Gammaflux Controllers Help Pixley Richards Succeed in Molding Temperature Critical Applications

Customer:

Pixley Richards Inc., Plymouth, MA USA

Key contact: Ian MacLeod, Tooling Engineer

Custom & Technical Molder - serving automotive market, others with insert molding and high-end technical molding. 38 molding machines between 100-300 tons, all molds 4-16 cavities, hot runners. Some vertical injection presses with insert loading. Some MuCell molding. Materials used include PPA, PPS, Nylon, PBT, and other filled materials, some running at temperatures of 700 deg. F. Products molded include automotive brake components, mass air flow meters (pollution control devices), control valves for brakes, voltage regulators, and parts for electronics.

Story:

Founded in 1965, Pixley Richards is an expert in technical molding, producing tight tolerance complex parts, often using proprietary insert molding and post-assembly techniques. The company is QS9000 and ISO9002 registered and is a supplier to many prominent OEM manufacturers.

Pixley Richards has 18 Gammaflux controllers on its shop floor, and has standardized on Gammaflux for temperature control of all of its hot runner applications. Ian MacLeod, Tooling Engineer at PRI, offered several reasons why the company has chosen Gammaflux:

• Extremely User Friendly Products - With an operator interface that is easy to understand
• Flexibility - A Gammaflux 12-zone controller can easily be used to run applications with fewer zones
• Excellent Troubleshooting Tools - The Gammaflux controllers feature troubleshooting capabilities through the company's Mold Monitor and Mold Doctor software programs. Through simple connection to a laptop computer, the controllers provide a wealth of information to help PRI evaluate mold and hot runner performance
• Great Performance - The controllers are used in some cases to run low-mass nozzles such as the Husky 250, where tight temperature control and fast response is critical

Additional:

PRI was experiencing some problems with part quality on a particular application, so they decided to evaluate the mold and hot runner by using the troubleshooting tools available with the Gammaflux temperature controller. "We looked for trends using Mold Doctor, which showed us the performance of the hot runner nozzles and tips, and allowed us to evaluate our mold cooling cycles," said MacLeod. "The software showed us that the hot runner tips were cycling on exact frequencies, and that our part quality problems were associated with the mold. We changed the mold cooling and solved the problem. I'm not aware of any other hot runner temperature controller that could help us improve our operations like that."

Quote:

"We have tried other hot runner temperature controllers, but none of them performed as well as Gammaflux. The parts we produce are tight tolerance, and we use sophisticated resins and techniques. Some of the resins run at very high temperatures, and good control of the melt is essential for proper knit-line strength and part quality. We have mostly used the Gammaflux GLC control systems, and they are bullet-proof. We'll continue to use Gammaflux as they provide us with what we need - quite simply, a good product and good service."

-Ian MacLeod, Tooling Engineer, Pixley Richards, Inc.