Moldings and hoses

Hoses and fittings for injection molding machines

In this blog, I write about hoses and fittings for injection molding machines. I will go through the technical features of the hoses and mold fittings used in injection molding machines.

There are actually a couple of options for mold cooler hoses. EPDM rubber red or blue radiator water hose or stainless steel braided Teflon hose. The advantage of a rubber hose is, of course, the ease of installation with a clamp connection. Today, a Teflon hose assembly with crimping acid-resistant fittings with hydraulic sleeves is also preferred. In this way, an assembly is obtained which achieves a pressure resistance of more than 100 bar and a temperature resistance of 200 ° C. Of course, a steel braided Teflon hose is a longer lasting and more expensive hose. This is also easy to implement with machine-specific hose sets. Both types of mold hose do support their place in injection molding machines.

The raw material hose for the granulate is a wear-resistant PU hose. The granulate moves in the hose as small crumbs, so this type of abrasive / abrasive movement requires a lot from the technical properties of the hose. At the same time as the hose must withstand abrasive wear, it must also be flexible and pliable. Also, do not remove anything from the hose. Grounding in the granulate hoses is treated with copper wire to allow the sparks to be removed. The structure of the hose is made of vulcanized copper wire, from which it is easy to implement.

There are several different options for formwork quick connectors depending on their intended use. The traditional solution is a female connector where the valve closes the line when disconnected. The male connector that goes into it is open again. There have also been some male quick connectors with a valve. When talking about quick connectors, one of the determining factors is the flow that the connector passes through when connected. In Finland, we generally use two different sizes of formwork quick connectors, 9mm and 13mm. The bigger the connector, the bigger the flow. The flow through the connectors can also be affected by selecting a female connector without a valve, with minimal flow resistance. In this solution, however, it must be taken into account that the hose always drains when the connection is disconnected. Valve-free female connectors are also available in both connector sizes.

The operating temperature range of the formwork quick connectors is -20 ° C to + 200 ° C, which means that you are dealing with really hot water. The connectors are therefore designed for high temperatures. The metal would certainly last even longer, but the limiting factor is FKM / PTFE seals. Fortunately, some harsh temperatures are less often needed. In any case, lockable safety quick connectors are quite welcome in this world as well. Their use is recommended, especially in areas where there is a possibility of accidental removal.

The range of hoses and fittings used in injection molding machines is really diverse, especially in fittings. Different standards, such as those used in the USA, bring their own challenges. Externally very similar to the mold connector, but does not connect to a European standard. The good thing is that there are high-quality European manufacturers on the market who are developing and designing connectors specifically for the use of injection molding machines.