An apparatus for controlling the rate of flow of a fluid mold material comprising: a manifold, an actuator interconnected to a valve pin, a position sensor that senses position of the valve pin, a controller that controls movement of the actuator according to instructions that instruct the actuator to drive the valve pin upstream at one or more selected intermediate velocities in response to receipt by the controller of a signal from the position sensor that the valve pin is disposed in the one or more intermediate upstream gate open positions.

An apparatus for controlling the rate of flow of mold material to a mold cavity, the apparatus comprising: an injection molding machine and a manifold; an actuator interconnected to a valve pin having a tip end; a valve system in fluid communication with the actuator to drive the actuator at one or more rates of travel, the valve system having a start position, one or more intermediate drive rate positions and a high drive rate position, the start position holding the valve pin in a gate closed position; a controller that instructs the valve system to move from the start position to the one or more intermediate drive rate positions and to remain in the one or more intermediate drive rate positions for one or more corresponding predetermined amounts of time.

In an injection molding system a cooling manifold system includes a first manifold disposed adjacent to a second manifold. Supply valves are arranged to selectively pass a coolant from the first manifold respectively to each of a plurality of mold cooling circuits and a plurality of return valves are arranged to selectively pass the coolant from the plurality of mold cooling circuits to the second manifold when one or more of a plurality of return valves is in an open position. Valve pairs associated with a common mold cooling circuit are mechanically linked so that operation of a supply valve and return valve can be concurrently performed from one side of the manifold system without interference from a plurality of hoses attached to the supply and return valves.

A method for controlling an injection molding machine comprising a reciprocating plasticizing screw and a controller system adapted for measuring or calculating at least one first production parameter and for controlling/setting at least one second production parameter on the injection molding machine. The method comprises setting a preselected target value for the first production parameter, and inputting the target value into the controller system. The method comprises comparing the measured first production parameter of one production cycle with the preselected target value for the first production parameter. The method comprises calculating by the controller system a new value for the second production parameter as a function of the difference between the first production parameter and the preselected target value for the selected actual production parameter. The method comprises setting by the controller system said new value for the second production parameter for a subsequent production cycle.

The invention relates to a material conveying device for feeding at least one injection molding and/or extrusion unit with a non-free-flowing or viscous feed material, having a feed hopper rotatable relative to a bracket about an axis of rotation and a screw conveyor arranged rotatably along an inner jacket surface of the feed hopper in a screw shaft of the bracket, which is designed to convey the feed material from the feed hopper to an outlet, wherein the screw shaft is connected to a hopper outlet of the feed hopper, and wherein the screw conveyor is drivable via at least one drive device.

In order to enable the conveying of feed materials with different properties in the simplest possible way, it is provided that at least one media feed channel opens into the screw shaft, which is designed to feed at least one additional medium to the feed material, wherein at least one mixing device is arranged in the region of the screw conveyor and/or downstream of the screw conveyor, which is designed to mix the feed material and the additional medium.

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.

A method of molding a composition comprising a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (TLCP) comprising mesogens; providing a mold having a mold cavity, with a feature cavity comprising a fine feature chamber; heating the composition to form molten composition; filling the fine feature chamber with molten composition moving at a flow velocity that causes flow alignment of at least a portion of the mesogens in the molten TLCP filling the fine feature chamber, relative to a flow direction of the moving molten composition; and solidifying the molten composition such that mesogens of at least the solidified TLCP in the fine feature chamber maintain their flow alignment. A molded article comprising a body and a 3-dimensional structural feature protruding out from the body and comprising a fine feature element having a minor dimension, with TLCP mesogens across the minor dimension being in a flow aligned state.

Injection molding apparatuses and methods wherein a valve pin is controllably driven upstream and downstream along an axis between a first closed position where the tip end of the valve pin obstructs the gate to prevent the injection fluid from flowing into the cavity, a full open position and one or more intermediate positions, wherein the valve pin is drivable to be disposed or held in a selected intermediate position for a selected period of time during the course of an injection cycle where the tip end of the valve pin restricts flow of injection fluid through the gate to the mold cavity.

A time variation of an internal pressure of the molding cavity of a multi-phase injection molding machine is detected and represented as an internal pressure graph. An internal pressure graph recorded during a production cycle that produced an injection molded part satisfying a predefined quality characteristic is used as a reference graph. If the internal pressure graph of the current production cycle exceeds a predefined threshold value, then a current machine parameter is changed so as to adapt an internal pressure graph of a subsequent production cycle to the reference graph. Each phase of the production cycle is assigned its own machine parameter determined to have a significant impact on the quality of the parts produced. The assigned machine parameters are changed in a predefined order in a plurality of production cycles wherein exactly one assigned machine parameter is changed per production cycle.

A strain gauge nozzle adapter that may be placed between a barrel end cap and a nozzle body of an injection molding system, the strain gauge nozzle adapter having a strain gauge pin that measures strain within the strain gauge nozzle adapter for use in approximating conditions within an injection molding system, such as pressure or the location of a melt flow front. The strain gauge nozzle adapter may include a plurality of strain gauge pins. An alternative material insert in the strain gauge nozzle adapter may surround a strain gauge pin to amplify meaningful measurements obtained by the strain gauge pin so that noise measurements do not compromise the accuracy of approximation of conditions within a mold.