Imflux, the Procter & Gamble Co. business that has developed a way to mold using constant, low pressure and slow filling, has rolled out what company officials are calling a major software advance — Software 8.0 Suite.
The new software went live Jan. 14. Imflux executives called the software a big step for simplifying and standardizing the technology and partnering more closely with the plastics industry.
Imflux leaders have said software is the key to controlling the firm's molding process. The 8.0 software includes several new features that enhance performance, gives a new user interface and simplifies implementation and adoption of what Imflux officials call the “green curve” — keeping control of the process and maintaining a specific lower-pressure set point as a constant through the entire mold-filling process.
Key features of the 8.0 software include:
• Auto Viscosity Adjustment, enabling resin flexibility and the use of inherently variable materials such as recycled or wide-spec material. Imflux software captures subtle changes in viscosity, but also adjusts for extremely wide ranges of variation, while maintaining consistent part quality.
• Precision Shot. The new technology eliminates the need for an in-mold cavity sensor, officials said.
• Process Navigator, with provides a streamlined, intuitive user interface showing what is happening in the molding system in real time.
• Auto Process Tuning. Imflux tunes the process to the mold, machine, material and operating environment. The 8.0 software fully automates the function of fine-tuning the machine for each application, making it easier for the process engineering to master this feature with little or no training required, according to Imflux.
Imflux is beginning to train new users on the 8.0 software, including through the American Injection Molding Institute in Erie, Pa., located at Beaumont Technologies Inc.
www.imflux.com.