Milacron Holdings Corp. (NYSE: MCRN), a leading industrial technology company serving the plastics processing industry, showcased its industry-leading technologies including Mold-Masters hot runners and control systems, Milacron injection molding machines, DME mold technology solutions, and industrial supplies as well as TIRAD high precision mold bases. This year’s Fakuma saw the launch of the Mold-Masters ThinPAK-Series hot runner for thinwall applications and a Mold-Masters hot runner running on the Milacron iMFLUX machine cell, a first for Mold-Masters.
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Mold-Masters President An Heid stated, “The Research and Development team at Mold-Masters in cooperation with our field sales teams, engineers and customer care representatives are always working to address our customers’ needs and challenges. As a result of Mold-Masters tireless R&D efforts, I’m pleased to announce the new Mold-Masters ThinPAK-Series thinwall hot runner. The ThinPAK hot runner is specifically engineered for high-pressure applications like thinwall packaging.” Heid added, “We’re also excited to introduce the new Fusion Series G2 F3000 and F8000 nozzles for automotive small and large part molding, the enhanced Dura+ automotive lens system as well as the new Melt-CUBE EVO side gating hot runner. These new technologies are all making their European debut at Fakuma alongside our stable of other industry-leading hot runner and control solutions.”
Mold-Masters ThinPAK-Series Hot Runner – A Must for Thinwall Applications
Introducing the Mold-Masters ThinPAK-Series hot runner, the most advanced hot runner system specifically engineered for producing exceptionally high-quality thin wall packaging products. ThinPAK-Series has the strength and durability to mold with complete reliability even in high pressure applications up to 2,800 bar.
ThinPAK stands apart from other Mold-Masters hot runners by incorporating features unique to this demanding application which include new hot runner nozzles, gate seals and manifold designs. New ThinPAK-Series nozzles feature a robust gate seal and cutout to withstand the high pressures required for thinwall packaging molding operations. The ThinPAK-Series nozzles also feature precisely balanced thermal profiles for excellent process control and the gate seals are serviceable from the parting line.
The enhanced gate features a more robust design that incorporates high-strength material and a larger contact area. Utilizing an enhanced valve disk bushing design any weepage is controlled and directed to easy to clean areas. This design extends service intervals by up to 3 times, minimizing interruptions to operations. The new innovative nozzle and manifold seal provides greater reliability even on cold start-up, providing a wider processing window.
The new ThinPAK-Series manifolds have also been engineered for exceptional strength, certified for withstanding injection pressures of up to 2,800 bar (40% higher than Mold-Masters standard manifold designs). Mold-Masters ThinPAK-Series hot runner systems are destined to become the new industry standard for thinwall molding applications.
Mold-Masters SeVG+ (Sequential Electric Valve Gate) Control – Featured in the iMFLUX Machine Cell – Absolute Control and Precision
Mold-Masters most advanced and powerful actuation control system to date offers users absolute control and precision over the valve gate flow sequence. What better application to showcase the SeVG+ than the debut of iMFLUX technology on a Milacron injection molding machine at Fakuma. The Milacron Elektron EVO and iMFLUX work cell has a Mold-Masters Master-Series hot-runner system with servo-electric valve actuators and a TempMaster SeVG + controller with integrated temperature and valve actuator controls. Each valve pin is connected to an individual servo motor which allows for full, on-the-fly adjustment of pin position, stroke, speed, protrusion, timing and sequence. Using these variables you can create ten multi-step opening and closing profiles for each valve pin which gives users the flexibility necessary to enhance molded part quality and balance. SeVG+ is ideal for a wide range of applications including large part production and family molds including Automotive applications. Molding large parts with traditional sequential injection methods can lead to several visual surface defects including pressure lines, hesitation marks, and sink marks. These surface defects are caused by uncontrolled resin flow which results in an abrupt spike in cavity pressure during the filling stage. SeVG+ helps prevent these defects by regulating the release of melt pressure into the cavity. The precision and repeatability of the SeVG+ servos helps stabilize molding processes.
Mold-Masters Master-Series Hot Runners – The Industry Benchmark in Hot Runner Performance and Reliability
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Master-Series hot runners represent the benchmark in hot runner performance and reliability in the industry. It’s proven to deliver consistently high-performance processing capabilities for exceptional part quality even with highly technical applications. Featuring the industry’s broadest nozzle range, Master-Series leverages many of Mold-Masters core technologies to deliver successful solutions where others fail.
Brazed Heater Technology provides exceptional thermal precision and balance which enhances mold performance and is so reliable it’s backed by an available 10 year warranty that is up to 5 times longer than any other supplier. Mold-Masters iFLOW 2-piece Manifold Technology eliminates sharp corners and dead spots providing industry leading fill balance and rapid color change performance. Master-Series is also up to 27% more energy efficient than competitive systems. Compatible with a wide range of resins, Master-Series is suitable for almost any application.
Mold-Masters Fusion Series G2 Hot Runner Solutions – Reviving Up Automotive and Large Part Molding
Mold-Masters has rolled out a number of additions and enhancements to Fusion Series G2, the drop-in system favored by the automotive industry for high-quality large part production, which include an expanded nozzle range and waterless actuator technology. New for the Fusion-Series G2 are the F3000 and F8000 nozzles which expand the capabilities and applications of this system to include shot sizes from <15g to over 5,000g. The F3000 has a shot capacity of <15g which is ideal for smaller underhood components, technical automotive components and price sensitive packaging and consumer good applications. The F8000 increases shot capacity of the system further than ever before to 5,000g by utilizing runner diameters up to 28mm. Nozzle lengths are also available that exceed 1m. F8000 has been developed to meet the processing requirements of common large automotive components like Fascias, Instrument Panels, Door Panels and large white goods. Additionally, Fusion-Series G2 systems will also be available with the new Waterless Actuator which incorporates new Passive Actuator Cooling Technology (PACT); eliminating hose-plumbed cooling circuits to actuators facilitates faster mold changes and provides long-term performance reliability.
Maximized for uptime, the Fusion Series G2 hot runner system is delivered completely pre-assembled and pre-plumbed, saving significant set-up time to get you back into production right away. Incorporating popular features like field replaceable heater bands ensures that any maintenance is quick and easy.
Mold-Masters Dura Plus Automotive Lens Molding Hot Runner Solution – Shining a Light on Automotive Lens Molding
The Dura Plus hot runner system has been specially engineered to produce consistent high-quality parts with exceptional clarity. Engineered to perform with today's challenging resins it is compatible with abrasive and corrosive resins such as PC, PC-ABS & PMMA.
With its introduction, enhancements over the previous Dura system include new Dura Plus nozzles with enhanced thermal profile, full stainless steel construction and a highly polished runner finish which work together to improve processability, provide greater system durability and prevent contamination defects of molded parts. In the field, cycle time improvements of 22% and an extremely low scrap rate of 0.8% have been observed. Dura Plus remains the clearest choice for automotive lens molding applications.
Mold-Masters New Melt-CUBE EVO – The Next Evolution in Advanced Inline Side Gating Technology
Mold-Masters newly evolved Melt-Cube EVO is the ideal hot runner for high cavitation molds producing deep draw Medical parts such as pipette tips, syringe barrels, needle shields and more requiring horizontal tips. The new Melt-CUBE EVO is designed to significantly minimize maintenance turnaround by up to 85% (e.g. a savings of up to 5 hours on a 64 cavity system) and improved handling safety with the ability to be serviced at cold temperatures and using only one torque value.
The new Mold-Masters Melt-CUBE EVO design has retained all the strengths from the previous Melt-CUBE design such as gate located tips that maintain critical tolerance resulting in superior gate quality; however with the simplified design there has been a reduction in the number of bolts securing each pair of tips from 7 to 1 drastically reducing assembly and disassembly times for service and setup.
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Melt-CUBE EVO also offers simultaneous direct horizontal side gating of up to 8 cavities per Cube eliminating scrap from sub-runners and enhances part quality and with Mold-Masters Brazed Heater Technology also delivers exceptional processing capabilities through hotter processing temperatures for wider processing window and exceptional thermal balance both throughout the manifold and tip to tip.
For applications that require angled tips or specialized dual side gating capabilities, Melt-CUBE (previous version) is still available.
Mold-Masters TempMaster Series Hot Runner Controllers – Optimizing Performance of any Hot Runner System
At the core of each TempMaster temperature controller is our advanced APS control technology. APS is an industry leading auto-tuning control algorithm delivering unmatched control precision and reliability varying only the slightest amount from set point. The result is enhanced molded part quality, consistency and minimized scrap.
Our flagship controller has just gone through a recent upgrade. The enhanced TempMaster M2+ controller which is our most advanced, fully featured controller capable of controlling up to 500 zones is now available with larger and more powerful cutting-edge touchscreen controls with a new modernized interface. Navigating the screens is now more intuitive than ever before and even incorporates familiar gestures like pinch-to-zoom. Instantaneous response to touch inputs eliminates waiting times and data can be displayed in real time (no averaging). TempMaster M2+ controllers also feature the widest selection of modular control cards and have the most compact cabinet dimensions in their respective classes by up to 53%. No other controller can seamlessly integrate with the range of advanced capabilities that the TempMaster M2+ can. Functionality like SVG, E-Drive Synchro Plate, M-Ax Auxiliary Servos and Water Flow Temperature can be easily integrated, monitored and controlled from a centralized location. TempMaster M2+ also introduces more advanced features to its capabilities.
