Must-See Hot Runner Innovations at K 2022

Hot runner innovations will be a hot topic at K 2022 in Düsseldorf, Germany, in October, when Oerlikon HRSflow and HASCO showcase their portfolios of molding and hot runner solutions.

Oerlikon HRSflow (hall 1, booth D10) will show off its new Xp nozzle series for thin-wall injection molding, as well as its hot runners for small shot weights. These innovations promote sustainability by reducing energy consumption. Other advanced hot-runner solutions are designed to process post-consumer resins (PCRs) and biopolymers.

The Xp series of valve gate nozzles can withstand filling pressures up to 2200 bar to achieve fast injection and cycle times and high part consistency in a stable process. Plug-and-play installation capability enables face-to-face assembly in compact stack molds, the company said.

The company’s low-shot-weight line is geared to applications ranging from medical technology to packaging and beauty and personal care products. The latest version is able to process PCRs and biopolymers; another version can process highly corrosive polymers thanks to a specially coated nozzle tip.

For interactive interior automotive panels with touch sensors, the company’s FLEXflow hot runners enable production with the in-mold decoration process. FLEXflow features servo-electric needle positioning for precise, gentle, low-warp overmolding of sensitive electronic components.

Oerlikon HRSflow systems will also be featured in the booths of Engel (hall 15, booth C58), Tederic (hall 15, booth D40), Arburg (hall 13, booth A13-B13), Haitian (hall 15, booth A57), Wittmann-Battenfeld (hall 15, booth C06), Billion (hall 15, booth B24) and Netstal (hall 15, booth D24). Also, Engel and materials supplier Borealis will present a joint project at Oerlikon’s booth (hall 1, D10) demonstrating how the three collaborated to close the gap between simulation and reality with a three-cavity mold.

Also exhibiting in hall 1 (booth C06) is Hasco, which recently reported successful cooperation with Müller + Sohn, who combined Hasco’s hot-runners with molds from FB Mold Design to produce a washing basket for hospitals.

FB designs all its molds in-house with mostly standard mold components. It uses Hasco hot-runner equipment “because, quite simply, everything comes out absolutely right," said Managing Director Felix Blume. "I cannot recall any complaints. And if there are special challenges to be mastered, Hasco experts Volker Wittmer [technical sales engineer for hot-runner technology] and Klaus Meier [technical sales engineer for mold bases] generally come up with good and innovative ideas."

Hasco uses specialized individual nozzles and ready-to-assemble multicavity systems supplemented with flow analysis, Wittmer noted. For this collaboration, Hasco created a needle-valve system in the form of five hot runner nozzles.

K 2022 is held at Messe Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Germany, on Oct. 19 to 26.