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Technology Swivelling hot runner manifolds direct melt flow to new areas

Editor: Eric Culp

A patent-pending system that creates “continuous melt transfer connections” is expected to open a number of new areas within the mould for designers. These movable channels have reportedly already provided distinct advantages in large thin-wall parts.

Related Companies

MHS - Mold Hotrunner Solutions Inc.
HASCO Hasenclever GmbH + Co KG
A schematic of the hot runner system with rotating melt transfer joints. Its linked manifolds are said to move freely to distribute plastic anywhere inside the injection mould.
A schematic of the hot runner system with rotating melt transfer joints. Its linked manifolds are said to move freely to distribute plastic anywhere inside the injection mould.
(Source: MHS)

MHS-Mold Hotrunner Solutions has announced that it will use K 2013 to unveil its Rheo-Pro Slide manifolds, said to be a revolutionary new type of hot runner system with rotating melt transfer joints that allow linked manifolds to move freely in order to distribute plastic anywhere inside the injection mould.

Freeing up design with the system

The new technology is said to make possible the creation of injection points, or gates, directly inside the slides of a mould. It also allows moulders to create continuous melt transfer connections that maintain contact, and therefore flow, even when the mould plates separate. The company said this is one of several injection moulding innovations that it will present at K 2013 in Düsseldorf, Germany. (Hall 1/A09).

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Playing hot runner origami with tooling construction

According to MHS, the patent-pending hinge design allows its system’s rotating joints to maintain a constant seal while linking together multiple hot runner manifolds. This subsequently creates an uninterrupted, continuous melt path that is able to bend and move inside the injection mould. The technology enables the melt channel to deliver material to the cavity across moving mould elements such as slides and lifters. Slide mechanisms are the only way to demould complex parts with exterior undercut side features, the company explained. For example, many injection-moulded parts have details for customised functionality or side ribbing for rigidity requirements. During demoulding, these design details can create insurmountable obstacles to the mould designer. Rheo-Pro Slide manifolds are said to solve this problem by allowing entire sections of the mould to move, without interruption to the flow of material in the melt channel. This flexibility also makes the systems ideal for new part designs using stack moulds, tandem moulds, as well as rotary and cube moulds, according to the manufacturer.

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