Customer:

Leading European Molder of Custom Packaging Closures

Story:

A leading European molder of custom packaging closures was having difficulty running a new 32-cavity hot runner mold. Specifications of the new mold included:

• 32-cavity hot runner system
• each closure weighs 3.0 grams
• 30mm center-to-center distance between gates
• cycle time 13.5 seconds
• injection time 2.0 seconds
• maximum injection pressure 70 bar
• cooling time 5.5 seconds
• material: Polypropylene, melt temperature between 260 - 280°C
• 45 control zones

Upon start-up only 15 cavities in the mold filled properly, and the rest were either experiencing partial or no filling at all. The problem was further aggravated by the fact that the ejectors could not function properly in the partially filled cavities, which meant that the parts often had to be removed manually, causing unacceptable downtime.

Nothing worked to fix the problem, so after mounting frustration, the production manager at the plant contacted Gammaflux Europe GmbH in Wiesbaden and requested a service call and a trial installation of a Gammaflux TTC controller. The production manager at this plant was familiar with Gammaflux and knew that a TTC controller was being successfully used at one of his company's other facilities in Europe.

The Gammaflux TTC controller was initially used to "dry out" the hot runner system and then heated the system to the operating temperature of 260°C. From the first shot, all the nozzles worked perfectly and all 32 cavities were uniformly filled. From the next cycle on, with full injection volume, the mold produced acceptable parts in all cavities.

Additional:

The key feature of the Gammaflux system that made this mold successful was Gammaflux Triangulated Control Technology®. Featuring the proprietary Gammaflux PID2 control algorithm and phase angle fired output, this unique technology allows Gammaflux controllers to sense, control and actuate up to 20 times per second to achieve better temperature control.

The latest Gammaflux control algorithm automatically improves control of small, low mass hot runner nozzles, similar to those used in this 32-cavity hot runner application.

These nozzles, which in some cases can be 0.250" or smaller in diameter, provide unique challenges to any hot runner temperature controller.

Since this application was solved, Gammaflux has further refined its control algorithm and introduced Gammaflux Power Priority™. Power Priority™ smoothes the power output and melt heat history for individual zones. Users now have the option to manually apply a Power Priority™ set point from 1 (light) to 4 (heavy) outputs, providing unparalleled control for applications where it is most needed.

Quote:

"We made the TTC controller a permanent fixture in our production facility. For more than ten months, our production of packaging closures and similar parts in three other multi-cavity molds has been running without a hitch. Meanwhile we have purchased additional TTC controllers in order to increase the productivity of other molds."
-Production Manager