Creative injection molding technology

Im-Pak's patented injection-compression molding technology has the advantage of shortening the cycle time and reducing the weight of the parts. The plastic container can be processed to package edible butter, seasoned jam, and other foods. Currently used in the popular processing technology, the weight of the plastic container tank itself is 76g, its processing cycle takes 8.5 seconds, while the use of new patented technology to process the same volume container tank weight is only 55g, the processing cycle is only 3.2 seconds.

Im-Pak, a company based in the south of England, is a professional manufacturer of complete sets of equipment for small injection molding projects. Peter Clarke, founder and chief technology officer of the company, declared that based on the company's original technology, it will enter the stage of commercialization and will be The market for thermoplastic packaging products has triggered a new revolution and its application market is very promising.

Founded in March 2003, Im-Pak was initially engaged in the research and development of thin-wall PP container processing technology. Recently, the injection-compression molding technology developed and patented by the company has been applied to the processing of other plastic products. These include: Molded PET preforms, injection-press-pull-blow bottles, and co-injection of plastic containers with barrier layers. The company’s founder and chief technology officer, Peter Clarke, began research and development in injection-compression technology several years ago, at the time inventing the patented technology called CoralFoam. At the "Nova-Pack European Symposium" held in Dusseldorf, Germany in October 2004, Clarke introduced the company's entire production system, namely demonstrating the use of injection-compression process technology to process PET bottles on a standard electric injection machine. The whole process.

According to Clarke, possessing this technology, it is possible for companies engaged in injection-molded plastic products to use two-step injection-blow molding machines from companies such as Aoki and Nissei ASB directly on these blow molding machines. The application of compression molding process to produce plastic bottles. Im-Pak has applied for this technology and technology patent for injection-blown processing of plastic parisons using compression molding technology worldwide.

Im-Pak inspected the performance of this patented injection compression molding technology and conducted a test using a single-cavity mold to process a canister containing 5 pounds of food (2.25 liters). The use of this technology can achieve the advantages of shortening the cycle time and reducing the weight of the parts. The plastic container can be processed into packaging edible butter, seasoning jam and other foods. Compared with the current popular processing technology, The weight of the plastic container tank itself is 76g, and its processing cycle takes 8.5 seconds. However, using the new patented technology to process the same volume container tank weight of only 55g, the processing cycle is only 3.2 seconds. In addition, the need to reduce the required clamping force is another additional advantage. Processing plants that use this type of plastic vessel typically use a single-cavity processing facility with a pressure of 150,000 tons, using Im-Pak. The patented technology requires only 90,000 tons of pressure for each cavity.

Clarke also declared that the largest companies in the plastic packaging product processing industry are currently working with Im-Pak Corporation to jointly develop new processing tools. At the end of 2004, Im-Pak Corporation was commissioned by Europe's largest processor of hard plastic packaging products to develop and manufacture commercial processing equipment and will soon deliver it to the client. Clarke said that StackTech Canada is the preferred tooling equipment manufacturer for Im-Pak, and the most fundamental change for the processing plant using Im-Pak's technology is the mold.

Clarke once said: "Most people will never think of the application of compression molding technology to processing plastic preforms and barrier plastic parts." He once told the editor of the "Global Plastics" magazine's global edition. Im-Pak has developed a production process for forming PET preforms in less than 10 seconds, and it is convinced that the processing cycle is the best processing mode in 5 to 7 seconds. This shortens the machining time by up to 10 seconds compared to a standard two-step blow molding machine. He said: "Utilizing this patented technology will cut the processing cost of plastic bottles by half. The combination of electric injection machines and our technology will be a perfect combination of technologies."

Process principle and process

This process uses a jet reservoir groove to perform the injection operation. At low pressure, the molten plastic blank is precisely placed into the bottom of a separate open mold to form a thick-walled melt at the bottom of the mold. The blanks are then quickly compressed into plastic parts. The pressure and force from the mold clamping mechanism force the melt billet against the mold.

A single injection reservoir groove is provided for each cavity to ensure accurate feeding. Since there is no need to consider the balance of the charge, the number of cavities can be arbitrarily set. And there is no processing mode for parisons. This technology can also be applied to the design and processing of certain door profiles. The length of the runner can be greater than 500:1. It can also be used to process trans-designed profiles, such as parts that have a thin overall substrate and a thick frame.

Processors can also use resin materials with a low melt flow index, which ultimately saves energy, which is based on lowering the machine's pressure tonnage and shortening the cycle time. A parison is formed in a hot mandrel, then the mold is opened, a set of blow molds is transferred in, and the blown bottles are removed from the mandrels.

To date, one-step injection-pull-blown processing equipment has been commonly used in applications where the number of processed products is small, and a two-step process (comprising the molding of parisons first, followed by stretch blow molding on a separate machine ) It is used for occasions with large quantities of processed products, such as beverage bottles. Clarke believes that the use of injection-compression process technology to process PET plastic bottles will ultimately shorten the processing cycle and will probably solve the problem, which means that there is no need for a two-step process.

Clarke stated: "Our processing system equipment can add resin pellets at one end and bottles at the other, so that neither the parison nor the stretch blow molding process will be required."

All of the daring plans envisioned by Im-Pak, and of course, Clarke's willingness to see, is to change the processing models that are currently used in the industry and switch to the new processing technology developed by the company, which will require a huge investment. s hard work. Clarke said in private: "If you want to make your business bigger, why waste time and not do something that requires a little bit of improvement? We are planning to change the mode of operation of the entire packaging market but I don't know this. How long will it take?"

Im-Pak is now working on the development of other packaging products markets, using injection molding system equipment to form multilayer barrier packaging products.