A fluid phase change thermal management cooling method and apparatus for removing heat from a source of heat, the method comprising the steps of: filling a cooling chamber with volume V1 of a fluid phase change thermal management cooling apparatus with a fluid in its liquid phase; increasing the volume of the cooling chamber to volume V2 to va-pourise a portion of the fluid from its liquid phase to its vapour phase such that there is substantially only the fluid in its liquid phase and fluid in its vapour phase within the volume V2; allowing a dwell time that provides for at least some of the fluid in its liquid phase that has contact with a heated surface of the cooling chamber to be vaporised; and repeating the steps where timing of the steps and dwell time between steps is selected to control heat build-up within selected limits.

An injection molding heat removal sensing and control system and method are provided for determining and controlling a heat transfer rate for a mold in a molding machine. The system includes an inflow temperature sensor for sensing an inflow temperature for coolant provided to the mold, an outflow temperature sensor for sensing an outflow temperature for coolant exiting the mold, and a flow rate sensor for sensing a flow rate for coolant through the mold. The electronic processor is also configured to calculate a heat transfer rate for the mold from the inflow temperature, the outflow temperature, the flow rate for the coolant, and the calculated mass and the temperature of the molten plastic. The processor determines a time lag between when heat enters the mold and when heat is removed by the coolant and pre-emptively adjusts coolant flow rate to provide uniform heat transfer throughout a molding cycle. The heat transfer rate and total energy removed can be determined and provided on the display.

A forming tool with forced thermal fluid-based spatio-temporal temperature control of a surface of the tool has a subsurface manifold underlying at least a part of a forming surface of the tool and a number P of at least 6 ports, each port fluid coupled respectively to the manifold via respective channels, where the ports exit the tool at disparate points, with each pair of ports in fluid communication via the manifold. This structure allows manifold path diversity for varying thermal fluid supply and drainage. The manifold may be reinforced.

A device for marking a work piece that is at least partially formed or reshaped through a thermal process is provided. The device includes a plurality of heating elements distributed laterally on a surface that is placed against the work piece and can be individually controlled for local heating of a work piece surface. Each of the heating elements includes a solid material with a surface structure and a heating structure. The surface structure includes at least one of a specifically or randomly varied topography. The surface structure can be at least partially heated through the heating structure.

An injection molding apparatus (10) comprising: a heatable manifold (40) arranged to receive molten injection fluid (18); one or more nozzles (20, 22, 24); a flow channel (19, 42, 44, 46) arranged to deliver the molten injection fluid to a gate (32, 34, 36) of a mold cavity (30); an electrical drive (940d, 941d, 942d) adapted to receive and distribute electrical energy in controllably varied amounts during an injection cycle; a valve pin (1040, 1041, 1042); an actuator (940, 941, 942) coupled to the valve pin, the actuator having: a driver (940dr, 941dr, 942dr), arranged to receive the controllably varied electrical energy from the electrical drive, an actuator housing (940h, 941h, 942h); a source of heat absorptive fluid (260, 125f); and at least one channel (25, 33, 125) formed in or proximate one or the other or both of the actuator housing (940h, 941h, 942h) and the drive mount (940ds, 941ds) wherein the heat absorptive fluid absorbs heat from one or the other or both of the actuator housing and the drive mount.

A temperature control apparatus includes a temperature control branch connected to a feed line for a temperature control medium, a pump system including a pump for conveying the medium, a pump open-loop or closed-loop control device for controlling the output of the pump system, a throttle device having a variable degree of opening for throttling a quantitative through-flow of the medium in the temperature control branch, and an open-loop or closed-loop control device with the degree of opening of the throttle device as a setting value and with a control variable from the group: degree of opening of the throttle device, temperature, temperature difference, through-flow, pressure or a physical value to be derived from that group. The pump open-loop or closed-loop control device is configured to control an operation of the pump to adjust the delivery output of the pump system depending on the degree of opening of the throttle device.

A temperature control device is provided that is capable of making the temperature of a metallic mold speedily reach a target temperature. The temperature control device is provided with: a first medium circulating portion that circulates a medium via a first pipeline; a second medium circulating portion that circulates the medium via a second pipeline; a third medium circulating portion that circulates the medium via a third pipeline; a switching portion that switches the medium circulated through an object by selecting any one of the first pipeline, the second pipeline and the third pipeline; and a pressure supply portion that supplies a required pressure through a pressure pipe communicating with each of the first pipeline, the second pipeline and the third pipeline.

A method manufacturing a molded part with an injection molding machine including conveying a first mold between a first position for injection processing and a second position for a cooling process, conveying a second mold between the first position and a third position for performing the cooling process, performing the injection process on the mold located at the first position, removing a molded part from the mold after the cooling process, exchanging the first mold for a third mold when a number of molded parts associated with the first mold are removed reaches a predetermined number, wherein the second mold and the third mold are conveyed, and controlling, during at least a part of exchanging the first mold and the third mold such that the injection process, the cooling process, and the removing are performed without conveying the second mold between the first position and the third position

An injection molding heat removal sensing and control system and method are provided for determining and controlling a heat transfer rate for a mold in a molding machine. The system includes an inflow temperature sensor for sensing an inflow temperature for coolant provided to the mold, an outflow temperature sensor for sensing an outflow temperature for coolant exiting the mold, and a flow rate sensor for sensing a flow rate for coolant through the mold. The electronic processor is also configured to calculate a heat transfer rate for the mold from the inflow temperature, the outflow temperature, the flow rate for the coolant, and the calculated mass and the temperature of the molten plastic. The processor determines a time lag between when heat enters the mold and when heat is removed by the coolant and pre-emptively adjusts coolant flow rate to provide uniform heat transfer throughout a molding cycle. The heat transfer rate and total energy removed can be determined and provided on the display.

A diagnosis method for identification or localization of errors in tempering devices for tempering of systems includes providing tempering devices each comprising one or more first sensors and one or more components for securing an operation of the systems with the tempering device, and one or more second sensors for measuring a state of the tempering device or ambient conditions around the tempering device, determining the tempering device to be checked with a diagnosis procedure, decoupling the tempering device from the system, connecting the tempering device to a defined consumer, and conducting the diagnosis procedure for the tempering device by using a diagnosis program, where the diagnosis program checks the components and the first and second sensors of the tempering device in a pre-determined sequence stored in the diagnosis program until the error in the tempering device is identified or localized.