Mass-production micro molding

Calling it "the only dedicated micro injection molding machine capable of producing precision runnerless parts in a 32 cavity cycle," Mold Hotrunner Solutions (MHS; Georgetown, ON) has introduced its M3 high-volume micro molding machine. The company says it can outperform the competition by a factor of 8 to 1.

A spokesperson for MHS told PlasticsToday, "There are a number of micro molding machines on the market. We looked at all of them and based our numbers on the closest competitor in terms of output. In some cases, the M3 outperforms other machines by more than a factor of 8."

Optimized for cleanroom production, the M3 is a tiebar-less machine with a clamp force of four tons that uses four modular inserts, each containing eight micro cavities, which the company says "completely (does) away with the traditional injection mold structure." The inserts use the same parameters as the prototype molding process, accelerating the move to production parts. The insert system is also said to simplify mold design.

Up to eight different part designs can be injected in each cycle. The machine can run a cycle in five seconds with shot weights less than 10 mg. Gating to smaller sub-runners can increase each cycle yield to 128 cavities.

The M3 is touted as a complete molding cell equipped with onboard automation, an integrated vision inspection system, mold inserts, hot runners, dual-touchscreen processing control, and touchless part handling and material loading.