Kipe Molds Inc. of Placentia, California, has improved its micro injection system for molding small liquid silicone rubber parts. Sadaplast, a Kipe Molds micro injection unit supplier, recently installed a servo-actuated microdeck system on a compact Boy XS injection molding machine.
In the new configuration, the MD line incorporates a servo-actuated micro plunger with fully controllable injection parameters. The system monitors and records starting injection pressure in the plunger system.
The MD line includes a pressure transducer positioned directly adjacent to the system’s valve gate nozzle “to generate the most accurate picture of injection pressures possible,” said Dana King, business development director for Kipe Molds, noting that conventional machines measure pressure via hydraulics or load cells far removed from the action.
Kipe Molds recently demonstrated the technology on a Boy machine in Orlando, Florida. The mold ran a trial 0.009-gram micro-septum. For interfacing with the mold, Kipe Molds’ standard valve gate tip options are used along with the basic 0.5-inch spherical radius. “Our servo controlled system can act as a standalone barrel for second shot applications on two-shot molds,” King said.
Kipe Molds believes its understanding of the material and process at a small scale and use of the precise micro injection unit can provide “the best results” to a processor, King said. “We seek to understand and discuss strategies for the entire process from material management to handling, inspection and processing.”