the timing belt based on a relative speed difference between the rotational speed of the driving-side rotation member detected by the driving-side rotation detecting unit and the rotational speed of the driven-side rotation member detected by the driven-side rotation detecting unit in a predetermined period after the driving-side rotation member starts to rotate from a stopped state.

A method to predict the remaining useful life of a plasticizing screw for an injection molding machine is provided. The method comprises: creating an energy-pressure ratio distribution estimate for normal operation of the screw for a mold; creating a temporally local energy-pressure ratio distribution estimate from real time data for the screw for the mold; comparing the local distribution with the distribution for normal operation; and generating an alert if the comparison of the two distributions predicts that the remaining useful life is negligible.

A vertical injection molding machine includes a mold clamping device configured to clamp a mold, an injection device provided on the mold clamping device, the injection device being configured to inject an injection material, a controller including an operation terminal, the operation terminal provided on an operation side of the vertical injection molding machine, and a safety fence surrounding other three sides of the vertical injection molding machine except for the operation side. Alight curtain and a cover are provided on the operation side. The light curtain includes a plurality of spaced light sources and the same number of light receiving sensors, the light curtain being configured to detect an entry into the mold clamping device from the operation side. The cover is disposed on or above the light curtain.