Nozzle terminal for injectors of plastic material injection moulding apparatus

Abstract

A nozzle terminal for injectors of plastic material injection molding apparatus, includes an inner tubular body or tip and a ring nut. The tip includes a radially inner element made of a first material and a radially outer element made of a second material arranged at contact with the radially inner element at an intermediate portion thereof terminating at a distance from the distal end thereof. The ring nut fully covers the radially outer element, insulating it from the environment.

Claims

1. A nozzle terminal for injectors of plastic material injection moulding apparatus, comprising: an inner tubular body or tip defining a flow passage for the injected plastic material, and a ring nut fixed externally and coaxially to the tip, wherein the tip includes: a radially inner element made of a first material and having a proximal end and a distal end, the radially inner element defining a peripheral annular recess formed into an outer surface thereof, the annular recess having proximal and distal ends terminating at a distance from the respective proximal and distal ends of the radially inner element, and a radially outer element made of a second material arranged at contact with said radially inner element, the radially outer element being housed within the peripheral annular recess and being mechanically coupled therewith such that the radially outer element is arranged at an intermediate portion of the radially inner element terminating at a distance from the distal and proximal ends thereof and exposed towards the ring nut, wherein the ring nut is distinct from the tip and the radially outer element of the tip is an element distinct from the radially inner element, and wherein the distal end of said annular recess is formed by a radial annular collar of the radially inner element and the annular recess has, adjacent its proximal end, at least one projecting relief for engagement of a corresponding inner cavity of said radially outer element.

2. The nozzle terminal according to claim 1, wherein said ring nut fully covers said radially outer element insulating it from the environment.

3. The nozzle terminal according to claim 2, wherein said distal end of the radially inner element extends up to a corresponding distal end of said ring nut.

4. The nozzle terminal according to claim 1, said ring nut covers said radially outer element only partly.

5. The nozzle terminal according to claim 1, wherein said radially inner and radially outer elements are coupled to each other by interference.

6. The nozzle terminal according to claim 1, wherein said ring nut is coupled to said radially inner element by interference.

7. The nozzle terminal according to claim 1, wherein said ring nut is coupled to said radially outer element by interference.

8. The nozzle terminal according to claim 1, wherein said first material has high mechanical resistance, high resistance to abrasion and high resistance to chemical agents.

9. The nozzle terminal according to claim 8, wherein said first material is selected from among tempered stainless steel, anon-stainless steel and tungsten.

10. The nozzle terminal according claim 1, said second material is selected from among low or high thermal conductivity materials.

11. The nozzle terminal according to claim 9, wherein said second material is selected from among titanium, steel, copper, copper and beryllium alloys, copper and nickel alloys, aluminium and graphite.

12. The nozzle terminal according to claim 1, wherein said ring nut is at least partly coupled with said radially inner element.

13. The nozzle terminal according to claim 1, wherein said ring nut is at least partly coupled with said radially outer element.

14. The nozzle according to claim 3, wherein: the proximal end of said radially inner element extends proximally beyond proximal ends of said radially outer element and said ring nut; one side of the radially outer element contacts the radially inner element and an opposite side of the radially outer element contacts an inner surface of the ring nut; and said radially outer element is positioned at the intermediate portion of the radially inner element and at an intermediate portion of said ring nut such that the proximal and distal ends of the radially outer element terminate before respective proximal and distal ends of both the radially inner element and the ring nut.

15. The nozzle according to claim 4, wherein: the proximal end of said radially inner element extends proximally beyond proximal ends of said radially outer element and said ring nut; one side of the radially outer element contacts the radially inner element and an opposite side of the radially outer element contacts an inner surface of the ring nut; and said radially outer element is positioned at the intermediate portion of the radially inner element and relative to said ring nut such that a proximal end of the radially outer element terminates before a respective proximal ends of both the radially inner element and the ring nut, and the distal end of the radially outer element terminates beyond a distal end of the ring nut and before the distal end of the radially inner element.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will now be described in detail, purely by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic view and in partial vertical section of an injection moulding apparatus provided, by way of example, with two injectors with nozzle terminals respectively conventional and according to the invention,

(3) FIG. 2 is partial view, and in larger scale, of the conventional nozzle terminal,

(4) FIG. 3 is a view analogous to FIG. 2, exemplifying the first embodiment of the nozzle terminal according to the invention,

(5) FIG. 4 is a view analogous to FIG. 3, showing the tip-ring nut assembly of the nozzle of FIG. 3 alone,

(6) FIGS. 5 and 6 show two enlarged details of FIG. 4,

(7) FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view and in small scale of the tip-ring nut assembly of FIG. 4, and

(8) FIGS. 8 and 9 are views analogous to FIGS. 3 and 4, representing a second embodiment of the nozzle terminal according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(9) Initially with reference to FIG. 1, a plastic material injection moulding apparatus, conventionally comprises a hot chamber 1 to which the pressurised plastic material to be injected in fluid state is supplied, through two injectors 2, 3of the cylindrical pin valve type in this casein the illustrated example. Still conventionally, each injector 2, 3, comprises a nozzle body 4, in communication with the hot chamber 1 and along which a pin valve 5 controlled by means of a fluid or electrical actuator 6 is axially mobile.

(10) The lower end of the pin valve 5 cooperates with a nozzle terminal, to be addressed further hereinafter, to open or close the flow of the plastic material towards the injection passage (gate) of a mould.

(11) The injector 2 is provided with a conventional nozzle terminal, i.e. according to the prior art, indicated with reference n 7 and illustrated further in detail in FIG. 2. It comprises an inner tubular body 8, called tip and formed by a single piece made of high thermal conductivity material (typically copper or its alloys), and a hollow element 9, made of a lower thermal conductivity material, called ring nut. The ring nut 9 projects beneath the tip 8 for sealing coupling, at the free end thereof, with a mould at the relative injection passage in a configuration referred to as pass through end ring, i.e. wherein the ring nut 9 projects in the figure of the mould.

(12) The injector 3 represented on the right part of FIG. 1 is instead provided with a nozzle terminal, according to a first embodiment of the invention, indicated in its entirety with 10 and represented further in detail in FIGS. 3 to 7. Even in this case, it comprises the ring nut 9, of the pass through type and substantially analogous to that according to the prior art, and an inner tubular body or tip indicated with 11, which is instead formed by two distinct components i.e. separated arranged in a peculiar fashion. The first component consists in a radially inner element 12 made of a first material, and the second element consists in a radially outer element or jacket 13 made of a second material usually different from the first.

(13) The radially inner element 12 has a proximal end 14, inserted and locked in the nozzle 4, and a distal end 15 which projects outside the nozzle 4 and with which the lower end of the pin valve 5 cooperates. It narrows internally from the proximal end 14 to the distal end 15, which extends axially up to the corresponding end of the ring nut 9, indicated with 9a, substantially flushed with respect thereto.

(14) The parts of the radially inner element 12 corresponding to the proximal end 14 and to the distal end 15 typically have a greater thickness, while the intermediate portion preferably has a smaller thickness and defines an outer annular peripheral recess 16 terminating at a distance from the distal end 15 and exposed towards the ring nut 9. The radially outer element 13 is housed and lodged in such recess 16. It should be observed that such recess 16 is not strictly necessary, given that it is only necessary that the radially outer element 13 be arranged at a median portion of the radially inner element 12 exposed towards the ring nut 9.

(15) Thus, the radially outer element 13 surrounds and externally coaxially wraps the substantially central part of the radially inner element 12 located beneath the proximal end 14 thereof and above the distal end 15 thereof. Thus, whereas the radially inner element 12 is at contact with the flow of the plastic material introduced into the mould during the injection, the radially outer element 13 is never at contact. This allows obtaining the two elements 12 and 13 with different materials, which can be selected and combined as a function of the characteristics of the plastic material to be injected, the type of mould gate and the configuration of the nozzle terminal 11: of the pin valve type, like in the illustrated example, or of the free or torpedo flow type.

(16) Thus, the radially inner element 12 required to resist against wear and oxidation caused by the plastic material, will be made of a first material with high mechanical resistance, high resistance against abrasion and high resistance against chemical agents. Such first material may be selected from among tempered stainless steel, but with very low thermal conductivity (16 W/mK), or still with tempered stainless steel, with higher resistance against wear as well as greater thermal conductivity (32 W/mK), or with tungsten which offers an even higher conductivity, in the order of 80 W/mK, and hardness comprised between 49 and 51 HRC.

(17) The radially outer element 13 will instead be obtained with a second material that can be selected from a wide range: with low thermal conductivity such as titanium (4 W/mK) or with higher conductivity such as steel (16-36 W/mK), tungsten (80 W/mK), copper and nickel alloys (60-140 W/mK), molybdenum alloys such as TZM (120 W/mK). However, the radially outer element 13 is preferably made of a high thermal conductivity material such as copper or copper and beryllium alloys (120-300 W/mK), aluminium (260 W/mK), electrolytic copper (300-390 W/mK) and even graphite (60-400 W/mK).

(18) As previously mentioned, the choice and combination of the first and second material will be made as a function of the type of plastic material to be injected and the configuration of the injection gate point. For example, as regards the characteristics of the plastic material, crystalline materials usually reveal the drawback related to the so-called cold cap, i.e. freezing at the injection point, which hinders moulding at times or requires raising the temperatures to resume operations. Thus, crystalline materials generally require a high temperature of the tip 11, and thus a very conductive material is preferable when it comes to the radially outer element 13.

(19) An amorphous plastic material instead often behaves differently as a function of the type of configuration of the tip or gate. For example, in case of a nozzle with valve these amorphous materials require high temperature for a better flow and so as to avoid flashes, particularly in the case of direct injection in the figure, while in the case of free flow the temperature of the tip has to be low so as to avoid problems related to stringing (the formation of a plastic string which remains between the moulded piece and nozzle, with the mould open when removing the piece, which is difficult to remove fully and may remain trapped in the mould during the subsequent injection cycle) or drooling from the gate (i.e. the dripping of plastic material which leads to aesthetic defects on the moulded pieces near the gate, or even prevents moulding due to the cooling of the drop thus occluding the gate).

(20) The semi-crystalline plastic materials generally behave in an intermediate fashion.

(21) The configuration of the ring nut 9 of the nozzle terminal 10 may also affect the behaviour of the plastic material on the mould gate: for example a pass through end ring subject of the figure like in the case of the example described up to now, may generally lead to a hotter gate with respect to an outer ring nut (blind seat), described hereinafter, given that in the latter the gate obtained on the mould is usually colder. The radially outer element 13 is at least partly at contact with the radially inner element 12 and the mutual coupling thereof is obtained both by interference and by means of a mechanical retention for example of the type illustrated further in detail in FIGS. 4-7. The annular recess 16 is delimitedon the distal end 15 side of the inner element 12by a radial annular collar 17, and it hason the opposite sideone or more projecting reliefs 18 for the engagement of corresponding inner cavities 19 of the radially outer element 13. Obviously the arrangement of teeth 18 and cavities 19 may be inverted.

(22) The ring nut 9, distinct and separate from the tip 11, is typically obtained using a low conductivity material and thus more insulating such as titanium or steel with hardness in the order of 46-48 HRC, is coaxially fixed to the tip 11 surrounding and fully covering the radially outer element 13, so as to insulate it against the environment and protect it against corrosive gases which develop during the injection of the plastic material. Advantageously, the ring nut 9 is at least partly coupled with the radially inner element 12 and it is at least partly coupled with the radially outer element 13 of the tip 11. Preferably, the ring nut 9 is coupled, by interference, with portions of the radially inner element 12 respectively located upstream and downstream of the recess 17, and preferably it is also coupled with the radially outer element 13 by interference.

(23) FIGS. 8 and 9, whose parts identical or similar to the ones described previously shall be indicated using the same reference numbers, illustrate a second embodiment of the nozzle terminal 10 according to the invention in which the ring nut, indicated with 9, is of the outer instead of the pass through type. In this case, the ring nut 9 terminates well before the distal end 15 of the radially inner element 12, thus only partly covering the latter, and the distal end 9 thereof is housed in a seat S of the plate P of the mould. The distal end 15 of the radially inner element 12 of the tip 11 extends through a hole H of the plate P of the mould having a considerably smaller diameter with respect tom the case of the pass through ring nut, with the advantage that the gate mark on the moulded piece will be considerably smaller, thus improving the aesthetic quality thereof. In addition, also the sealing between the nozzle terminal 10 and the injection passage (gate) of the mould is simplified in this case, in that it is limited to the distal end 15 of the radially inner element 12 inserted in the hole H. Even in this case, just like in the case of the previously described pass through ring nut 9, the outer ring nut 9 is at least partly coupled with the radially inner element 12, and it is at least partly coupled with the radially outer element 13.

(24) Obviously, the construction details and the embodiments may widely vary with respect to what has been described and illustrated, without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention, as defined in the claims that follow.