An injection molding machine includes a plasticizing unit having a plasticizing cylinder and a material-conveying device that is movable in the plasticizing cylinder and powered by a material-conveying drive, a material-conveying drive control, which is coupled with the material-conveying drive and is designed to control operating parameters of the material-conveying drive, a closing unit having an injection molding tool that is connected with an outlet nozzle of the plasticizing cylinder, as well as a closing unit control, which is coupled with a closing unit drive of the closing unit and is designed to control operating parameters of the closing unit drive. The injection molding machine further includes one or more dieletric or acoustic sensors which are disposed in the cavity of the injection molding tool or close to the cavity of the injection molding tool and are designed to determine the dielectric polarizability, mobility of free load carriers and/or acoustic material responses of a molding material in the cavity of the injection molding tool. A sensor control is coupled with the dielectric or acoustic sensor(s) and is designed to ascertain a time-dependent degree of crystallization and a time-dependent median temperature of the molding material in the cavity of the injection molding tool from the dielectric polarizability, mobility of free load carriers and/or acoustic material responses determined by the dielectric sensor(s) and, depending on the ascertained degree of crystallization and the ascertained median temperature, to actuate the material-conveying drive control and/or the closing unit control to adjust the operating parameters of the material-conveying drive and/or of the closing unit drive.

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.