An injection molding system comprising: a first selected valve, one or more downstream valves, delivering a fluid to a mold cavity, at least one fluid property sensor that detects a flow front of fluid material flowing downstream through the mold cavity at a trigger location within the cavity disposed between the first gate and at least one selected downstream gate, a controller instructing an actuator associated with the downstream gates to open the gates at a predetermined open gate target time on a first injection cycle, each valve associated with a position sensor that detects opening of a gate at an actual open gate time to the controller, the controller automatically adjusting time of instruction to open the gates on a subsequent injection cycle by an adjustment time equal to any delay in time between the predetermined open gate target time and the actual open gate time.

An injection molding apparatus with hot runners includes a rear plate that supports at least one manifold, wherein a first face of the rear plate that contains the main manifold is in direct contact with a first face of the manifold plate substantially on the entire flat surface of the first face of the manifold plate which is not affected by the recesses which, in the manifold plate, accommodate the secondary manifolds.

The manifold plate has nozzles, and the actuators of the injection nozzles are completely external to the rear plate, are completely inside recesses of the manifold plate, and are arranged so that a respective piston cylinder is compressed between the first face of the rear plate and the secondary manifold.

A rotary molding system for molding food products, mold cavities formed when a mold shell rotates mold shapes disposed along the mold shell into a fill position between a fill plate and a wear plate. Molded food products are removed from mold cavities using knock-out cups, the use of air pressure, or the use of a vacuum source disposed below the mold cavity, without the need to slow the rotation of the mold shell. Knock-out cups may be used with a heating system to reduce accumulation of unwanted materials on the knock-out cups. The rotary molding system can also be used to form products with contoured surfaces. A smart tagging system can be used to ensure that compatible sets of mold shells and knock out cups are being used. A vacuum region may be disposed upstream of the fill position to remove air within the mold cavity prior to filling.

Described herein is a liquid injector for a barrel extruder as well as methods and processes of manufacturing irradiation crosslinked polypropylene foam. In some embodiments, this includes a liquid injection barrel element that is incorporated in an extruder barrel that includes at least one injection port, a temperature sensor well, and cooling channels.

Injection unit for injection molding of plastic material including: an injection nozzle; a closure pin; and a guide and cooling assembly, interposed between the back driving plate and the hot distribution plate, in turn comprising: a guide and seal element for guiding the axial motion of the closure pin; a cooling ring; and pressure means configured to press the cooling ring directly and against the back driving plate; wherein the guide and seal element is slidably coupled, at an upper end, with a central hole of the cooling ring, and is fixed integrally, at the other end, to the hot distribution plate; and the cooling ring is able to slide laterally with respect to the back driving plate to recover the differences in thermal expansion between the hot distribution plate and the back driving plate and to transmit heat from the guide and seal element towards the back driving plate.

A co-injection nozzle is disclosed that includes a combining means configured to reduce shear heating and create a more even shear heating profile in core and skin material flow streams. The combining means is configured to reduce shear heating peaks and valleys in core and skin material flow streams as the streams flow between annular channels of the combining means during a mold filling process.

Hot-runner manifolds that contain one or more types of non-melt channels in addition to melt channels, and injection-molding systems containing such hot-runner manifolds. The differing types of non-melt channels include: coolant channels for carrying a coolant for cooling the tips of hot-tip nozzles, for example, during hot latching operations; heating-fluid channels for carrying a heating fluid for heating melt within melt channels within the hot-runner manifolds; and actuation-fluid channels for carrying actuation fluid to valves of valve-actuated nozzles. In each case, nozzles can be formed unitarily monolithically with the hot-runner manifolds and one or more of the various types of non-melt channels can be continuously routed within such unitary monolithic nozzles. Freeform fabrication processes can be used to form hot-runner manifolds of the present disclosure, which often contain complex/intricate internal passageways that form the various types of melt and non-melt channels.

A hot runner nozzle includes a nozzle body, an annular outlet channel in the nozzle body, a source channel upstream of the annular outlet channel in the nozzle body, and a flow transition channel in the nozzle body. The flow transition channel interconnects the source channel with a part-annular segment of the annular outlet channel. The flow transition channel widens in a downstream direction and has a non-uniform cross-sectional channel thickness in either or both of the longitudinal (downstream) and transverse directions. The geometry of the flow transition channel may promote at least one of a uniform velocity profile and a uniform temperature profile in a generated annular or part-annular melt flow.

An apparatus includes a stem connector configured to connect a movable piston with a valve stem, in which the movable piston is slidably receivable in a cylinder, and in which the cylinder is mountable to a distribution manifold of a molding system. The stem connector maintains connection between the movable piston and the valve stem while the valve stem is moved to selectively open or close a mold gate of a mold assembly installed in the molding system. The stem connector urges the movable piston to tilt at a tilt angle while the movable piston is moved along an interior of the cylinder, and in which the tilt angle is formed between a central piston axis extending through the movable piston and a central stem axis extends through the valve stem.

An injection molding system comprising: a first selected valve, one or more downstream valves, delivering a fluid to a mold cavity, at least one fluid property sensor, each valve associated with a position sensor that detects opening of a gate at an actual open gate time to the controller, the controller automatically adjusting time of instruction to open the gates on a subsequent injection cycle by an adjustment time equal to any delay in time between a predetermined open gate target time and an actual open gate time, wherein the system forms a first one or more parts or objects, the user inspecting or measuring the first one or more parts or objects and manually adjusts the predetermined open gate target time.