Better Melt Monitoring
Melt-IQ™ System
The New Melt-IQ™ system uses a proprietary embedded board with 24bit precision ADC, powerful microchip processor, HMI display, its own power supply and industrial housing to read our unique micro-bead Temp-Sense™ melt sensor that is placed into the distal end of the injection molding machines End Cap, Nozzle cylinder or last to fill cavity. The thermal-mechanical energy that is imparted into the polymer during the molding cycle is converted to work and measured in thermal units. Every mold-machine-polymer reveals a unique thermal template and the mathematical relationships of PVT allow us to calculate the mass displacement for each shot. The speed of our processor is now capable of calculating an integral in milliseconds which allows us to learn the amount of work necessary to “Fill” the mold, then used to “Control” the Velocity Pressure (VP) switch point during the injection forward phase of the cycle. We have closed the loop between the mold and the machine by looking at the polymer melt, using the laws of physics and our advanced proprietary math models to make perfect parts!
Melt-Profiler™ II System
The Melt-Profiler™ II System is the same as the Melt Profiler I except that it has a stand-alone DAQ unit that is capable of reading two sensors instead of just one. It can also be fitted with a warning light to alert users if the melt temperature is out of range. The Melt-Profiler™ II System includes (1) Stand-Alone Model 603 Data Acquisition Device (DAQ) and (1) Temp-Sense™ Nozzle Sensor.
Melt-Profiler™ I System
The Melt-Profiler™ I System offers plastics processors a cost-effective way to monitor actual melt temperature in real-time. Temperature readouts are taken every 2 seconds and displayed graphically on a laptop computer or tablet.
Melt-IQ and Profiler™ Systems
A Simple And Cost Effective Way To Continuously Monitor Melt Temperature... And So Much More
Injection molding technology has improved considerably over the past several years. These improvements include:
- Dramatically increases in microprocessor speeds
- Significant advancements in servo valve technology
- Implementation of highly precise electronic injection and screw drives
- Expanded use of hot runner systems
- Increased use of in-cavity pressure monitoring systems
These technology advancements allow molders to meet the ever-increasing demands for more complex parts, many made with highly engineered polymers that pose special processing challenges.
Yet bad parts are still made.
At Md Plastics, we believe that one of the main reasons for the molding of bad parts is because the true state of the polymer is unknown. Why? Because there has never been a way to accurately measure in-line melt temperature during the injection molding process. Until now.
Melt-Profiler™ - The Solution
Melt-Profiler™ Systems give processors a way to continuously monitor in-line melt temperature during the injection molding process. They allow molders to see and understand how polymers are affected by the many variables at play during the molding process. These systems are easy to install, simple to use and provide molders with metrics that can predict part quality.
Melt-Profiler™ Systems utilize specially fabricated Temp-Sense™ micro-bead sensors (U.S. patents 7,585,166 and 6,649,095) that are located in the nozzle body or end cap of molding machines.
Example of Temp-Sense™ sensor installed into nozzle body
Side View
Front View
Example of Temp-Sense™ sensor installed into end cap
The data collected by the sensors is fed into a program that displays the information onto a computer screen, allowing the user to continuously monitor melt temperature during the injection molding process.
The Benefits Of Utilizing Melt-Profiler™ Systems Include:
- Knowing if melt temperature is within its processing range
- Noticing lot-to-lot inconsistencies in materials
- Understanding how changes in machine settings affect polymer melt
- Understanding how environmental changes affect polymer melt – i.e. changes in humidity levels
- Noticing machine component wear – i.e. screw and barrel wear
- Noticing machine component failures – i.e. non-return valve slippage, heater band failures
- Understanding if process improvements are working as intended
- Understanding if machine component improvements are working as intended
- Facilitating set-up processes by replicating melt profiles associated with specific parts. This is especially useful if a specific mold is run on several different molding machines.
- Predicting and documenting part quality
There are currently two Melt-Profiler™ Systems available in addition to our Melt-IQ™