Husky Injection Molding Systems Limited

Husky Injection Systems Ltd.

Edward Joseph Jenko

Manon Danielle Belzile

Patrice Fabien Dezon-Gaillard

John Knapp

Abdeslam Bouti

James Osborne Plumpton

Paul Richard Blais

Patrice Fabien Gaillard

Brian Esser

Sohail Mohammed

Thomas Andrew Lawrence

Martin H Baumann

Sarah Kathleen Overfield

Stefan Von Buren

Jim Pilavdzic

Stephen Linwood Gray

Sami Samuel Arsan

Nicholas W Serniuck

Fadi Fikani

Douglas Oliver Hall

Andrew Booth

Thom A Smith

David Albert Hurley

Harold Warren

Wink Winkelmann

Scott W Molnar

Matthew T Therrien

Paul R Blais

Nicholas Serniuck

The present application describes injection molding machines and, more particularly, a removable nozzle tip and nozzle assembly for use with an injection molding machine and an engagement tool and methods for replacing a nozzle tip. In an aspect, an injection molding machine may include a nozzle. The nozzle may include a nozzle housing and a nozzle tip threadably attached to the nozzle housing. At least a portion of an exterior wall of the nozzle housing and at least a portion of an exterior wall of the nozzle tip may align to provide a cylindrical surface. The injection molding machine may further include a tubular heater enclosing at least a portion of the continuous cylindrical surface. The nozzle tip does not include a torque feature in any location that is downstream of the tubular heater and upstream of a mold gate of the nozzle.

Nozzle with removable nozzle tip configured for improved heating

An injection molding machine includes an edge gate nozzle with a nozzle body having a primary melt channel and a nozzle head having first and second secondary melt channels that feed melt to first and second nozzle tips. First and second heaters are disposed in the nozzle head to provide heat to the secondary melt channels. In some embodiments, the heaters are positioned adjacent to the secondary melt channels, with first heater is closer to the first secondary melt channel than to the second secondary melt channel. In some embodiments, the heaters are positioned adjacent to the nozzle tips, with the first heater closer to the first nozzle tip than to the second nozzle tip. In some embodiments, each heater is adjacent to both the respective nozzle tip and secondary melt channel. In some embodiments, each heater is individually controllable.

Apparatus and method for heating a side gate nozzle

Thermocouples and their associated thermocouple junctions can be integrated via freeform fabrication into various parts of injection-molding apparatuses, including the nozzles. Unitary monolithic integration of thermocouples allows thermocouple junctions to be located highly proximate to the locations where temperature monitoring is desired, particularly, near the tips of injection-molding nozzles, which has conventionally been difficult or impossible to achieve. An injection-molding nozzle with one or more integrated thermocouples, a hot-runner manifold with injection-molding nozzles, having integrated thermocouples, monolithically integrated with the manifold as a single part using a freeform fabrication process, and a separately formed injection-molding nozzle having at least one integrated thermocouple and a robust electrical connection are presented according to various aspects of the invention.

Injection-molding apparatuses containing integrally formed thermocouples

Hot-runner manifolds that contain one or more types of non-melt channels in addition to melt channels, and injection-molding systems containing such hot-runner manifolds. The differing types of non-melt channels include: coolant channels for carrying a coolant for cooling the tips of hot-tip nozzles, for example, during hot latching operations; heating-fluid channels for carrying a heating fluid for heating melt within melt channels within the hot-runner manifolds; and actuation-fluid channels for carrying actuation fluid to valves of valve-actuated nozzles. In each case, nozzles can be formed unitarily monolithically with the hot-runner manifolds and one or more of the various types of non-melt channels can be continuously routed within such unitary monolithic nozzles. Freeform fabrication processes can be used to form hot-runner manifolds of the present disclosure, which often contain complex/intricate internal passageways that form the various types of melt and non-melt channels.

Injection-molding systems having hot-runner manifolds containing non-melt internal channels for providing operability enhancements

An apparatus and method of coupling and decoupling a valve stem to an actuator are disclosed. In one embodiment, the actuator includes a moveable member that is coupled to the valve stem. One of the valve stem and the moveable member is a male coupling portion and the other of the valve stem and moveable member is the female coupling portion. The male coupling portion is nested within the female coupling portion. A retaining pin retains the male coupling portion with respect to the female coupling portion.

Spring retaining pin for valve stem retention

A method and apparatus for equalizing gate pressure of a hot runner nozzle are disclosed. The nozzle includes a nozzle housing defining a primary melt channel, a first nozzle tip having a first secondary melt channel in fluid communication with the primary melt channel, a second nozzle tip having a second secondary melt channel in fluid communication with the primary melt channel, and a valve disposed in the primary melt channel for selectively opening and closing a downstream end of the primary melt channel to control a flow of melt to the first and second secondary melt channels. In some embodiments, the valve is configured to selectively open when a pressure of the melt reaches a threshold peak pressure. In some embodiments, the valve includes a valve stem that cooperates with the primary melt channel to block a flow of melt therefrom until the threshold peak pressure is established.

Hot runner nozzle with a gate pressure equalizer

A unitary monolithically formed hot-runner apparatus having at least a manifold containment structure, a hot-runner manifold, at least one nozzle, and one or more spacers. In some embodiments, the manifold containment structure, hot-runner manifold, nozzle(s), and spacer(s) may be multi-material apparatuses of unitary monolithic construction. In other embodiments, a thermal expansion accommodation portion is provided for each nozzle to accommodate thermal growth. Each spacer may be formed of a material having a lower thermal conductivity than the materials of the hot-runner manifold and manifold containment structure and may be made to include a discontinuity to allow for thermal expansion.

Unitary monolithically formed injection-molding apparatuses

A hot-runner system having a manifold and a nozzle, wherein the manifold or nozzle or both may be multi-material apparatuses of unitary construction. The nozzle may be thermally graded for temperature transmission between a heating sleeve and the melt. The nozzle may also include a melt flow channel apparatus that alters the flow of the melt before entering the mold. The nozzle and manifold may have a unitary construction that reduces fitting problems between the two apparatuses.

Multi-property injection molding nozzle for a hot-runner system

A mold-tool system for use with a molding-system platen structure, the mold-tool system a frame assembly being connectable with the molding-system platen structure (); and a set of shooting-pot assemblies being supported by the frame assembly, wherein control of each shooting-pot assembly of the set of shooting-pot assemblies is independent.

Mold-runner system having independently controllable shooting-pot assemblies

A hot-runner system (), comprising: a manifold assembly (), including: a manifold body () defining a melt channel () being smooth-flowing, direction-changing and uninterrupted.

Hot-runner system having manifold assembly manufactured in accordance with free-form-fabrication

A mold-tool system is provided which includes a manifold body including an inlet assembly, a plurality of outlets spaced from the inlet assembly, and an uninterrupted melt channel associated with each outlet and extending between the inlet assembly and its associated outlets. Each melt channel may have a length which is substantially identical to the length of the other melt channels.

Mold tool system having manifold body including uninterrupted melt channels

Hot-runner system () for use with molding system. Hot-runner system () having: heater () to generate heat responsive to receiving power. Heat-sourcing component () to receive heat from the heater () so that the heat that is generated by the heater () is transferred, at least in part, from heater () to heat-sourcing component (). Heat-sourcing component () becomes heated to an operating temperature. Heat-receiving component () being at least partially spaced from the heat-sourcing component (). The operating temperature of the heat-receiving component () being cooler than operating temperature of the heat-sourcing component (). Non-structurally supportive heat insulator () has thermal conductivity being lower than thermal conductivity of air during operation of the hot-runner system (). Whereby, in use, non-structurally supportive heat insulator (): (i) reduces heat transmission from heat-sourcing component () to heat-receiving component (), and (ii) permits reduction of power consumption of heater ().

Hot-runner system having non-structurally supportive heat insulator including visible material

A hot-runner system for use with an injection molding system, the hot-runner system including a hot-runner component, a material; and carbon nanotubes being combined with the material. The carbon nanotubes are dispersed, at least in part, in the material and the material includes a metal alloy. The carbon nanotubes are dispersed in the metal alloy, so that the metal alloy and the carbon nanotubes are combined to form a CNT-metal composite material.

Hot-runner system having carbon nanotubes

A mold-tool system comprising: a manifold assembly, including: a manifold body defining: an inlet assembly; outlets being set apart from the inlet assembly; and uninterrupted melt channels extending between the inlet assembly and the outlets.

Mold-tool system having a manifold body defining uninterrupted melt channels

According to an aspect, there is disclosed a hot runner system (), comprising: a first surface () being elastically deformable; a second surface () forming, in cooperation with the first surface (), a melt-leakage gap () being located between the first surface () and the second surface (); and an active material () being: (i) coupled with the first surface (), (ii) held normally stationary, (iii) configured to be operatively coupled with a signal source (), and (iv) configured to elastically deform in response to receiving a signal from the signal source (), upon elastic deformation of the active material (), the first surface () becomes moved toward the second surface () such that a size () of the melt-leakage gap () becomes controlled.

Growing community of inventors

Essex, VT, United States of America

Edward Joseph Jenko