Assembly of injection molding manifold, nozzles and mold
OwnerSalvatore Benenatiinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A heated manifold, for use in the distribution of heated plastic resins to the various cavities of injection molds for thermoplastic materials. The parts of the manifold interlock with each other and contain the high pressures generated by the injection molding presses. The components of the manifold are fitted with seals of metals dissimilar to the manifold, and with a higher coefficient of expansion than the manifold material. The system includes heated bushings which channel the plastic materials to the individual cavities and are fitted with a removable tip which can be adjusted to change the overall length of the bushing.
Claims35
A manifold for injection molding apparatus including at least first and second elongated members, each of said first and second members having:
- a cross-section that is generally uniform along the length of such member, that cross-section being defined in part by mutually opposite first and second side surfaces of such member,
- a longitudinal passage therein for conveying fluid resin, and
- a slotted portion in which a slot is formed, the slot being defined by slot surfaces that intersect said mutually opposite side surfaces of the member in which the slot is formed, said slot surfaces including mutually opposite slot surfaces,
- the slotted portion of said first member being complementary to the slotted portion of said second member, said first and second members being assembled to each other with the slotted portion of said first member being received in the slotted portion of said second member so that each of said mutually opposite slot surfaces of said first member abuts a respective side surface of said second member and each of said mutually opposite slot surfaces of the second member abuts a respective side surface of said first member, and manifold including a connecting passage in said second member connecting the longitudinal passage therein to the longitudinal passage in said first elongated member, said connecting passage of said second member and said longitudinal passage of said first member forming a portion of a passage of the manifold extending through said first side surface of said second member and one of said mutually opposite slot surface of said first member, and electrical means for heating said elongated members extending along and in heat transfer relation to said elongated members.
Injection molding apparatus including multiple heated nozzles for injecting fluid resin into cavities of a mold and a unitary conduit having passages including bends and intersections, said passages extending from a fluid resin injection location to said nozzzles, and means for securing said nozzles against said conduit with passages of the conduit directed into the nozzles, said conduit including multiple straight metal tubes having ends and providing passages constituting portions of the conduit's passages, pairs of metal members forming sandwiches containing said tubes and having grooves complementary to and in heat-transmitting engagement with said tubes, electric heating elements extending along opposite sides of said pairs of grooved metal members, and fittings having fused joints to the ends of said tubes and having passage portions therein constituting said bends and junctions of the passages of said conduit.
A manifold for injection molding apparatus, including first and second elongated metal members having respective first and second longitudinal bores that extend in intersecting directions approximately at right angles to each other, said bores constituting passages for molding resin, said member shaving electric heating means for maintaining fluid the resin in the passages, said first member having a third bore that has mutually opposite first and second ends, said first end of the third bore extending into the first member's longitudinal bore, the second end of said third bore forming an end opening in a first longitudinal side surface of said first member, said first, second and third bores having coplanar axes, said second member having a first surface transverse to the longitudinal bore in said second member so that the longitudinal bore of the second member forms an opening in said first transverse surface, said third bore being essentially aligned longitudinally with the longitudinal bore in said second member, and means for holding said first and second members assembled to each other.
A manifold for injection molding apparatus, including at least first and second elongated members that have respective longitudinal bores that form conduits for fluid resin, and means providing a passage interconnecting said bores, said first and second members extending along intersecting directions and having mutually opposed first and second surfaces, respectively, penetrated by said passage, a bushing contained in one of said members forming at least part of sid interconnecting passage means, said bushing having mutually opposite first and second ends and having a bore that constitutes at least part of the interconnecting passage means, said first member having a wall enclosing said bushing continuously from said first end to said second end of said bushing and having a shoulder against which said first end of the bushing bears, said second end of the bushing extending to said first surface of said first member and abutting said second surface of said second member at ambient temperature, means for heating said members for rendering the resin therein fluid, means for fixing said mutually opposed surfaces against relative displacement toward or away from each other while accommodating sliding of said opposed surfaces relatively along each other due to heat-induced longitudinal changes in at least one of said members, said bushing having a substantially higher thermal coefficient of expansion than said member in which it is contained.
Injection molding apparatus including a back plate, a multicavity mold, multiple heated nozzles for injecting fluid resin into the mold, and a manifold having an injection port and having means providing elongated passage portions from said injection port to respective manifold end portions, a cylindrical bushing for each of said nozzles, each bushing having a bore for guiding fluid resin from a respective end portion of the manifold into a respective nozzle, each nozzle including a metal wall providing a nozzle-end abutment surface and a cylindrical cavity having a recessed shoulder, each sid cavity containing a respective one of said bushings, said metal wall being solid and continuous between said recessed shoulder and said nozzle-end abutment surface, said back plate and said mold comprising means for clamping each respective nozzle including its metal wall against a respective manifold end portion, a first end of each said bushing bearing against a respective recessed shoulder and a second opposite end of the bushing being flush with said nozzle-end abutment surface at ambient temperature, said bushing having a thermal coefficient of expansion greater than that of said metal wall so that, when the temperature of said wall rises, one end of each bushing is driven forcefully against a respective manifold end portion.
Injection molding apparatus including multiple nozzles for injecting fluid resin into cavities of a mold, means providing an inlet port for fluid resin, and manifold means for providing passages for fluid resin from the inlet port to the nozzles, said passage providing means including lengths of straight tubular members, means joining said tubular members to form bends and branches in the passages, and means for heating said straight tubular members said heating means including pairs of mutually opposed metal conduit covers embracing straight portions of said tubular members so as to be in effective heat-transfer relation thereto, and electrical heating elements embedded in said conduit covers.
Injection molding apparatus including multiple nozzles, an inlet port at which fluid resin is to be injected, and electrically heated manifold means for providing passages for the resin from the inlet port to the nozzles, said manifold means including a first tubular member having a longitudinal passage and a second member having a second-member passage-providing bore, and means for connecting said first tubular member to said second member, said connecting means including a block having a first bore containing a portion of said first tubular member, and said block having a threaded bore intersecting said first bore, said second member having an external thread coaxial with said second-member passage-providing bore, said second member being threaded into said threaded bore, said first tubular member extending across said threaded bore and having a first transverse bore intersecting said longitudinal passage and being substantially aligned with said second-member passage-providing bore, and first means forming a seal between that external portion of said first tubular member which surrounds said first transverse bore and an end surface of said second member surrounding said second-member passage-providing bore.
A manifold for injection molding apparatus including first and second elongated members each having a longitudinal bore therein and each having mutually opposite side surfaces, said first member having a slotted portion comprising a slot formed by slot surfaces that intersect the mutually opposite side surfaces of the first member, and said slot surfaces including mutually opposite slot surfaces, said longitudinal bore of said first member being interrupted between said mutually opposite slot surfaces, said second member having first and second transverse passages that extend in opposite directions from the longitudinal bore of said second member to the mutually opposite side surfaces, respectively, of said second member, said first and second members being assembled to each other so that said mutually opposite side surfaces of said second member are received between said mutually opposite slot surfaces and so that said first and second transverse passages are aligned with said longitudinal bore of said first member, and electric means for heating said elongated members extending along an in heat transfer relation to said elongated members.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.