Shut-off nozzle for injection molding

Abstract

Disclosed herein are novel methods for forming a polymer part including providing an injection molding system with a shut-off nozzle, where the shut-off nozzle includes a main body, a nozzle tip body, a flow path through the main body and the nozzle tip body, a nozzle tip, and a shut-off mechanism. The nozzle tip includes an internal passage and a cooling mechanism. The shut-off mechanism includes a passageway intersecting the flow path at an angle and a pin positioned in the passageway. The method further includes the steps of initiating an injection molding cycle by injecting molten polymer through the shut-off nozzle into a cavity of a mold, actuating the shut-off mechanism to move the pin in the passageway into the intersection of the passageway and flow path, and initiating the cooling mechanism to solidify molten polymer in the nozzle tip to form a solid slug.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.