Tailoring hot runner technology to trendy coffee consumption

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Working with a partner to (perhaps) be named later

The company said it joined forces with “one of the most important producers in Italy” in the packaging and medical fields for the challenging project of making coffee capsules. The production focussed on these key aspects:

• Implementation of thermal-gate systems rather than valve gates

• Easy systems management and maintenance during production, keeping the same aesthetical appearance achieved with a valve-gate system

• Fast colour change

Since this is a product that has to be handled after the injection process and during the assembly phase, the challenge was to have no leftover material in order to secure the follow-on production processes. In addition, as it is a design product, the aesthetic aspect also played a key role.

Improving process parameters before the shot

HRS Multitech said it was for this reason that the company provided dedicated thermal analysis in order to have a balanced thermal nozzle profile and ensure hot and cold half synergy optimisation. This offered better colour change performance and a consistent part weight, the supplier explained. The result of the work was a system that supplied high performance, the company said. It noted that the system offers the following:

• Better cycle time (no drooling)

• No leftover material

• Fast colour change

• Energy savings

HRS Multitech said it has already made several systems ranging from 16 to 32 cavities for coffee capsule applications. For a 32-cavity system, the company reported a cycle time of 3.8 sec, said to be extremely fast considering the use of thermal gating.

Using the right technology increases material possibilities

The decision to employ the standard line of nozzles, combined with decompression inlet technology, has made possible the use of low-viscosity materials, such as PP, with satisfactory results and short cycle times, the company noted. HRS Multitech said it allowed the optimisation of hot and cold half synergy and met all customer challenges.

By combining the best thermal profile and manifold layout, in terms of channel section diameters, the HRS Multitech system reportedly achieved excellent results both for colour change performance and gate quality. This claim is based on the results of production tryouts, where the plastics processor was able to perform a colour change using 125g per cavity, even with pearlescent masterbatch, the company said.

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