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INJECTION MOLDING: Hot Runners for Auto Lighting

From: Plastics Technology
Issue: August 2011

Synventive Molding Solutions, Peabody, Mass., has come out with a line of hot-runner systems tailored for automotive lighting such as front and rear lenses. These new valve-gate “Plug ’n Play” systems have threaded nozzles (12E/16E/22E models) with pneumatic cylinders. Screw-in nozzles eliminate the need for support/center rings at the nozzle head area, preventing heat release in the critical area where melt changes direction from runner to nozzle. Keeping a constant temperature profile along the melt channel and perfect melt-channel alignment is said to ensure the best quality in these demanding applications.

Special gate geometries and tip materials were developed by Synventive to provide optimal aesthetic finish with PMMA and PC lens materials. High-performance heaters with integral thermocouples and stainless-steel cooling bushings are used near the gate surface. For rear lenses with 3D surfaces and multi colors, Synventive offers direct gating onto the lens surface (usually PMMA). For front lenses (typically PC), Synventive offers either direct gating or a cold-runner solution.