Automation in injection molding

Abstract

Automation of injection-molding machines has been achieved long time ago but, very often, in an incomplete way. In most cases, designers have been able to achieve step-by-step automation of the movements involved in the production operation but have not exploited some other possibilities of automation. These new possibilities are studied here, with particular reference to the application of electronics to achieve total control of the machine, the injection-molding cycle, temperature of the molding material and the mold, hydraulic equipment, and mold clamp force.