Chen Hsong nabs patent on new platen
Hong Kong injection press maker Chen Hsong Machinery Co. Ltd. has earned a utility model patent on a newly designed circular platen, which the company claims reduces the concentration of stress.
The design consists of a rectangular base plate with a center hole, four guiding holes, one inner circular-shaped reinforced structure at the back of a rectangular base, and reinforced wedges in between the inner and outer reinforced structure. The outer structure is either circular or oval-shaped, building on top of the base plate.
A circular platen streamlines the stress distribution and prolongs platen life. The platen offers better strength and stiffness, with less material used, Chen Hsong claims.
Tel. + 852 2663 7117, fax +852 2664 8202, e-mail [email protected]
Husky introduces Ultra small nozzle
Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. has introduced the smallest hot-runner nozzle under its Ultra family, called the Ultra 250.
The nozzle is suited for inside gating or small-pitch mold layouts. It has a bore diameter of only 11 millimeters and a minimum nozzle spacing of 18mm.
A new material for the nozzle housing has allowed Husky to open up the melt channel to 4mm, maintaining the maximum allowable injection pressure of 22,000 pounds per square inch, said Martin Baumann, hot-runner marketing manager, based at Husky's plant in Milton, Vt.
Tel. (802) 859-8114, fax (802) 859-8321, e-mail [email protected]
TMP expands line of molding units
Cleveland-based Technical Machine Products has expanded its line of plastics compression molding and transfer molding machines with up to 5,000 tons of clamping force.
The C-frame machines can mold thermosets, thermoplastics, bulk molding compound, sheet molding compound and other materials. The computer-controlled machines provide uniform, accurate cooling, and heating up to 1000° F.
On a patented feature, the company offers vacuum enclosures around the press to eliminate air, moisture and volatile materials.
Tel. (216) 281-9500, fax (216) 281-0408.
Trexel upgrade aids the Mucell process
Trexel Inc. of Woburn, Mass., introduced a modular upgrade, which makes it possible for nearly any all-electric or hydraulic injection molding machine to be easily converted to the Mucell microcellular technology at the customer's factory.
The upgrade meets all European and U.S. safety requirements.
The cost of the new Mucell injection units, including installation, begins at $30,000 and varies depending on the size of the screw. As with factory-built machines, the end user then installs a Trexel SCF System and an Interface Kit.
Tel. (781) 932-0202, fax (781) 932-3324.
Uniloy-Milacron offers new VersaPET
Uniloy-Milacron of Manchester, Mich., has introduced four models in its VersaPET line of all-electric, two-step PET blow molding machines.
The VersaPET VP-4, VP-5, VP-8 and VP-10 reheat stretch blow molding machines offer four-, five-, eight- and 10-cavity molding of bottles with necks from 28-38 millimeters, in sizes up to three liters.
Uniloy-Milacron said a manufacturing agreement with an Italian company, allows it to offer the machine at competitive prices. The company said Alkam srl of Treviso, Italy, is now building VersaPET machines to Uniloy specifications. Uniloy holds exclusive sales and service rights on the machines in the Americas, the Middle East and the Far East.
The compact machines are designed for quick mold changeover, thanks to an open, accessible design and quick-disconnect mold-cooling water lines.
Tel. (734) 428-8371, fax (734) 428-7095, e-mail [email protected]
Reps offers controller for pulsed cooling
An injection molding technology known as pulsed cooling can cut cycle time, reduce energy consumption, and improve mold temperature control and part weight and consistency, said pulse advocate R.E. Promotion Services Ltd. (Reps) of Cannock, England.
Reps makes a controller to run pulsed cooling. The technology controls the temperature at the actual molding surface, instead of the steel of the mold, by taking readings from thermocouples near the cavity surface. The readings are used to switch on and off pulses of fast-flowing cooling water.
The idea is that, eventually, the injection mold will reach an equilibrium where the heat from the molten plastic is balanced by the heat losses to the air. Pulsed tooling speeds this up, to reach this point in the shortest possible time, according to Reps.
Pulsed cooling got some support during the Society of Plastics Engineers' Annual Technical Conference earlier this year in San Francisco. Officials from three schools presented research about the technology: Brunel University's Wolfson Centre for Materials Processing in Uxbridge, England; the Behrend College of Penn State University in Erie, Pa.; and the Polymer Process Engineering Laboratory at the University of Bradford, England.
Tel. +44 (154) 346-6545, fax +44 (154) 346-6585, e-mail [email protected]
Conair pelletizer has improved cooling
Conair Group said its new Vortex Spray Pelletizer combines the benefits of underwater and ring-pelletizer designs in a technology that improves material quality and ease of operation.
The VSP brings advantages of dry die-face processing to a broader range of polymers, including PVCs and masterbatch compounds, according to Conair of Pittsburgh.
Advantages include a straight-line flow path that minimizes shear and maintains resin quality; reduced material hang-up so clean-outs between batches are faster; and the elimination of material freezing off at the die because of disruption in polymer flow.
An improved ``vortex'' cooling system removes heat up to 50 percent faster than conventional designs, Conair claims.
Tel. (412) 312-6000, fax (412) 312-6320.
Maag screen changer is manually operated
Maag Pump Systems Textron Inc., which boasts its continuous screen-changer designs, has come out with a manually operated, ``discontinous'' screen changer called the HSC.
Maag said a number of customers requested a cost-effective, hand-operated screen changer with a newly designed lever for easy operation. Maag responded with a design that multiplies the torque applied by the operator.
The MSC gives a leak-free, pressure-activated seal, according to Textron of Charlotte, N.C.
Tel. (704) 716-9000, fax (704) 716-9001.
Controller unit uses negative pressure
Willoughby, Ohio-based Budzar Industries Inc. said its thermal VAC control unit uses negative pressure, so if there is a leak, the unit will suck in air, preventing hot oil or water from spraying out and causing an injury.
``The true vacuum pressure also permits the operator to do a quicker and safer change on a mold, saving valuable running time and increasing productivity,'' said Budzar President David Young.
Budzar also introduced the ICE AP series of self-contained, air-cooling chillers, which use a high-flow process water pump that minimizes the gradients in process temperatures. A top-mounted discharge vents off heat to ducts in the plant, supplementing heating in the winter and increasing ventilation in the summer.
Tel. (440) 918-0505.