Smart Molding International 4-2021

moldmaking 31 www.smart-molding.com M ultiple hot runner applica - tions with very narrownozzle pitch dimensions are, espe - cially when using valve gate technol - ogy, a major challenge for designers. A needle drive needs space, whichmeans that the distribution of the melt in the manifold is usually associated with restrictions when using a valve gating system This basically leads to a greater space requirement and consequently also to larger mould sizes and injection moulding machines. With the HASCO Streamrunner®, the first additively manufactured hot run - ner on themarket, now completely new and space-saving options are also avail - able for valve gate systems. For many years HASCO has been in - tensively engaged in the application of additive manufacturing in hot runners HASCO aroused enormous interest on the market with the introduction of the Streamrunner®. Since then, sev - eral customer p r o j e c t s have been carried out, d e m o n - strating the advantages of the system. With the addition of a subsequent ver - sion with needle valve technology, HASCO hot run - ner has gone one step further, breaking through the previous limita - tions in the design of hot runners. As a new exhibit at Fakuma it dem - onstrated the impressive advantages of the Streamrunner®. A fully balanced 20-dorp systemwith needle valve tech - nology in which the outside dimensions of the hot runner are just 124 x 124mm was presented. Gentle passage of the melt Thanks to the additive manufactur - ing technology, the flow channels can be optimally designed rheologically by completely avoiding sharp edges and areas with poor flow characteristics. This gentle passage of the melt results in considerably lower shear stress in the melt and consequently bet - ter quality of the injection-moulded parts. As absolutely no plugs are needed, this compact design of the hot runner enables in some cases a pitch of only 18mm. The system is equipped with in - dividually controlled, screw-in nozzles, which can also be used for engineer - ing plastics. The stroke motion of the needle takes place via a circular plate package that is driven by four pneu - matic cylinders. As with all other hot runner systems from HASCO, the Streamrunner® with needle valve technology is individually designed and adjusted exactly to the respective application. The hot runner specialists from HASCO develop tailor- made solutions for every project. HASCO www.hasco.com With the addition of a subsequent version with needle valve technology, HASCO hot runner has gone one step further, breaking through the previous limitations in the design of hot runners. HASCO Streamrunner® with needle valve – the first additively manufactured needle valve system With the invention of the modular standard component system, HASCO has defined international standards and revolutionised mouldmaking. Designers and mouldmakers benefit from a complete range of ready-to- install, high-precision system compo - nents and intensive specialist advice. Picture: HASCO