Cold Runner System Processes Various Types of LSR

Ewikon expands its range of products with a high performance Coolshot cold runner system that processes various types of LSR. A key system feature is the electric drive valve gate system. When processing LSR, the electric step motors position the valve pins with high precision in steps of 0.01 mm, providing fine-balancing of the cavity filling. Manual adjustment of the valve pin length is not required, reducing the expenditure of time for system setup and re-adjustments during production. Advanced control technology enables permanent monitoring and automatic adjustment of the valve pin positions by using encoders. The touch screen panel offers a comfortable operation of the system and features remote control access by using a tablet PC (iOS, Android, Windows) with VNC viewer. The manifold system features a fully balanced flow channel layout without dead spots for quick color changes and can be dismantled and opened for cleaning. Depending on the LSR type used, the water-cooled cold runner nozzles are available with different material combinations in the gate area, thus, the thermal separation can be tailored to the process. Available on request is a heated separator plate with powerful coil heater and separate temperature control for each cavity. The cavity plate can be equipped with an additional mechanism to separate it from the cold runner nozzles after the end of production or in case of a temporary interruption, stopping the heat transfer from the hot cavity plate into the nozzle gate area and preventing LSR cross-linking.

The company also introduces smartControl, a compact process monitoring and diagnosis unit which monitors, analyzes and logs all relevant process and system parameters. The unit contains all information on the installed hot runner system, such as running times and downtimes of the mold, nozzle and manifold temperatures, and shot numbers. When defined critical values are exceeded, a warning signal can be triggered. All data can be exported by using WLAN, Bluetooth, Ethernet or USB. A browser-based user interface developed by the company offers a clear visualization of the data and can be installed on mobile devices, as well as in company networks. In case of system errors, the data can be transmitted to Ewikon for quick remote diagnosis. All new hot halves can be equipped with the monitoring unit, and it can be retrofitted to existing molds.