Advanced hot runner systems for hybrid kitchen fittings

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Problems with previous hot runner systems

In 2011, Kron constructed a four-cavity mould for kitchen lighting hybrid parts but developers ran into difficulties with its hot runner system, supplied by an external company. Leakage of melt from the gating openings caused thermal damage which prevented injection. A replacement system by the same manufacturer didn’t remedy the problem, prompting Kron to look into a different solution. Part of the challenge lay in the need for the mould to produce complex hybrid components. Contacts needed to be inserted by means of a handling system and then overmoulded with Stanyl TE250F6 (PA 4.6) plastic with the aim to achieve streamlined, multi-shift mass production.

Engineers at Kron were impressed with hot runner specialists Günther. Its Cadhoc system is an online tool available free of charge to registered users who want to design their own hot runner technology directly through the Günther internet portal. A particular advantage for Kron was the system’s supply of hot runner data – for example, an optimized calculation of the nozzle size on the basis of different plastic types and configuration methods – in just a few minutes. Since the conversion to the new system (configured with Cadhoc and designed for processing PA4.6) production has run without problems, saving considerable cost.

The new set-up is technically intriguing. Inside the mould, a two-cavity hot runner connects with gating onto sub-runners so that a total of four finished parts are produced per cycle. An Allrounder 470 C 1500 injection moulder from Arburg is equipped with a vertically entering Multilift V robotic system with a lifting capacity of six kilograms. A sliding-table system carries pre-assembled piercing contacts into the robot’s transfer area. The Multilift V (with its specially adapted ASS robotic arm completely monitored by sensors) then inserts the contacts at the mould’s ejector side. After overmoulding, the parts are ejected. The ‘flying cores’ required for production are also supplied in fours by the robotic system and fixed in the injection mould by means of hydraulic slides. The entire system including hot runners is centrally controlled and monitored by the Arburg unit’s Selogica control system, with a current cycle time of 32 seconds.

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Case study

Advanced hot runner systems for hybrid kitchen fittings

Problems with previous hot runner systems