System And Method For Manufacturing Fatty Acid Based Material Products With An Injection Molding Process

A system for manufacturing molded food products comprising:

• a volumetric container having a wall that encloses a space, the wall having an inlet and an outlet;
• feeding fatty acid based material pieces that are solid at room temperature into the container through the inlet;
• a cooling member located within the volumetric container that removes heat from the wall;
• a heated member located within the volumetric container that adds heat to the fatty acid based material within the volumetric container;
• an ejection member configured to force fatty acid based material from the volumetric container through the outlet of the volumetric container into a mold cavity;
• and
• a controller coupled to the heated member, the cooling member, and the ejection member, the controller being configured to keep the heated member in a first temperature range that maintains fatty acid based material in a liquid or nearly liquid state proximate the heated member, to keep the cooling member in a second temperature range that maintains fatty acid based material in a solid or near solid state proximate the cooling member, and to energize the ejection member to mix the liquid or near liquid fatty acid based material with the solid or near solid ink to form a solid acid based material paste proximate the outlet of the volumetric container.

A system for manufacturing fatty acid based material comprising:

• an injection molding machine having a barrel in which a heated member is located, the barrel having an outlet;
• a cooling jacket mounted on an exterior of the barrel;
• a movable member located within the barrel;
• a heater located within the movable member;
• an actuator coupled to the movable member;
• and
• a controller coupled to the heater, the cooling jacket, and the actuator, the controller being configured to regulate the heater to maintain the movable member within a temperature range in which liquid fatty acid based material remains in a liquid or near liquid state, to operate the cooling jacket to maintain the barrel in a temperature range in which fatty acid based material remains in a solid or near solid state, and to energize the actuator to cause the movable member to mix the liquid or near liquid fatty acid based material proximate the movable member with the solid or near solid fatty acid based material proximate the barrel to form a fatty acid based material paste.