An injection molding unit includes a main unit and an optional unit, the main unit accommodating a first injection molding machine that molds an integrated product by injecting a first molding material into a cavity which is defined by a lower die and an upper die and in which an insert member is disposed. The optional unit includes at least one of a member molding unit that accommodates a second injection molding machine that molds the insert member by injecting a second molding material or a press molding machine that molds the insert member in press molding, and a robot unit that accommodates a robot that performs placement operation of placing the insert member in the cavity or transport operation of transporting the integrated product molded by the first injection molding machine. The main unit is so configured that the optional unit is attachable thereto and detachable therefrom.

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for efficiently and economically manufacturing molded polymer products such as those that require a two-shot, two-material injection molding process, with complex geometries and incorporate metal components such as inserts. The systems and methods include compact manufacturing cells and processes of operating such manufacturing cells. The manufacturing cells include a single injection molding machine with two molds arranged to simultaneously operate both molds. The manufacturing cell is arranged to be fully automated so that it is operative without the need for intervention or management from dedicated personnel. Such automation includes the automated sorting and placement of metal inserts into the injection molding machine, the automated removal of the product after the first molding stage and second molding stage, the automated inspection of every finished product, the automated sorting of conforming and rejected products, and the automated packaging of finished product for shipment to end user.

Provided are a control device and a control method for an injection molding machine that carries out a punching step with high reliability. A control device for an injection molding machine, the control device being equipped with: a mold opening/closing unit that integrally moves a fixed mold and a moving mold of a mold of the injection molding machine in the opening direction from a state where the mold is closed, thereby creating a gap between the fixed mold and a mounting plate; an insertion member control unit for inserting an insertion member into the gap; an assessment unit for assessing whether the insertion member has been inserted into the gap; and a push control unit for pushing out a punching pin when the insertion member has been assessed to have been inserted into the gap.

A method of arranging, in particular thermoplastic, semi-finished products by using an electronically controlled or regulated placing device for the semi-finished products. The method includes detecting at least one part of an outline of a semi-finished product to be placed, wherein the detecting is carried out by a detection device, determining a target position for the semi-finished product and/or for the placing device for placing the semi-finished product by matching the at least one part of the outline with a placing edge occurring on an underlying surface, and placing the semi-finished product by the placing device using the target position.

An apparatus, system, and method of forming a mold insert for an injection molding operation, comprising: providing a design of an injection mold part; analyzing, by a predictive model, the design to determine a conformal cooling arrangement for a mold insert for forming the injection mold part; and forming the mold insert including the conformal cooling arrangement.

An insert molding includes a lithium-ion battery, temperature measurement element and a pressure measurement element disposed close to the lithium-ion battery to sense temperature and pressure around the lithium-ion battery during insert molding; and a molding resin that covers the lithium-ion battery, the temperature measurement element, the pressure measurement element and a cover member.

A method and device for injection moulding, in particular for micro-injection moulding, at least comprising a mould with a first mould half and a second mould half, wherein the first mould half and the second mould half define an injection moulding space in the closed state of the mould, and an insert arranged in the injection moulding space.

A method for verifying whether a molding insert (1a, 1b) is accurately mounted to a tooling plate (2a, 2b) comprises the steps of: a) providing a confocal sensor (3a, 3b); b) arranging the confocal sensor (3a, 3b) such that a confocal sensor reference plane (32a, 32b) as well as a tooling plate reference plane (22a, 22b) are normal to a mounting axis (21a, 21b) of the tooling plate and spaced from each other by a predetermined first distance (d1, e1); c) measuring a second distance (d2, e2) between the confocal sensor reference plane (32a, 32b) and a central impingement location (11a, 11b) on a molding surface (12a, 12b) of the molding insert (1a, 1b); d) based on the measured second distance (d2, e2) as well as based on the predetermined first distance (d1, e1), determining a third distance (d3, e3) of the central impingement location (11a, 11b) relative to the tooling plate reference plane (22a, 22b); e) comparing the third distance (d3, e3) with a predetermined target distance, and f) determining that the molding insert (1a, 1b) is accurately mounted to the tooling plate (2a, 2b) if the difference between the third distance (d3, e3) and the predetermined target distance is less than a threshold difference.

A method for decorative molding capable of reducing a preparation time at the time of replacing a mold and expecting improvement in positioning accuracy of a decorative pattern in a molded article includes supplying a film on which a decorative pattern is formed between a first mold and a second mold in a mold open state of a mold, imaging a mold-side alignment mark recorded in the mold and a film-side alignment mark recorded in the film by a camera, positioning the film with respect to the mold by moving the film so that the film-side alignment mark comes close to the mold-side alignment mark, injecting resin into the mold in a mold closed state in which the film is sandwiched between the first mold and the second mold and cooling the resin to form a molded article and opening the mold and taking out the molded article in which the decorative pattern of the film is transferred to the surface.

A heating module for heating at least one film element. The heating module has two or more heating segments with in each case one or more heating elements for heating a first area of the film element assigned to the respective heating segment, wherein the heating module and/or at least one of the heating segments includes at least one sensor for measuring the state of the heating of the film element.