Apparatus (3) for detecting a leak of molten plastics material in a hot runner mould (1) comprises a detecting circuit (28) which in turn comprises a plurality of tubular detecting elements (30) connected in series by connecting conduits (32). The detecting circuit (28) is located in galleries (25) in the hot runner mould (1) with the tubular detecting elements (30) located adjacent locations in the galleries (25) where leaks are likely to occur. A compressed air source (40) delivers compressed air at a regulated pressure through the detecting circuit (28) at a controlled flow rate controlled by a flow controller (45). A first pressure sensor (43) at the upstream end of the detecting circuit (28) and a second pressure sensor (44) at a downstream end of the detecting circuit (28) monitors the pressure upstream of the detecting circuit (28). The tubular detecting elements (30) are of heat stabilised silicone rubber material of deformable transverse cross-section, which is deformable by molten plastics material leaking into the gallery (25) adjacent the corresponding one of the tubular detecting elements (30). A microcontroller (47) monitors signals from the first and second pressure sensors (43) and (44) and on detecting an increase in the pressure read from the second pressure sensor (44) above a stored normal pressure value, the microcontroller (47) operates a sounder (52) and a relay (54) to activate a visual alert and to deactivate the moulding machine.

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.

When an injection molding machine performs molding, the mold clamping force on the mold is adjusted on the basis of a mold displacement of the mold or the injection peak pressure and injection foremost position so that the molding is performed without causing flash and by an appropriate mold clamping force with which energy can be reduced. The amount of mold displacement and also the injection peak pressure and the injection foremost position are monitored during automatic operation. If there occurs no mold displacement change exceeding a threshold or if there occurs no injection peak pressure anomaly or injection foremost position anomaly exceeding thresholds, the automatic operation is continued. If the mold displacement change occurs or if the injection peak pressure anomaly and the injection foremost position anomaly occur, the operation of the injection molding machine is stopped.

An injection molding system includes: an injection molding machine; an inspection device including a first placement unit, a second placement unit, an inspection unit, and a moving unit configured to change a relative position between the first placement unit and the inspection unit and a relative position between the second placement unit and the inspection unit; a third placement unit; a robot configured to convey the molded object; and a control device. The control device controls the injection molding machine, the robot, and the inspection device so as to mold a first molded object during a first molding period, inspect the first molded object placed on the first placement unit during a first inspection period, convey the first molded object after inspection from the first placement unit to the third placement unit during a first conveyance period, mold a second molded object during a second molding period, inspect the second molded object placed on the second placement unit during a second inspection period, convey the second molded object after inspection from the second placement unit to the third placement unit during a second conveyance period, and overlap the first inspection period and the second molding period and overlap the second inspection period and the first conveyance period.

An injection molding system includes: an injection molding machine configured to operate in accordance with a command generated using a first language, and inject a molten material into a mold to mold a molded object; a robot configured to operate in accordance with a command generated using a second language, and convey the molded object; and a control device configured to control the injection molding machine and the robot. When determining that an error occurs in at least one of the injection molding machine and the robot, the control device transmits, to the injection molding machine, a command generated using the first language and for causing the injection molding machine to execute a return operation, and transmits, to the robot, a command interpretable by the second language and for causing the robot to execute a return operation, so as to cause the injection molding machine and the robot to execute the return operations.

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.

A safety apparatus includes a safety bar that is capable of moving in a mold clamping direction and a mold opening direction, in conjunction with a moving platen provided with a movable mold, and a latch that contacts the safety bar when a door, which is provided in a cover of an injection molding device, is open, wherein the latch includes a notch in a surface thereof on the mold-opening-direction side.

A drive mechanism for an injection molding machine that causes a movable object to undergo movement includes a driving motor that generates a driving force, a drive pulley connected to the driving motor, a driven pulley connected to the movable object, and a plurality of belts (a wide belt and a narrow belt) of equal length, the belts being arranged in parallel with each other and trained around the drive pulley and the driven pulley.

A method for the automatic process monitoring and/or process diagnosis of a piece-based process, in particular a production process, in particular an injection-molding process, including the steps: a) performing an automated reference finding in order to obtain reference values (r.sub.1 . . . r.sub.n) from values (x.sub.0 . . . x.sub.j) of at least one process variable; b) performing an anomaly detection on the basis of the reference values (r.sub.1 . . . r.sub.n) found in step (a); c) performing an automated cause analysis and/or an automated fault diagnosis on the basis of a qualitative model of process relationships and/or on the basis of dependencies of various process variables on each other.

Method for checking the suitability of a moulding tool for a defined moulding process includes providing an electronic dataset in which each of different features of a moulding tool has a range of possible values; selecting a feature of the electronic dataset as a characterizing feature; establishing an identity of the moulding tool by at least one value of the value range of the characterizing feature, wherein a moulding tool to be checked is regarded as identical to the moulding tool precisely when the established value is present in relation to the characterizing feature; providing an electronic tool dataset including a plurality of different features; allocating the electronic tool dataset to the moulding tool with the established identity by a computing unit; and checking the electronic tool dataset with the computing unit in relation to the suitability of a moulding tool with the established identity in the defined moulding process.