Rewriting valve gate rules, doubling production
By PlasticsToday Staff
Published: August 25th, 2010
Published: August 25th, 2010
Mold Hotrunner Solutions (MHS) introduces Rheo-Pro iVG, an innovation the company claims is the world’s most compact back-to-back valve gate hot runner system. The new iVG is the first and only internal valve gate on the market, claims MHS. Its patented design completely “rewrites the rules” of valve gating technology and opens up endless new possibilities for high-cavity stack molds, swivel molds, and multi-material injection molds.
The compact design of Rheo-Pro iVG’s nozzles means it is now possible to build “short stacks,” or stack molds with a tip-to-tip length of only 285 mm and a pitch, or gate-to-gate distance, of 63.5 mm. For molders, this means the ability to produce more plastic parts in smaller machines with less clamp tonnage, resulting in better operating costs, significantly higher production outputs, and most important, greater profitability.
For example, at 3.0 seconds cycle time, a 64 x 64 stack mold for 26-mm lightweight bottle caps can produce 3.5 million caps per day in a 790 x 630-mm stack mold. The melt channels are reduced in size, length, and volume to enhance color change and pressure drop for higher viscosity materials. The new iVG back-to-back valve gate nozzle increases mold uptime and improves conventional manifold systems. The valve-to-valve melt transfer through the mold parting surface eliminates the traditional sprue bar.
The Rheo-Pro iVG is completely front-serviceable from the mold parting line. Every component, including nozzles, valve gate actuators, and valve pins, can be accessed quickly by simply stripping the cavity plate onto the core side while the entire mold remains inside the machine. Preventive maintenance is effectively reduced to minutes, the company claims.
The iVG does not require any seals, hoses, tubes, belts, or motors, making it the most durable and maintenance-friendly valve gate system ever built, according to MHS. —immeditorial@cancom.com
Gil, Thanks for your
Gil,
Thanks for your feedback, I know that your frequent posts here provide insight to Plastic Today's readers.
A big advantage of Mold Hotrunner Solutions' new iVG is serviceability. All the nozzle and actuator components are completely front accessible. For example, parting line 1 nozzles and actuators are serviceable by removing cavity plate 1. There is no need remove the opposite cavity plate to gain access to the actuator and there is no need to split the hot half. Because the nozzles for both parting lines share a common manifold, the overall hot runner layout is simplified, making it more cost effective and robust.
Also, the Achilles' heel of all valve gate hot runner systems, the elastomeric seals, have been completely eliminated in the iVG, dramatically improving mold maintenance and longevity.
The published literature from Husky shows a minimum center section plate thickness of 250 mm. Adding a reasonable L dimension of 50 mm per side gives a tip-to-tip length of 350 mm. The extra 65 mm (2.56”) in mold height can make a big difference when trying to fit into a smaller press.
I do not think Manner publishes a gate-to-gate height and to the best of my knowledge their back-to-back solution cannot achieve a 63.5 mm pitch and does not seem well suited to high cavity molds.
If you have contrary information I would be happy to continue this discussion.
True that stack systems save
True that stack systems save clamp force and in certain circumstances it is reflected into an economical advantage but what MHS is doing is not a revolution in the valve gate market: Otto Manner, Husky IMS, and others can make even shorter tip to tip length.