An injection nozzle device including multi-polymer injection nozzles comprising an assembly of shells, and having fixed, tapered passageways communicating with annular orifices close to a nozzle gate and to each other, and polymer flow balancing and directing means in the passageways in the form of concentric and eccentric chokes.
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/220,327, filed Dec. 23, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,785, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/657,622, filed May 29, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,772, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/341,700, filed Nov. 18, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,045, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/740,749 filed Aug. 5, 1991, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/563,169, filed Aug. 3, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,285, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/397,348, filed Aug. 22, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,365, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/283,000, filed Dec. 2, 1988, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 06/909,941, filed Sep. 19, 1986, now abandoned, which is division of Ser. No. 06/484,707, filed Apr. 13, 1983, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,990.
An injection molding system is disclosed. The system includes a multiple valve gated nozzle. The flow through each valve gate is determined by individually operated valve pins. Each valve pin is independently controlled by a separate actuation unit. In order to achieve a tight pitch between the valve pins, the actuation units are placed in a stacked configuration, with the valve pin controlled by the upper actuation unit passing through the lower actuation unit. The valve pin of the lower actuation unit is offset from a center of the upper actuation unit to allow for the unimpeded passage of the valve pin from the upper actuation unit through the lower actuation unit.
A coinjection molding apparatus includes a manifold, a nozzle body coupled to the manifold, a sleeve disposed within the nozzle body and defining an outer melt channel between the sleeve and the nozzle body, a pin disposed within the sleeve and defining an inner melt channel between the pin and the sleeve, and a nozzle tip having an alignment portion contacting the sleeve. The sleeve is actuated to open and close melt communication of the outer melt channel and a cavity gate. The pin is actuated to open and close melt communication of the inner melt channel and an opening of the sleeve. The alignment portion aligns the sleeve with the cavity gate along the actuated range of the sleeve.
A customer sends a CAD file for the part to be molded to the system. The system assesses the CAD file to determine various pieces of mold manufacturing information. One or more acceptability criteria are applied to the part, such as whether the part can be manufactured in a two-piece, straight-pull mold, and whether the mold can by CNC machined out of aluminum. If not, the system sends a file to the customer graphically indicating which portions of the part need modification to be manufacturable. The system provides the customer with a quotation form, that allows the customer to select several parameters, such as number of cavities, surface finish and material, which are independent of the shape of the part. The quotation module then provides the customer with the cost to manufacture the mold or a number of parts. Budget-driven quotation is possible, wherein proposed modifications in the molding process are controlled by the budget of the customer. Interactivity is also achieved, with the customer being able to modify the quotation interactively by modifying one or more of the initially selected parameters, including selecting a different budgeted amount.
