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 injection molding machine with an injection system and a clamping system. The injection system may include a removable injection module defining a portion of the material flow path. The injection module may include all of parts that come in contact with the material between the material source and the mold. The injection module may include a valve arrangement movable between a fill position to load the injection module with material and an inject position to eject material from the injection module into the mold. The actuators for the injection module may be supported on the machine rather than the injection module. The clamping system may include a platen linear actuator to open and close the mold, and a hydraulic clamping system to apply clamping force to the closed mold. The hydraulic clamping system may include a free-float valve manifold assembly that selectively places the hydraulic cylinders in free-float mode.

A hot-runner injection molding apparatus that facilitates use of actuators in a compact design includes a hot-runner manifold defining resin channels for conveying resin to nozzles that serve as conduits for introducing liquid resin into a mold cavity, a valve pin configured for linear movement along a longitudinal axis of the nozzle to control flow of liquid resin through the nozzle, and an actuator having a housing, wherein the valve pin is coupled to a drive shaft within the housing.

An injection molding apparatus and hot runner system are disclosed. The injection molding apparatus includes a plurality of mold plates in which the hot runner system is received. A manifold receives molding material and has a manifold channel that extends between an inlet and an outlet. A nozzle delivers moldable material to a mold cavity. The nozzle has a nozzle channel in fluid communication between the manifold channel and the mold cavity. A valve pin seal is located at the upstream end of the nozzle, and a valve pin that is connected to an actuator extends through the manifold and nozzle is slidably received in the valve pin seal. The hot runner system further includes a thermal bridge that is in conductive thermal communication with the valve pin seal and a cooled one of the plurality of mold plates.

In an injection molding machine including a first nozzle and a second nozzle that injects resin into a mold from the first nozzle through the second nozzle, a distance between the second nozzle and the mold is changed with movement of at least the second nozzle in a first direction, and the second nozzle is displaceable in a second direction in a state in which the mold is fixedly secured relative to the first nozzle and the second nozzle is in contact with the first nozzle.

A system and method for the injection moulding of plastic material through a plurality of injectors each having a pin valve displaceable in a controlled fashion between a closing position and an opening position by a respective actuator of an electronic control type, in which there is provided prompt activation of a preset function of changing a colour of the plastic material to be injected, actuated according to an optimized sequence which minimizes a number of moulding operations required to change the colour.

A container made by blow molding out of crystallisable polymers having regular sequence of variations in molecular pre-alignment/orientation between different locations of the cross-section of the preform.

Disclosed herein, amongst other things, is a control structure for a molding system (900). The control structure includes a controller (106, 934) and a valve actuator (104) for positioning a valve member (102) of a valve (101) for regulating flow of molding material in the molding system (900), wherein the controller (106, 934) is configured to monitor an operating parameter of the valve actuator (104) for indirectly appreciating an indication of a molding parameter of the molding system (900).

A system and method for the injection moulding of plastic material through a plurality of injectors each having a pin valve displaceable in a controlled fashion between a closing position and an opening position by a respective actuator of an electronic control type, in which there is provided prompt activation of a preset function of changing a color of the plastic material to be injected, actuated according to an optimized sequence which minimizes a number of moulding operations required to change the color.

Apparatus for injection moulding of plastic material includes a mould having at least one gate towards a moulding cavity and at least one injector cooperating with the gate. The gate is formed by a gate insert screwed and arranged resting on a centring seat with conical surface of the mould.