Hot runners build on solid origins

Related Vendors

HASCO Hasenclever GmbH + Co KG

Ramada Acos

Männer Solutions for Plastics

MHS - Mold Hotrunner Solutions Inc.

Geppert Marketing

more less

Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd

Mold Masters Europa GmbH

less

Current customer usage patterns

More recent innovation has centred on greater automation and temperature control through valve gate nozzles which help to control how quickly the melt in the gate area cools in order to increase precision and improve the quality of the component whilst cutting material wastage further by eliminating drooling or stringing for example. Hot runners are now used in almost every market segment, from automotive to consumer electronics, packaging and medical – typically employed by any firm making injection moulds or injection moulding parts.

Nevertheless, Reynolds believes that this type of system is still being used by less than half of the moulds being manufactured worldwide. This lack of penetration may stem partly from the belief amongst some moulders that hot runners cannot mould some heat-sensitive resins for very small part weights, despite Husky and others seeing hundreds of examples where companies are using hot runners for Polycarbonate parts smaller than 0.1 g.

“I think this perception is really a holdover from the early days of hot runners [but] with today’s hot runners, it’s definitely possible,” says Reynolds. “A hot runner is only as good as the temperature controller it’s connected to and this is sometimes where moulders can be misled. Control is just as important as the nozzle and heater design.”

(ID:43330952)